New First Things arrived today...

Ooh, this is a good one... many great articles in this issue. They include:

"The Freedom of Theology", by Avery Cardinal Dulles
"Shakespeare's Religion", Robert Miola
"The Ethics of Immigration" by William Chip/Michael Scaperlanda

and many other things...

One little poem to pique your interest I found particularly good...

American Crust

We upper-crust must be discussed
In deferential accents.
We want not, waste, exhibit taste,
Possess exquisite tax-sense.
In France's terror we were there,
Our necks outstretched for ax-mince,
But here our dough's so long-ago
We've mostly been relaxed since.

We middle-crust of course are just
(Between two poles) the middle.
We see the pie up in the sky
And want our slice, but it'll
Take more than faith (the Profit saith)
For we to solve the riddle.
In short, a lot of us are not
Content with second fiddle.

Us lower-crust are full of lust
For wrestling, beer, and Nascar.
We live on crumbs but spend big sums
To find where bigger bass are.
If you like books we'll hate your looks
(That's what we'll kick your ass for).
Our necks are red-- must be inbred.
Who says there ain't no class war?

by R.S. Gwynn

Enjoy...

From the mouths of moms...

For any who (like me) didn't study literature and poetry beyond high school... you may enjoy the following poem written in Sapphics (named for Sappho). The first three lines of the verse has 11 syllables; the fourth line has only 5 syllables. I learned something while I laughed...

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Terra Firma

Yes, you're right. I'm sure Armageddon's coming:

wars, tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, locusts,

killer flus, et cetera. Yes, I'm awed by

all the destruction.

I concede your point that the world might end, and

all your puny labors will be as nothing.

Still, you can't go out with your friends until you've

folded the laundry.

by Julie Stoner

California home schooling mother

My children have not yet come up with such wonderfully aware reasons why they shouldn't have to do their chores... perhaps in years to come.

HT First Things, May 2006