Child Bride Burns to Death
Child Bride Burns to Death Zahra loved the idea of learning And so she juggled, starred in a play Imagine for a second a young child burning Then try to have a normal day Are fresh-picked berries any less sweet? Does the breeze still soothe leaves at dawn? Does the stream not delight my daughter’s […]
Roast Beef, Well Done
Every Sunday throughout my childhood, my mother made roast beef. It was always well done. Well done. My mother was, by any standards, a great cook. Her pies were the envy of our neighbors. Her bread and biscuits were light, airy and addictive. Her mashed potatoes and gravy hit the high peaks of sacred succulence. But we […]
God Had a Plan
God Had a Plan (Audio) If you like what I do, please check out my latest project on Kickstarter. God’s Plan God had a plan Involving Man So he took a little sand A little water And with that clay He began to play And on the Sixth Day Became a Father Then our Lord […]
Berlin, 1942
On January 20, 1942, 15 high-ranking Nazi Party and German government officials gathered at a villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to discuss and coordinate the implementation of what they called the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question.” EVERYTHING SLIPPED FROM VIEW High on the Rhine where the officers dined The day was […]
Sidney H. Schanberg 1934-2016
Sydney Schanberg 1934-2016 I He chronicled the master of Cambodia’s campaign Captured with camera the politics of pain Pol Pot led the Khmer Rouge bloody reign of terror Schanberg saw the truth, for moments brought us there A small town kid, ‘34, oh what life will yield From working in his father’s store to the […]
Not At All
Not At All (audio) Two lives, incomplete Then Fate sets the scene: Provides then an empty seat Crowded coffee shop in Queens He was sitting reading “As You Like It” “Excuse me, would you mind If I shared this table? I’ll be quiet.” He knew his line “Not at all” She kept her promise for perhaps […]
The Kingdom of Summer (slideshow)
It Wasn’t Your Fault
On July 7, Jason Russell, while saving his eleven-year-old son, Aaron, died in the waters of Lake Champlain. I can’t stop thinking about that boy. And about us. About forgiveness. It Wasn’t Your Fault A boy swims. Too far. Trouble The ocean, as always, indifferent to struggle A father unskilled dives to the blue Willfully […]