The Syrian president’s assault on his people reminds me of Lord Bryon’s poem “The Destruction of Sennacherib,” where a superior force is defeated by the cause of justice. Time will tell whether this is no more than a fantasy.
Monthly Archives: August 2011
Assad Came Down Like a Wolf on the Fold
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Destruction of Sennacherib", Arab awakening, Lord Byron, Protest movement, Syria Comments closed
Rhinos and RINOs, Both Endangered
Rhinos are killed for their horns, which are falsely believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac. Knocking off RINOs, or Republicans in Name Only, is proving an intoxicating political sport of its own.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Rhinoceros Poem", Endangered Species, Nature, politics, Scott Bates, sex Comments closed
The Black Honey of Summer
My son’s marriage proposal to his Trinidadian girlfriend has become bound up in my mind with a Mary Oliver poem about blackberries.
Freedom (a.k.a. Irresponsibility)
Jonathan’s Franzen’s “Freedom” is written in the John Cheever-John Updike-Tom Wolfe-Don DeLillo tradition, an up-close look at American middle class culture. But it leaves out some of the heroic struggles that are going on.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Freedom, Jonathan Franzen, politics, satire, Suburbia Comments closed
