Monthly Archives: August 2022

September Days Are Here

By Robin Bates | Published: August 31, 2022

A lovely “September” poem by Helen Hunt Jackson.

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Longing for Walden-Like Simplicity

By Robin Bates | Published: August 30, 2022

Thoreau had a phobia about clutter. At the moment, as I sort through my parents’ effects, I find myself relating.

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Lovecraft Foresees Our Future

By Robin Bates | Published: August 29, 2022

Om 1935 orror writer H.P. Lovecraft imagined all the water on earth drying up–thereby foreseeing the dangers posed by climate change.

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The War Song of Vladimir Putin

By Robin Bates | Published: August 28, 2022

One can imagine Peacock’s famous mock-epic “War-song” as Russia’s tough talk with regard to Ukraine.

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Butler’s Theology in Parable of the Sower

By Robin Bates | Published: August 27, 2022

Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower” shows new ways of imagining God.

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A Taoist Response to Grieving

By Robin Bates | Published: August 25, 2022

Taoist Chuang Tzu has a story about grieving that I find immensely comforting.

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Poems of Love in a Burning World

By Robin Bates | Published: August 24, 2022

Katie Ferris’s poem about writing love poetry “in a burning world” could allude to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Trump Beats Adam in Blame Shifting

By Robin Bates | Published: August 23, 2022

Trump’s multiple excuses for the stolen government documents resembles Adam’s excuses in “Paradise Lost”–only Trump has Adam beat.

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Intense Busyness: One Way to Grieve

By Robin Bates | Published: August 22, 2022

I realize I have used intense busyness to mourn my mother–somewhat like the Texas ranger Call in “Lonesome Dove.”

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