Author Archives: jackpelham

The tool that does everythingWill not fit into one’s pocket. It’s the lighterWith the fold-out fire extinguisher.

She leads with logicIn this case she is making—As if believing(And expecting quite naturally to be agreed with by all)That valid logic is authoritative,And ought rightfullyTo rule the day.

He tips the hat to virtue,Thinking it a signal of his own. But he’s a foolAnd out of balance—Grossly over-investedIn the praising ofHis own good intentions,While ignoring the shameOf his own unvirtuous habits.

When he hangs up on youWithout even hearing Why you’re calling,One wonders If this is the only wayHe shoots himself in the foot.

When there’s no outrage over injustice,There’s no righteousness. And when there’s no righteousness,There’ll be outrage over justice.

There are many exits On that great interstate of learning—The end of which cannot Be reached in a lifetime.

Perhaps, at no particular hourIt might strike a manThat he has a mindThat is capable of good work,And that good work Might be worth the effort.

I wonder about what it will be like in Heaven,Where there will be so much to be learnedBeyond what we have yet mastered here.

“Is this literal or figurative?” That’s an important question to ask about any passage of scripture. Indeed, it’s fairly obvious that some things in the Bible are figurative (“I am the vine; you are the branches.”) and that some are … Continue reading →

Can you imagine a dayWhen a culture—Long hardened against theft,And having counted it an intolerableMenace to society—Should suddenly change its mind,Congratulating itself on Its new enlightenment—Now heralding theft as a sacred right,Glorifying the plight of the thieves,Dismissing the great cost … Continue reading →