Author Archives: jackpelham

When has God ever—That Almighty,That King of Kings,That Lord of Hosts,That Creator of us all— When has he ever,In all his boundless power,Made a man more righteousThan the man was willing to be?

The more I learn how to ask good questions,The more people I meet who avoid them, Some of whom are those who do not seem To like the answer, “I don’t know”,And who will pretend that they do. They are … Continue reading →

If I should live a thousand years,I shall never understandWhy they have such outrageOver calling a liar a liarAnd none over the lie itself—Unless it is because,In calling out the lie,The challenger is threatening the very essence of their being—Desecrating … Continue reading →

They tell me I do many things well,But in having learned to do this many things well enough That they should have gotten this impression of me,I have discovered this fortunate irony:I have learned that I could do most all … Continue reading →

When God made man, both male and female,He made them that they should give a formal account for themselvesWhen it was all said and done, at least—If not from time to time before thatIn special cases.This was the nature of … Continue reading →

Even in this darkness,Where one gets the feelingThat the evil fashion of the dayIs viler than the market will truly Bear in the long run—And that the wearied masses are,For the most part, Just quietly going with the flow—Some for … Continue reading →

One contacts me to give me something,And a thousand, to sell me something.

There are two kinds of empty, The first being the ordinary kind—That simple state of having nothing inside.It’s what we would expect of the new bucketWe select from the shelf at the hardware store,Or of the new nail apron, still … Continue reading →

When will the ruckus be over?—This churning chaos of a worldIn which our lives have been setAnd in which we have been tossed To and fro all our lives,Sometimes hurt in innocence, And sometimes in guilt,And most all the time, … Continue reading →

I am quite good at failure.I’ve done it many times.The things I’ve tried have often diedAnd crushed some dream of mine. But still I keep on going,Come failure as it may,For I have found, while digging ’round,Some gold along the … Continue reading →