Author Archives: jackpelham

Reflection is not—As some suppose—The refuge of the weak.It is neither the retreat Of the cowardly,Nor the pastimeOf the boring. Reflection is the observatory for the heavens—The mirror to self—The armory for the battle of convictions—The anvil of courage—The sounding … Continue reading →

Mocking, scoffing–This klaxon culture–Ripping at the world–Rebels with scarcely a cause but outrage itself–Hating their shortlist of wrongs And a thousand rights– The songleader points a finger and screams. And the chorus joins in. And it echoes across the land, … Continue reading →

Of course He knewThey would eat the fruit.Just as He knew ha nachashWould want them to do. And of course He knewWickedness would aboundUntil He should regret havingMade them at all–When He would at last summon the veryWaters of Darkness … Continue reading →

When GreedFirst took his standTo take what was not rightly his,He unleashed upon this worldA wayward bentThat has wooed the foolishEver since. They think they have foundin his example the proper way of life.And being busy with acquisition,They shut their … Continue reading →

If suddenly we should be overcome some dayBy a mysterious wave of relief–If there should fall upon us all an eerie calming–An instant settling in our souls–A sudden tranquility–A disarming quietude of the spirit, So quiet that even the weary … Continue reading →

What if my DadHad quit pushing before I had quit pushing back? What if he had tired of meRefusing to swing the batBecause I was afraid of striking out? What if he had given up the cause Even one “Just … Continue reading →

The river doesn’t care What you make of it, O man.It has its life, And you have yours.Curse it all you like,And still it will outlive you. Or if by chance you should Take a different mind about it,You can … Continue reading →

There come our summers and winters.And no matter how we spend them,In time will appear the sum of them all,Looming nearer until its only landing,When the number of our days is settled once and for all,When the others will say,“So … Continue reading →

So far in the history of Planet Earth, what animal species has ever survived without working for its own food? If this is how nature handles it—if the species work to support themselves—then how is it that certain humans pretend … Continue reading →

We all live in a real world. It was here before we got here, and it will be here when we’re gone. And it has rules that do not depend the least bit on our own opinions, wishes, beliefs, traditions, … Continue reading →