Author Archives: jackpelham

He does not know how to make a point,But only how to hint at one,After which he may tell himself,If he pleases,That those who don’t get itJust don’t get it.

Having done a good thing,He may impatiently wish it to be celebratedAs the summary of his life,Though it was, in fact,Just one moment of millionsIn an unwieldy saga, So lengthy as to make dubiousAny particular snapshot As a proper icon … Continue reading →

You can make a new ruleEvery time some blockheadTransgresses common senseOr common decencyAnd fouls things up.

He’s long been pretty sure that the other party is incorrigible,So he was glad to join this one.But if he’s like most, he’ll invest a lot of years in this partyWithout ever realizing that it has its own incorrigibilities,And is … Continue reading →

I must have missed that memo from Jesus to the Christians―long revered and frequently alluded to (though strangely, never cited)―where he tells them that they must passively put up with the nonsense of others, and where he explains abashedly that … Continue reading →

At some point, won’t you be forced to face the fact that, even if you are the perfect patriot, fortified with all wisdom and diligence, the corruption in your own party runs so deep and wide as to reduce your … Continue reading →

Technically, there’s a differenceBetween don’t-care and don’t-care-much.If if you’re on the receiving end,They’re pretty much going to feel the same.

“If a man has good corn or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles or church organs, than anybody else, you will find a broad hard-beaten road to his house, though it … Continue reading →

Perhaps there were other indicatorsThat they were not listening,But the most obvious always seemed to beThat they simply were not reading his book.

He had hitched his wagon to the church,And the church, to the nation―And off they went, waving their flagsAnd singing their songs,And having no real need of JesusBeyond some name-dropping here and there―Which seemed pious enough to them, even ifIt … Continue reading →