Issue #71 Nov 19, 2023
He’s Making a List
A year after American politics slid downhill
on a golden escalator, we were at The Whitney.
Urs Fischer’s “Standing Julian” was
melting. The giant Schnabel candle had lost
its head … Read more
The Burning Face
If I believed in hell,
I’d tell you what I saw
was Robert E. Lee’s
bearded face burning
red hot with shame
for giving his heart
to that cause, “the … Read more
Know/unknow
The thought that God lives in our hearts
and through our bonds with others
is a much … Read more
Syphilis is on the Rise
Syphilis is on the rise.
We can see it in our infants’ eyes.
No constraint in moments of lust,
we erode from transmitted rust
until birth pangs yield a newborn … Read more
O Greenland! My Greenland!
Your ice thaws,
the shiny shield
that deflects the sun
and protects you from heat.
Frozen for millennia,
it begins its long farewell.
Your permafrost softens—
invulnerable for ages,
it … Read more
Dust and Ashes
Where is Abraham
who knew God better than God knew himself
who reminded God
how it would diminish him not to save
the countless guilty
for the sake of argument … Read more