Poem: New Year (Rosh Hashanah)

Poem: New Year (Rosh Hashanah)

Rosh Hashanah – Sept 15-17, 2023 new year. Ned Hayes   Rosh Hashanah comes this year on a day of cool wind, a breathtaking portent of winter taking the world, rude lover tossing the sheets away. in autumn the sadness of all things is greatest for now the...
Poem: May, by Mary Oliver

Poem: May, by Mary Oliver

May May, and among the miles of leafing, blossoms storm out of the darkness— windflowers and moccasin flowers. The bees dive into them and I too, to gather their spiritual honey. Mute and meek, yet theirs is the deepest certainty that this existence too— this sense of...
On Romance

On Romance

Romance gets criticized for being repetitive – as if repetition is not the way we nourish our bodies and souls. Meals are repetitive: You have to keep making them and eating them and then making and eating them again. Song lyrics repeat every time a chorus comes...
Hamlet as a Christmas Play

Hamlet as a Christmas Play

Turns out, that Shakespeare may have taken Advent Season into account when deciding not only where his play would be set, but precisely when. Scholar Steve Roth has written a paper outlining the astronomical history of November 1601, and the holiday season for...