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First Latin Mass

From the May 2014 Print Edition

Under their trapdoor brass lid buried flushIn marble lay the notes: a shallow tombOf keys that Lazarus-like would ring the chimesAt consecration. Just the lightest brushOf fingertips, the slightest hint of rush,And error filled the narrow little roomIt was . . . . Continue Reading »

Deferred

From the Aug/Sept 2011 Print Edition

I never shot a commie or a Nazi In ’66, but this is what I did: Field-stripped an M1 when I was in ROTC. There were a lot of metal things that slid, And springs and clips and T-shaped bits galore. Clip latches, swivels, trigger guard, and trigger All fell apart. I never went to war. I think it . . . . Continue Reading »

Magnificat

From the February 2011 Print Edition

Already gravid, she ascended, nearly bereft of any solace, faith, or hope. The pregnant matron, proudly and austerely knowing, met her on the slope, aware of all that Mary need not share. Since she was resting on her suddenly, the heavy frau embraced with patient care, and waited till the younger . . . . Continue Reading »

Review of Breakwater

From the May 2010 Print Edition

Breakwater by Catharine Savage Brosman Mercer University Press, 112 pages, $30 If classical meter really did begin with literal feet (versifiers out for a walk, two short steps for one long “foot,” and so forth), then calling a lot of modern metrical poetry pedestrian wouldn’t really . . . . Continue Reading »