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August 17, 2026

After the Wake
On the 240th anniversary of the death of Frederick the Great

He found the dark and stays
there most of the time, through
snow, rain, and blackout mornings escaping the front
he…

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July 6, 2026  


An American Citizen

520 Chestnut Street (exterior park bench)

Philadelphia, PA 19106  

Thomas Paine, Esq.

Care of Madame Bonneville

Columbia Street, Greenwich

Near New-York  

Monday, 6 July, 2026  

Dear Mr. Paine,

I write to you…

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June 15, 2026  

Magna Carta, sealed on June 15, 1215, at Runnymede, mapped in the charter as a water-meadow along the River Thames in Surrey between Windsor and Staines, was born of a time of tension, as…

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May 11, 2026  

Some fears are irrational, but fear itself is not. In that first inaugural address, FDR was onto something: panic, softened to “fear” in his 1933 speech, was a greater obstacle to recovery from the Great…

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April 27, 2026

Pen(z)ance

the idea of a stroll through the garden gained currency
as other aims waned and withered,
yet her penchant for distraction often spoiled such a ramble.
today’s turn could forgive others, though,
and the…

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March 16, 2026

On March 16, 1751, 275 years ago today, James Madison was born at Belle Grove Plantation, his mother's family home in Port Conway, Virginia. Often called the “Father of the Constitution,” Madison was also the…

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January 26, 2025

The Constitution of India, the world’s longest written constitution of its most populous democracy, contains 146,385 words. It establishes a parliamentary system with a President as the head of state and a Council of Ministers…

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December 1, 2025   

I'm cribbing James Taylor this week, specifically the title of my favorite song of his, 1997’s ‘Enough to Be On Your Way,’ which features an achingly poignant cello performance by the inimitable Yo-Yo Ma in…

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February 24, 2025

When practicing music, limitations can be beneficial because they compel you to focus on specific areas that need improvement. They encourage creativity within those constraints and help to develop a deeper understanding of technique and…