Nancy Quigley writes: In these times of wars, horrendous earthquakes, gun violence, political division and mental health challenges, it’s sometimes good to find a word of encouragement. Recently, I read an article written by Peter Baker about Michael Gerson.*  It is a good article, describing a complicated person with an eloquent Republican voice, who longed for “compassionate conservatism”, advancing liberal goals with conservative means. Gerson, who died recently, struggled with depression. In 2019, he preached a sermon in which he said he was “stalked by sadness.”  But he went on to say the following, which helped me remember once again what is essential. “Many, understandably, pray for a strength they do not posses. But God’s promise is somewhat different: That even when strength fails, there is perseverance. And even when perseverance fails, there is hope. And even when hope fails, there is love. And love never fails.”   * The article was in the New York Times ...

Tim Woodcock writes: To return to the theme of the previous blog post about “ Poems of hope and resilience ,” I was struck by the power of Francisco X. Alarcon’s “ L.A. Story .” The context that gives rise to that poem is the Rodney King protests, referred not by name but simply by the date – April 1992 - that is attached to the poem. But the poem reads almost as well in the context of Ukraine or any other situation of high volatility. The poem is not a complex one. It paints a bleak, dystopian landscape, followed by this beautiful image: o god show us the way lead us   spare us  from ever turning into walking    matches amidst so much gasoline    

Tim Woodcock writes: Last week Nancy Quigley offered a poem called “What is Hope?” That prompted me to dig around in the Poetry Foundation’s themed collections of poems, anticipating there would be a section of other poems about hope. There was indeed, although it’s actually labeled “ Poems of Hope and Resilience .” It’s well worth a look. Some of the poems are very well known. For instance, Emily Dickinson’s Poem No. 314, with the line “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers” and Maya Angelou’s widely quoted and inspirational “And Still I Rise.” Among the 50+ poems there are some poems that are – by my lights – incomprehensible or willfully obscure but there’s far greater number of gems, some of which I thought I’d share in an attempt to answer the question, “What is Hope?” In this blog post I’m going to focus on one poem only, but I plan to return to the theme later on highlighting a couple more poems. The poem that initially caught my eye was the astonishingly powerful “ Lift Every V...

Nancy Quigley writes: I was talking to a friend last week about hope and the balance and necessity of maintaining a portion of hope in the midst of reality. Finding this balance in a way that is honest might be very difficult when helping a friend face a terminal illness. And it can be challenging in times such as these, when we have lost patience with facing yet another Covid surge and we are so discouraged with our present political divide and the deep division in our country about education and masks and voting rights. Is there still a place for hope? Someone sent this poem to me early in the new year. The author, Rubem Alves , was a Brazilian theologian, philosopher, educator, writer and psychoanalyst. He was also one of the founders of Latin American liberation theology  and also wrote poetry. This poem is called, "What is Hope?" Hope is the hunch that the overwhelming brutality of facts that oppress and repress us is not the last word. It is the suspicion that reality ...

Photo by Mike Willock

Karen Kelsey (aka the butterfly lady) writes: This comic appeared in the Post-Dispatch, Monday, April 27. I couldn’t resist sharing it with my 2PC family! MACANUDO by Liniers

Daffodils in our garden, South City, St. Louis. Submitted by Elizabeth McDonald-Zwoyer.