High in the Berkshires (for RPW)
Richard records in such minute detail
this biosphere, its bounty,
in his synoptic book.
Fern-beds of Hampshire County
recolonize this rarely trodden trail
winding to Hamlen Brook.
Come walk with me, and take a look.
A collapsed, camouflaged pup tent
marks the damp nights youngsters spent
fearing this little wilderness,
grandson and granddaughter
swapping ghost stories, I’d guess.
But suddenly the rush of laughing water
that never deigned to flow
in all my drought year visits long ago:
I stand athwart this mossy, rocky bed,
revolving in my sunrise revery
quatrains I hold in memory
from the best sermon I have ever read.
Tim Murphy
Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
Aug 29 2024
6 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
Aug 20 2024
23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Aug 16 2024
2 mins