Poems

Pippin, the Puppy-Cow

by Sean Dempsey | 05/26/26 There was once a gentle farmer,From troubles borne was he—His eyes were wan, his spirits low;But he’d unload his woe for free. The farmer sighed a grievous sigh,And gazed on through the trees;“Come sit thee upon this stump,And hear the tale from me….” Pippin was a spotted hound,As dear as […]

Poems

Economics of War

War, that most vain and venerated instrument of national pride, does not merely nudge the price of petrol upward, it rends asunder the delicate machinery of trade itself. Ships are halted, roads reduced to rubble, and the humble materials upon which industry depends are spirited away, so that fewer goods are fashioned while the public, […]

Poems

Forgive Our Happiness

Sean Dempsey8-18-25 The lanterns burn with pallid light,And the corridors are still;Yet walls divide both joy and blight:Both mercy and its ill. The midnight hush is cold and long,The air with ether sweet;The measured steps of nurses’ throngBeat soft on weary feet. A mother clasps her newborn son!His cry: a trumpet clear.Her weary heart declares […]

Poems

The Good Knight

By Sean Dempsey, 07/08/25 The Good Knight He took no oath before her eyes,Nor knelt where others came.He watched the world behind her gate,And never spoke his name. They say he once was something more,A banner, or a flame;But all he kept were ragged threadsAnd shoulders bowed with shame. He waited where the garden ends,Where […]

Poems

The Shelter-Door Was Strong and Thick

By Sean Dempsey, 03/31/25 The sun sank low on Lilac Lane;The stars began to peep.And laughter rang from mouths of men  Who’d never yet known grief.   With meat and wine their hearts were glad—Their tables richly spread.Till sudden came the radio’s cry:  “A bomb shall strike,” it said! Then silence fell like Yahweh’s tomb, […]

Philosophy Poems

A Blood-Soaked Lens

Our societal lens has become smudged, cracked, and broken. Through that lens, young boys go fight and die in the mud for our righteous country. “Heroes, all!” Through that lens, the noble flag waves majestically overhead while life leaves their broken and fragile bodies. Boys cough up blood and wilt like dying flowers before a […]