Music by Max Richter Misery and Mercy joined at the heart mercy embraced misery forgiven. From misery’s limb a feathered lark takes flight and rises lark’s song rises too. Be patient Be patience Be enduring comfort Be merciful Sing softly of mercy softly as lark’s feather resting in your palm Sing gestured language to others, […] The post ON HEARING “THE QUALITY OF MERCY” BY JMC DAVIS first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post ON HEARING “THE QUALITY OF MERCY” BY JMC DAVIS appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

At home he always wore Red-and-white striped boxers. Barefoot. Legs crossed, blue sapphire ring on his left pinky. Curly gray hairs sprang off his chest—I had never seen gray chest hairs before. My father was never vulnerable like that. In public Grandfather always wore khaki pants or shorts and a khaki shirt crowned with a […] The post GRANDFATHER, THE FISHERMAN BY MAUREEN MCDOLE first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post GRANDFATHER, THE FISHERMAN BY MAUREEN MCDOLE appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

We hurt each other over and over—no one is safe yet the word family keeps us sharing meals together. We are soaked to the bone with brutality and bitterness—drenched pieces of paper—our stories blur—unable to live our own narratives—our ink muddled by sea air—we are tears and tight lips from family secrets with no resolution. […] The post FAMILY BY MAUREEN MCDOLE first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post FAMILY BY MAUREEN MCDOLE appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

sat above the toilet in her black- and-white tile bathroom with its monogrammed hand towels. Today, the bottle shines on my dresser. I say good morning to Grandma as I fetch clothes for the day. Sometimes I lift the orange flower lid from the golden bottle Mariella Burani etched in black across its front, I […] The post MY GRANDMOTHER’S PERFUME BY MAUREEN MCDOLE first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post MY GRANDMOTHER’S PERFUME BY MAUREEN MCDOLE appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

My first dose of spirituality was Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School, and as a word person, the impact that name had on me as a child pummeled my imagination. Statues of Virgin Mary embraced me down every dusty hallway. I never really connected with God, The Father, but to have a woman lead my […] The post OUR LADY OF SORROWS BY MAUREEN MCDOLE first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post OUR LADY OF SORROWS BY MAUREEN MCDOLE appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

I helped Dad bathe three days before he died. “Help clean me up, before I reach my end.” I scrubbed his back; he could not see me cry. ‘ere I said goodbye to father, counsel, friend.       His naked body; vital, once so strong       Was now stooped: thin gaunt waspish, […] The post THE FINAL BATH. SONNET 5 BY DAVID L. STANLEY first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post THE FINAL BATH. SONNET 5 BY DAVID L. STANLEY appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

The dog; no nobler being breathes extent. Who else so full of love and courage raw? Doth need more proof of sapient ascent; the moment dog reached out with canine paw?       Lick your face when your visage is dirty?       Harken when the world is dark and bleak?     […] The post NO NOBLER BEING. SONNET NO. 92. BY DAVID L. STANLEY first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post NO NOBLER BEING. SONNET NO. 92. BY DAVID L. STANLEY appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

Two in the morning, words lose their meaning. Three in the morning, they are but raw sounds. Four in the morning, one should be dreaming, Five in the morning, when one comes unwound.       The hours of darkness let one’s mind wander.       Not always to the most cheerful of sights. […] The post BLEAK TIMES. SONNET 71 BY DAVID L. STANLEY first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post BLEAK TIMES. SONNET 71 BY DAVID L. STANLEY appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

The fading brain, that dims the mind’s clean lamp. The years pass by, and soot begrimes the glass. Features sag, yet ‘tis the inner working’s damp, that tells of toil, all one’s time amassed.       The feet, they soon enough begin to drag.       The arms, they lose their mighty strength. […] The post THE MIND INTACT. SONNET NO. 79 BY DAVID L. STANLEY first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post THE MIND INTACT. SONNET NO. 79 BY DAVID L. STANLEY appeared first on The RavensPerch ..read more

The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret (Minotaur, September 2023) is a charming locked-room mystery set in that era of the early–and historic–engine-powered passenger liners, as sail gives way to steam. Yet the transatlantic crossing retains full Victorian cachet and privileged-class luxury, with Nev March creating or capturing a range of colorful characters across the spectrum from disarrayed […] The post Review By Lance Mason: The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret By Nev March first appeared on The RavensPerch. The post Review By Lance Mason: The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret By Nev March appeared first on The R ..read more