Words & Music

by Mike Power

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  • Responsibilities

    “In dreams begins responsibility.“  Old Play Pardon, old fathers, if you still remainSomewhere in ear-shot for the story’s end,  Old Dublin merchant “free of ten and four”Or trading out of Galway into Spain;  And country scholar, Robert Emmet’s friend,A hundred-year-old memory to the poor;  Traders or soldiers who have left me bloodThat has not passed… Read more

  • God’s Alphabet

    God knew what he was doing when he made clouds. He must’ve gotten confused sometime after dogs and forests because by the time he got to humans he was seriously off the reservation. Then came killing – a mistake he admitted in his Ten Commandments. When he got to whiskey and wine he threw up… Read more

  • Killer

    The blade was inserted with such precision that even its victim had to know he was not being killed by some roughneck thug. This killer was an artist. If the last of his life’s juices weren’t spurting on the pavement the victim would have been better able to appreciate the training it took to develop… Read more

  • Adorable

      As far as her boyfriend was concerned, she was too shy for a woman of such intelligence and beauty. An awkward stage is understandable but it was hard to imagine that experience hadn’t exposed her to enough adulation to draw her from her shell. Unless it was the adoration that made her uncomfortable. “If… Read more

  • The Price I Pay

      Billy Bragg is a songwriter who follows in the footsteps of giants like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and Phil Ochs. Many of his songs dive into the guts of the working class, the poor, and the victims of capitalism, racism, and war.   This isn’t one of those songs. He’s also a genius… Read more

  • On This Day – The Sutton Hoo Helmet

    On this day in 1939, over 500 fragments of a helmet were discovered on the property of an English woman named Edith Pretty who had hired archeologists to excavate 18 burial mounds located on her property.   The pieces were originally reconstructed in 1946 and put on display in the British Museum. In recognition of… Read more