Year's End

A poem by Richard Wilbur. One can see why he remains one of the finest craftsmen in poetry. "Year's End" is a lovely marriage of form to substance.

My apologies for the silence around here of late. I've been socializing over at Patum Peperium, at their invitation, and I imagine I'll be putting up my more substantive posts there for a while.

PrisonAlert.com

Writing to Christians imprisoned for their faith can be a powerful way of encouraging the suffering and even shortening their prison stay. PrisonAlert.com is a wonderful resource in this regard. It is run by Voice of the Martyrs (founded by Richard Wurmbrandt, who survived torture under the Nazis), and provides information about Christians around the world who have been arrested for practicing their faith, and how to write them. It even provides a handy translation device to ensure your words will be understood by the prisoners (many who are in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East). Although it's a Protestant organization, they do occasionally give news of Catholics imprisoned for their faith.