Last Word | May 31st, 2020
by Marie Hoff
We greet each other very carefully,
Like porcupines getting ready to make love.
Arms in big virtual, barrel hugs,
Lots of embarrassed joking and choking
Hoping we don’t look as foolish as we feel.
Hope rises and falls, and rises again
Like the panting of a small injured bird,
testing Ms. Dickinson’s thesis, that it
Never stops singing, no matter what.
Funny things happen: suddenly millions of people
Need millions of rolls of toilet paper: is this an
epidemic of diarrhea or what. . .?
Ugly things happen: an old angry man
Coughs in the faces of store clerks
And declares it a joke.
Over-liberty-drunk Americans proclaim
Their god-given right not to care
About their neighbors, punctuating their rhetoric
With their only working adjective::
Bullshit.
Then some go mad on religion and defiantly need to
congregate in large crowds as never before:
Boom, Boom, Boom-m-de-Boom, Boom– the savages are
dancing, let’s purge the devils out. Some for sure are
holier- than –thou.
Like J. Alfred Prufrock we cry “ashes, ashes”, as we
watch body-bags carried out from NYC hospitals, too
many even to burn or bury: the horror the horror of it
all. Let us indeed weep for our sins.
The jar of orange marmalade spews lies from its
mouth, while toadies fear to speak. CNN sizzles with
frantic sputtering to refute, and the band plays on
while the iceburg rises inexorably. The truth will set
you free says Jesus, but Pilate says “what is truth”.
In the land of the blind, there are no one-eyed men!
Finally, movie stars, sports heroes, and fat politicians
fall silent and inept; while real heroes (–-love that Dr.
Fauchi)--rise to confront the tiny enemy -- the only
weapons that work: science and love, real love that is
willing to die so that others may live. Amen, Amen,
Amen . Yes, Truth and Love will set us free.
[MDH, 4-14-2020]
June 19th 2025
June 19th 2025
April 27th 2025
April 17th 2025
February 28th 2025
_(1)__293px-wide.jpg)
__293px-wide.jpg)
__293px-wide.jpg)
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comDairy Queen restaurants across the country will raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals during Miracle Treat Day on Thursday, July 31. At least one dollar from every Blizzard…
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comFM Pride Week returns to the Fargo-Moorhead metro August 3-10. A snapshot of events are listed below. Discover event descriptions and locations as well as volunteer opportunities online at…
August 28, 6-8 p.m.Plains Art Museum, 704 1st Ave. N., Fargo See this major exhibition firsthand and hear about Rimer Cardillo’s work from the artist himself at 7 p.m. Cardillo is an internationally renowned multidisciplinary…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com I’m going to go ahead and say it. I have trust issues with a lot of things and artificial intelligence (AI) is one of them. Yes, it’s a tool that can sit shotgun and make your everyday tasks…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comTrump: the new man for all seasonsFive hundred years ago, Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More of England refused to write a letter to Pope Clement VII of the Roman Catholic Church asking that he annul…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com There seems to be a renaissance in Italian restaurants in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area. It’s a welcome change from just sporting an Olive Garden as a lone option. No offense to Marilyn Hagerty’s…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Bluegrass is a genre of music that is often associated with the American South. Many people would express incredulity at being told there is a thriving bluegrass and folk music community…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com There are so many memorable moments in the short life of musician Jeff Buckley that filmmaker Amy J. Berg could easily have gotten lost in an endless highlight reel. The veteran documentarian,…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com 2025 marks three years of the Annual Vergas Area Backroads Art Crawl. The art crawl is sponsored by the Vergas Arts Club. The Arts Club also happens to be part of the Vegas Community Club and both…
Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comPenn & Teller are returning to their roots. The legendary magic and comedy duo will appear on the Crown Stage at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota, where they first…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By Dr. Marc Sapir, MD, MPHjessica@pellienpublicrelations.com Across America, families are quietly struggling with a rising challenge: how to care for aging parents, siblings, grandparents, neighbors and friends. Most seniors want…
By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…
By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.com Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very…