We stream on color: blue, aquamarine,
dove grey. To look straight down gives vertigo,
but farther out the surface seems serene,
both concentration and reflective flow.
Horizons offer us expanse”confine
us, also. Every wavelet, though unique,
resembles all. The latitudes decline;
there’s almost no dusk, southward. In a week,
we’ll sail past the equator; Capricorn
lies next. ”Around us, vast capacity,
dark mouths of nothingness! The old god’s horn
still sounds somewhere, perhaps, beneath the sea.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
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