Look—
crimson berries for songbirds,
writhing worms for red-breasted early birds,
swarming mice and astonished doves plucked from grass or sky
for swooping hawks,
carrion comforts
for vultures that soar the highest heavenward
scouring the earth
by consuming its filth.
Nothing is lost. Father feeds them.
—Gretchen Bartels-Ray
Image by P.Lindgren. Image Cropped.
What We’ve Been Reading—Autumn 2025
First Things staff share their most recent autumn reading recommendations.
Walker Percy’s Pilgrimage
People can get used to most anything. Even the abyss may be rendered tolerable—or, for that matter,…
Outgrowing Nostalgia in The Ballad of Wallis Island
No man is an island,” John Donne declares in his Devotions upon Emergent Occasions. The Ballad of…