Darn Dogwoods!

He did it again,

splashing snow on those

stunted beaming bushes who

then lord it over our

more stately

monochromes.

They’re spring

showoffs really––sniffing

at our more glorious

double-season changes

of superior

glowing

virescence.

Then they have

the audacity to litter

the forest floor

with all those

silly petals!

And don’t

weary me again

with tale their quad

blooms are reminiscent

of our Savior’s

cross;

stuntedness

a penalty for

having furnished

the wood He

was hung

upon.

Pine

told me on

good authority

it was oak. Those

snips would say

anything

to explain

away their beauty.

Ask them why in the fall

their ruddy rusted leaves

are setting for near

perfect

crimson berries!

I’d say

Somebody’s

playing favorites.

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.

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