Moving slowly among her solemn friends,
she speaks of him in the present tense.
Hail flays the roof, its jagged sound immense,
but only for a minute. Anger spends
so quickly, unlike grief. Now rain
trickles through the eaves as down a drain—
minuscule, unceasing. Soon
the darkened windows will reflect
this room, encase if not protect
faint faces from the night. A loon
on the bright but muted television floats
across an evening pond. She knows
its spiraled wailing call that goes
and goes, its nimble dive when a boat
drifts in too close. She sighs. Isn’t it late?
All afternoon her feet have ached,
her leather pumps spattered with mud.
Finally, in unbroken pairs, her guests
depart with “stay strong, get some rest.”
The rain maintains its minor flood.
—Peter Vertacnik
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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