The morning fog obscures the corporate towers,
shrouds the shorn palms, slips through the glaucous boughs
of eucalyptus, dampening the hours
when call girls sleep and dealers start to rouse.
Pacific in its provenance, it covers
unsheltered youths, cops on their crooked beat,
the cardboard beds of uncommitted lovers
too crazed and poor for anyone to treat.
When will the sun burn through this fog, expose
syringes floating on advancing seas,
the strung-out billboard starlets in repose,
the citrus flames of oil refineries?
When will we view the wide Cahuenga Pass,
its freeway shoulders glittering with glass?
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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