Slow, old python of my Everglades,
he astutely picks where he invades:
data dumps; the depths of lower courts;
knotted weeds in annual reports.
Rounded figures fail to square; a will
screws the worthy with a codicil.
Minds don’t meet as handshake deals unravel.
Lawyered butchers walk; accountants cavil.
Hear him honing clauses. Hear his hiss
polish premises and promises.
Check what he has brushed.
Sly visits leave
parasites no handlers perceive:
propositions snaking through the skin
set to spawn in pustules of fresh sin.
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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