Tag Archives: language

Fabulous, Difficult Individuals Aren’t ‘Divas’!

Posted on May 31, 2026 by JMN

“Every time you misuse ‘diva,’ Maria Callas smashes a wine glass in heaven.” (Christopher Muther, quoted here) (c) 2026 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved

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Posted Here This Day in 2018

Posted on May 28, 2026 by JMN

This is the SYSTEM the FATHERS built. These are the COURTS that rule in the SYSTEM the FATHERS built. These are the JUDGES who bench the COURTS that rule in the SYSTEM the FATHERS built. This is the PREZ who … Continue reading →

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Hail to Thee, Mouse-Like Bird! Wren nor Tit Thou Never Wert!

Posted on May 25, 2026 by JMN

Adam goofed. The bird called wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) is neither a wren nor a tit. A wrentit… is a secretive, sedentary, mouse-like bird endemic to North America, primarily found in western coastal regions of the U.S. and Baja California. It’s … Continue reading →

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Rae Armantrout Appeals to My Inner Toddler

Posted on May 21, 2026 by JMN

I want to say Rae Armantrout springs a cavalcade of huggable schwas on me, but rumpled or purple or bubbly would describe them, too. As long as they’re duple bumpy words. Joints grind likeshot brakes. Food ignitesin our stomachs. But … Continue reading →

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A-B-C-D-D-C-B-A

Posted on May 16, 2026 by JMN

every need fights to makeits voice heard, to befulfilled with a gentle touch (from K. LINES THAT AIM TO BE) K’s lines, encountered after I had spewed the below caustic grump at the demons of my own distractedness, furnished an … Continue reading →

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Mid-May on the Littoral

Posted on May 14, 2026 by JMN

It stupefies, it sickens, it infuriates.(Philip Roth on American life in the 1960s) I fear I’ve morphed into a carping nag.Crafting invective merely fêtes the boor,vomitous bilge the thing that feeds his root.It’s to priss froufrou-like at the galaof distress, … Continue reading →

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Messy Antic Bomb Bard

Posted on May 10, 2026 by JMN

I compel you in the name of my HIMARS!I compel you in the name of my ATACMS!I compel you in the name of my GENERALS,By the lashings of my terrible swift tongue! You want a red sea? I will give … Continue reading →

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Let Fly, Let Sing

Posted on May 4, 2026 by JMN

As a grammar nerd I have to comment: The hortatory “let” allows you and me to influence the behavior of a third person (Let him go fly a kite!), or a third person that of a fourth (Mary Ann said, … Continue reading →

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Wampeters Are Catnip for Goon Balloons

Posted on April 26, 2026 by JMN

Wampeters are catnip for goon balloons,Slippery as deer guts on a doorknob,Dark Davos in an amniotic greatcoat,Wampum coined from oligarchs’ spittoons.Treacly curls, puffed labia, eyeball moons —A lecherous lapsarian’s heartthrob!Wampeters are catnip for goon balloons,Triggery as the fingers of an … Continue reading →

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The Madman Helming the Solo Voyage

Posted on April 22, 2026 by JMN

When at sea / directionless / approach the / Unexpected(Cheyenne McMasters) The madman helming the solo voyagesteers by the seat of his cargo shorts.His jury-rigged bark breasts the swellsand he clutches the tiller with white knuckles. The madman waves to … Continue reading →

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