Monday Morning Musings

Of Hammers, Bells, and Light

“Well, I got a hammer
And I got a bell
And I got a song to sing
All over this land
It’s the hammer of justice
It’s the bell of freedom
It’s the song about love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land.”
–Pete Seeger, “If I had a Hammer” (1949)

“Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean”
–William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, “Prologue”

From fogged tongues
of slate and ash, now come

color-dyed clouds
after the brilliant breath of blue,

come merry yellow, butter-rich,
and shades of chartreuse, lime, moss

to heal the heart
of winter-darkness,

of hammered dread
and endless speculation,

of destruction–

come birds in rounds
of song, and arrows of flight

that pierce the sky
with joy, and love, not the rage-skein

of human warbirds
metal winged, smashing eggs

and life,
laying only blight,

cast off unclean hands,
rinse hearts and psyche

of disapproving clucks
and shadows calling the shots,

open the gates

to the possibility of flower song,

ring the bells in joyous tintinnabulation
for spring’s light is a gift, a celebration.

Hello again! I will be happy when I don’t wake every day wondering what horror happened overnight. That anyone can defend the deteriorating and demented felon, rapist, probable pedophile is beyond me. And I really do blame the people who voted for him. How could you not know what he is—and he’s so much worse now. So, you didn’t like the price of eggs?! I don’t know where this will end, but I’m afraid it might get worse before it gets better.

And yet, and yet, and yet—it’s spring. And life goes on.

Last Monday, we were under a tornado watch for much of the day. Then the temperature dropped, we had some windy and cold days. Then the sun was in and out of the clouds, we saw some beautiful blue skies, the daffodils started blooming, and now it’s rainy and dreary again. Oh, March!

We had another busy week—mostly good.

On Thursday night, the virtual session of one of the book clubs I’m in met for a discussion of Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. It was a small group, but a lively discussion. One person hated the book, several were disappointed, and then some liked it. I didn’t love it, as I expected to. I know I read it decades before. I love the concept of the evil carnival and the time-merry-go-round, and Bradbury’s writing. Overall, I was glad to reread it, but the book does seem dated now. My husband thoroughly enjoyed re-reading the book. I’m happy to see him reading novels again.

I very much enjoyed Skylark and My Name is Emilia Del Valle. I finished both, and now I am zipping through The Correspondent, for an April Blue Cork Book Club meeting. It’s hard to put down!

On Saturday, we returned to the Arden Theatre in Philadelphia. (They have two theaters in the building.) This time to see Romeo and Juliet. My husband and I both thought it was an excellent production. Both Romeo and Juliet seemed like the young teens they were, caught up in the blood feuds and hatred of their elders. The costumes were a mix of current and period styles. The staging was very well done. Some actors spoke from up in the audience—including right next to us—and Juliet’s balcony was high in another aisle. Then we went back to Old City Vino—because why not? We’re happy to see they’re doing so well. And we loved this wine.

On Sunday morning, we had to make a call to the plumbers to fix our toilet. We only have one, so it was an emergency. We were very fortunate that he was able to come right out, and we were still able to get to our usual Sunday morning protest. This time they had a small brass band, which was fun.

For some reason, my family decided it was Sunday call Merril day—which was a lovely surprise. I heard from my sister-in-law, then older child FaceTimed me with granddaughter Sylvia, then later that night my niece called me because she read some beautiful (and surprising) cards my dad had sent to my deceased sister, her mother.

I made us pizza to eat while we watched the Peaky Blinders movie. (I froze two for another time.) I finished our wine from Old City Vino, while my husband drank a “special” beer. Since it’s just come out, I won’t say much about the movie. I liked it, but probably not as much as the series. But Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby—well, I could watch him all day. Tommy Shelby is not a good man, but he’s such a compelling one, especially made so by Murphy. Some of the characters from the series were there, and some were not. As usual, the cinematography was great and so was the music.

Meanwhile, this senseless, unnecessary war drags on. There was NO REASON for this war, and dumpty has no clue. As well as oil, fertilizer production has also been slowed or stopped by the war, so global food supplies may be affected. The felon is still demanding that the draconian SAVE Act be passed, in another attempt to disenfranchise voters. And yes, we are still waiting for the Epstein files and numerous Epstein revelations.

(Here is today’s letter from Heather Cox Richardson. She is going to be talking with Timothy Snyder on Wednesday. Check her YouTube page, where you can find all of her talks.)

Keep writing and calling your Congress people. Call out the lies. Tell your friends what is going on.

No Kings, Saturday, March 28, 2026—that’s this week! Find a No Kings event near you here!

Look for the helpers and be one if you can.