Dark Sentiments Season 15 — Day 6: Dudley’s Shop

| October 6, 2024

It is a not uncommon experience among Writers to feel as though the words being put upon the page are being dictated from somewhere else. So it is with tonight’s Dark Sentiment. A nonsense poem of sorts, Dudley’s Shop was written in a state of flow, exactly as you see it here, and while it […]

Dark Sentiments Season 15 — Day 5: A Man Of His Times

| October 5, 2024

“All this to bring us here tonight where no man is of a piece, unless that’s all you’ve left of him.” ~ Dark Sentiments Season 15 — Day 2: Authority With your blood clearly still up from last night’s Sword Dance, I would be remiss in abandoning the saga of Donald McBane whose early experiments […]

Dark Sentiments Season 15 — Day 4: Sword Dance

| October 4, 2024

Tonight’s Dark Sentiment grew out of two inspirations. This oft quoted witticism: “Never give a sword to a man who can’t dance.” ~ Celtic Proverb And the other, the life of Scottish soldier, prize fighter, Swordmaster, brothel keeper, notorious duellist, and all around self-made sonofabitch, Donald McBane (1664 – 12 April 1732), author of The […]

Dark Sentiments Season 15 — Day 3: Saddle Up

| October 3, 2024

“Understanding and being able to recognize and avoid logical fallacies is helpful in everything you do, whether it’s an argument, not being fooled by advertisements or politicians, choosing a good teacher who teaches from a solid foundation, or recognizing whether what you are being taught is what you need to learn.” ~ Maestro Adam Crown, […]

Dark Sentiments Season 15 — Day 2: Authority

| October 2, 2024

There are those who live their lives, and would judge all others, by standards excremental (to paraphrase the Esteemed and Right Honourable Master At Arms James A. Keating). Their mettle never tested, forever self-excused by the acts of others, their only measure of strength is relative to how far an audience can be drawn to […]

Dark Sentiments Season 15 — Day 1: No Apologies

| October 1, 2024

Welcome back to our fireside, goode and weary Pilgrim, and this 15th Season of Dark Sentiments. Here, by the grim and unflinching Watchstone, we can take our ease, speak freely, and match observations with the utterances of those who would proclaim laws to have it otherwise. We don’t cater to weakness here, nor do we […]

Songbirds

| August 10, 2024

Songbirds By LFM When you think of “songbirds” and sweet melodies they make, What you’re about to learn will seem a terrible mistake, But Truth is Truth, however harsh and earthy be the song, Uncaring of opinions where things do and don’t belong. I speak, of course, of Crows, long may they flock and croak […]

This Vegetative State

| July 28, 2024

This Vegetative State By LFM A plant may heal, a plant may kill, ‘Tis neither good nor evil. And left alone in sweet repose Will rarely cause upheaval. Each has its Way along its course As Nature would decree it, And any good or evil there Takes human eyes to see it. Bent one way […]

In Ferro Veritas — Know Your Place

| June 30, 2024

I would like you to read the following passage, consider if it is something that could be said of you, and if not then whether you need to broaden your horizons by paying more attention: Some of the greatest Teachers I’ve ever had lived under rotting logs, swarmed me out of a half buried and […]

In Ferro Veritas — And Don’t You Forget It

| June 23, 2024

For those of you who don’t recognize the Latin phrase in today’s title, I will point you to my explanatory article A Bit About In Ferro Veritas which was published here more than a decade ago as part of a series that you can peruse by clicking here. Let that stand as an introduction to […]