As the first annual FtBConscience wraps up, it astonishes me to note that my first FtB post went up two years ago today. As I said last year, I thank Ed and PZ for creating this place and populating it with these people. And I especially thank my readers and commenters for helping feed my addiction. I am gathering up verses in preparation for putting another book out, and it astonishes me to find literally hundreds of verses I don’t really remember writing, and some of them really aren’t half bad (others, of course, are astonishingly bad).

From two years ago, my first FtB post:

The gods have taken many guises;
Fathers, mothers, monsters, friends,
Tricksters bent on bold surprises
Schemers bent on selfish ends
That’s how we’ve known ‘em.

We’ve done our best to try to please ,
To understand as best we could;
For eons we had bent our knees;
Then questioned gods, then boldly stood,
And now, outgrown ‘em.

I took this photo at the Temple of Isis at Dion, in the shadow of Mount Olympus.   Long-time readers with photographic memories might remember me using it once before.  It must have been a beautiful temple; it certainly is a beautiful swamp.