The "one-child policy" chickens are now coming home to roost. China's marriage-age young men now outnumber women of the same age by at least 10:9, with the ratio getting worse.

It is best you prevent my comments on your website and you never compare yourself to William F. Buckley Jr.

Thank you for showing me that.

John Klepper

Abusive male heirarchy in the Middle East assures that young men have few choices for a bride. And China's obvious self-genocide will do its work. And Western women have abandoned womanhood to become men. And Western men have become women.

I'm thinking that the ascendent cultures are the ones who will "go forth and multiply" but that would just be my bible-thumping, slack-jawed misedumacation, wouldn't it?

Abusive male heirarchy in the Middle East assures that young men have few choices for a bride.

Polygamy is another issue here. Say one man takes four wives, as is permitted in Islam. That means there are three less women available for three other men. If it only happens once in a while, no big deal. But if it's common across a society, and it is in the Middle East and South Asia, it's a ticking time bomb, and yes, the double entendre was intended. If you're not getting any on earth, why not sign up for 72 virgins? It makes about as much sense as anything else in Islam.

The poem obviously refers to Spartan infanticide.

It's a wonderful retelling. Is it your composition?

It is. Yes.

Well I'm no expert but it seems as good as anything C.P.Cavafy ever did. Thanks for that, Gerard.