A man of five talents
Turned them to ten
His Master called
Home this faithful man
To share His joy.
God’s own child, valiant
‘Midst other men
Crushed ‘neath fallen walls
By faith saved, span
Of life measured by the holy cross
He upon whom God smiled,
Is called home,
Holy deacon,
Life given, veritable beacon
For us along life’s way.
A man of great heart, styled
Larger than life; faults none to atone
Body ever weakened,
…..
South Sudan
Forsaken land
Mired in uncivil war
As if war is ever civil
The beast in man
Is found across the span
Of time.
What can be said
Of power hunger
Driving leaders mad––
Killing, pillaging great numbers
Leaving in their wake
Thousands, millions dead
Or fled.
From Cain and all his ilk
Who caused their sons
To take up arms to take a throne
Whose dulcet deceiving tone
(words and voices soft as silk)
To modern…..
With luck and some steady application I am getting nearer to the next edition of my poetry, The title is Dancing for Joy, drawing from a few sources, but clearly referencing Pope Francis’ approach to the world in general and faith in particular. Some of my poems are partisan but I hope not polemical. The ssections I will address are: first, Every days joy of living; second; Nature’s Joy; Third, Our Deepest Joy, Next, Seeking Joy and last, Joy in Friends…..
Shared Tragedy This is the day he said to love, love, love, love to love, love, love. This is the day we say to mourn, to mourn, to grieve to mourn our dead. This is the day when in our grief we seek the soul’s relief through endless love. This is the day to take up arms arms to embrace even those who would harm. Shared Love Having grieved and mourned we seek sane solutions ways to forestall all acts…..
Hamilton, the Show
Extraordinaire! The musical without compare Details the part Alexander played and how he And others the foundation laid for our times today But like Shakespeare past, all in rhyme, with clever twists
Who but Lin might envision a play with the play on words That hip-hop affords, a tragedy, heroic drama. Comedy in one With a mad King and a president, both named George? And a man with whom to reckon, named Aaron Burr, sir.
Like time…..
A new book is in the works and I would love to have some feedback. Tentatively I am calling it Communicate, and pinning it to a poem of the same name:
Communicate
Communicate.
That’s what we try to do
share
bare your soul to
all who care to see
but carefully
for fragile contents
hide within.
All too often
the packaging
seems inappropriate
rough, brusque,
when in reality
fear of discovery
creates a sham
not “who I am.”
…..
Reacting, reflecting on the world around me is part of the poetic urge. If I look at the hillside, burning with autumn hues, words form in my mind, then take shape on paper (or more likely, the screen). Seeing a full moon, anticipating an eclipse shrouded by rain clouds on an October night––what comes to mind? Perhaps hobgoblins, perhaps black cats, (who knows?) for a poem often shapes itself independent of the initial thought.
The crisp air of autumn,…..
When life becomes too confused or complicated for meditative time, it’s probably when I most need to pull back, and for a variety of reasons cannot. Then, come dry spells. For me that means I have lost contact with the cascade of thoughts or observations that usually catapult like a waterfall from sub-conscious to conscious. No matter that I carry about a small pad to jot down the occasional word or phrase that may spark a poem. The thought lies like…..
“Favorite and influential poets in my mind” is to be the subject of the next few blogs I post, and who can I cite as my very favorite poet? Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. If I were to phrase my memories in the language of some of my (former) students, it would be that I grew up a bit of a “dork.” Perhaps I misuse the word, but I certainly didn’t fit into the category of popular. The word that now…..
Well, joining the blogosphere propels me into a new experience that I hope to share with you. Sometimes people ask, “Where does a poem come from?” For me, it frequently seems to come full blown, needing only shape and words, but with the theme whole and entire. At other times it is a decision that I wish to write on a particular topic, usually inspired by an event either personal or “borrowed.” It may be the experience of a friend,…..
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