Lawrence Hall, HSG
A Lucky Dachshund’s Foot
Luna-Dog sat with a stick
in her jaws
The sort of thing a little
dachshund gnaws
(chewing everything is one
of a puppy’s laws)
But a look in her eyes
gave me some pause –
It wasn’t a stick; it was
one of a bunny’s paws!
Yuck.
Time for church.
-The End-
Lawrence Hall, HSG
Methinks I Have Astronomy
Cf. Shakespeare, Sonnet 14
Monday, 8 April 2024
Methinks I have astronomy; it must be so:
Today the moon eclipsed the jovial sun
And through the clouds and rain a darkness ruled
But with my little car’s headlights I backed it down
Forswearing lenses I watched the world instead
The springtime greens darkening almost to grey
And boiling clouds darkening almost to black
And from the thunder rain wreaking rivulets
Methinks I have astronomy; it must be so:
I see beyond this darkness your eternal glow
Lawrence Hall, HSG
But Who Else Could You Be?
Cf. Shakespeare, Sonnet 13
O that I were myself? Of
course I am
Who else could I possibly want
to be?
No one rocks a morning
mirror like me
(and probably no one wants
to do so)
My beloved mother said I
was special
(I think that was a
compliment – maybe?)
And you’re pretty nifty
yourself, you know -
I like the cut of your
metaphorical jib
And we are ourselves, of
course we are -
Eccentrics together, following
a star!
Lawrence Hall, HSG
An Afternoon LITE
A FINE PILSNER BEER Walk
Along Beer Can
Road and County Dump Extension
Dewberries LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER sassafras seedlings LITE
A FINE PILSNER BEER Virginia creeper LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER pine cones LITE A
FINE PILSNER BEER crumbling oak leaves from last summer LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER winds sighing in the
pine tops LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER a little plum tree LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER
Canada goldenrod LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER poplar LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER swamp
oak LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER mourning doves LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER slanting
evening sunlight LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER Chickasaw plum LITE A FINE PILSNER
BEER nightshade LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER red spider lilies LITE A FINE PILSNER
BEER a skink bluebonnets LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER clouds in the west LITE A
FINE PILSNER BEER spiderwort LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER a long eared rabbit
loping across the road LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER sorrel LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER
a feather from a bluebird LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER waving field grasses LITE A
FINE PILSNER BEER the neighbor’s cows browsing in peace LITE A FINE PILSNER
BEER a crane flying up from a pond LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER crows fussing at me
from the woods LITE A FINE PILSNER BEER…
Lawrence Hall, HSG
So Fast Thou Grow’st
Cf. Shakespeare, Sonnet 11
I put something out there in the universe…
-Chris-in-the-Morning, Northern Exposure
You will make something beautiful in any event
Even if only a silly ceramic frog
Holding a perfectly pointless umbrella
Upon the tree-stump where you feed the birds
Your silly ceramic frog will someday break
The stump will rot away into the earth
The birds will live through their generations
And you will be but whisperings in the wind
But you make life beautiful in any event:
It is a forever that you put into the universe
Lawrence Hall, HSG
Make Thee Another Self
Cf. Shakespeare, Sonnet 10
I thought I heard you saying it was a pity...I never had any
children. But you're wrong. I have. Thousands of them. Thousands of them...and
all boys.
-Mr. Chips in Goodbye, Mr. Chips
After the Order of Saint
Joseph, all men are fathers
Commanded by God to
protect all children
Permitted by God to
protect all children
Empowered by God to
protect all children
After the Order of Saint
Joseph, all men are teachers
With fishin’ rod and book and
whittlin’ knife
With garden and plow and fixing
what needs to be fixed
With clean and manly speech,
example, and work
All men have children,
thousands of them, because
After the Order of Saint
Joseph, all men are fathers
Lawrence Hall, HSG
Are We All Prisoners of War?
My great-grandfather was a tailor, they say
Stern of mien, impeccable in his dress
I have one picture of him, from 1912
White-bearded, thin, resting on the family porch
My great-grandfather was made a prisoner of war
At Sailor’s Creek, for he had found the wrong side
And the government found his children for other wars
The Aisne in 1918, Zwickau in 1945, the Vam Co Tay in 1970
There are few tailors now, but lots of soldiers -
Maybe we are all prisoners of war
Cf. Sailor’s Creek / Sayler’s Creek / Saylor’s Creek, 6 April 1865.
