Lawrence Hall, HSG
Cleaning a Metaphorical Rifle
The Detachable Magazine Holds Ten Lines
There is no such thing as an unloaded
word
And once a word has left the barrel it’s
gone
You cannot call it back – were you
sure of your aim?
Friday, September 6, 2024
Cleaning a Metaphorical Rifle - short poem
Draft Beer, Not Students - poem
Lawrence Hall, HSG
Draft Beer, Not Students
A slogan from the 1960s
In illo tempore:
A young man swaggers across the ‘versity quad
Smoking a Marlboro or affecting a pipe
‘Way cool in his sports coat and turtleneck
Shakespeare or physics held loosely in his hand
A young woman passes through the ‘versity quad
Smoking a Parliament or checking her mirror
‘Way cool in her pencil skirt and layered look
Shakespeare or physics held closely to her heart
Sed in tempore nostro:
Pronouns galumph across the ‘versity squad
One fist raised in hate, the other clutching a glowing box
Thursday, September 5, 2024
You are not a Banana - poem
Lawrence Hall, HSG
You are not a Banana
Sticker Not, Lest Ye be Stickered
A banana bears a sticker to say it is
a banana
(The banana, that is, not the paper sticker)
Even though a banana is obviously a
banana
(It has a yellow skin and some
squashy stuff inside)
If we take the banana sticker from
the banana
And stick the ticker to a tomato
The tomato is not then a banana
However much someone claims it so
Sticking sticky stickers to humans is
also wrong
A man is himself; a woman is herself
If we stick a sticky sticker to a
human
As a joke, well, that’s just a bit of
fun
But if as a judgement then we are false
witnesses
Stickers, nothing but stickers,
excuses
Failures of intellect, truth, and caritas
Stickers are two-dimensional; they
have no depth
Stickers are useless even on bananas
And our brothers and sisters are not
bananas
Barefootin' Among Watermelons on a Summer Afternoon - poem
Lawrence Hall, HSG
Barefootin’ Among Watermelons on a Summer Afternoon
For J. W., His Dad, and His Uncle Brandon
J. W. is blessed with family and purpose and love
Guided study and chores and structured faith
Happy barefootin’ days among the watermelons
A fishing pole and buzzing-bee summer afternoons
Sunday, September 1, 2024
Feeding the Squirrels and Birds at Dawn - very short poem
Lawrence Hall, HSG
Feeding the Squirrels and Birds at Dawn
A squirrel sits upon a little mound
of corn
And faces the east with its nimble forepaws
Clasped gently together as if in
prayer
Friday, August 30, 2024
The Grave Robber of Fifth Avenue - poem
Lawrence Hall, HSG
The Grave Robber of Fifth Avenue
Unferth postures upon the ashes of warriors
The warriors he has despised all his wretched life
Because he is unworthy to be one of them
Warring with only his mouth and never a spear
He mocks their wounds, their missing limbs, their graves
He steals their widows and orphans for himself
As ornaments to his manic caperings
While arrogating honors he could never win
But when the Dragon comes…
But when the Dragon comes, lashing its tail
Unferth will be ghosted away as a howling wail
Wednesday, August 28, 2024
J. Alfred Prufrock and the Giant Peach - not really a poem, just three lines of blank verse being frivolous
Lawrence Hall, HSG
J. Alfred Prufrock and the Giant Peach
“Do I dare to eat a peach?” He asked
“Yes, yes. just eat the stupid peach
and stop
Banging on about it,” I replied
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