Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
After the Passing of the Bishop of Rome
The first task of a bishop is to pray.
-Pope Francis, The closeness of bishops (20 September 2019) | Francis
I think I’m the only Catholic in all of Christendom
Who is not giving the Holy Spirit instructions
On whom to choose for the next Bishop of Rome
And, shut my mouth, I mean to keep it that way
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
What Do Little ‘Possums
Dream Of?
My resident ‘possum was curled up cozily
Deep down in a stump over by the fence
Asleep, and like a little dog or cat
A-twitching happily in his ‘possum dreams
Of dung-beetles and corpses of dead birds
Dog food left carelessly outside overnight
Whatever awful offal the cat yakked up -
A buffet of delicacies for well-brought-up marsupials
Crawly-bugs and poops and snails and rattlesnake tails
Those surely are what little ‘possums dream of
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
A Meditation Upon the Cross of Saint George
But on his brest a bloudie Crosse he bore,
The dear remembrance of his dying Lord
-The Faerie Queene, Book I, Canto I
A cross of red upon a banner white -
The Saviour’s blood that washes clean our souls
And leaves a stainless field of eternal peace
Where all may dwell in peace in God’s good time
No demon or dragon can alienate
This sacramental flag from the unity of man
No diminuitives or false forbiddings
Can deny to any its unfailing glory
And thus
Let every man be God’s true Red Crosse Knight
Protective, brave, and humble under one true Light
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
Not Waiting for Godot
We pass much of our lives in
waiting for things
Airplanes
Love
Christmas
Jobs
Answers
Mail
Spectrum Cable
You
Mostly, though, we wait for
packages from Amazon
Maybe this time there will be
happiness
Dispatches
for the Colonial Office
Did Anyone Think to Roll the Stone Back into
Place?
Easter Monday
Did cemetery
management offer a refund?
(High quality
burials don’t come cheap, you know)
And what happened
to the guards posted to that tomb?
Probably a disciplinary
write-up
Easter Tuesday
Upper Room Inc. sent
a bill for a missing Cup
(We can’t have
people pinching stuff, okay?)
At least it wasn’t
a fraternity party
And the taxes these
days; you wouldn’t believe!
Easter Wednesday
This stuff about
miracles just makes me scoff
(Say, boss, can I
have this next Sunday off?)
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
“Ladies…or Should I say Astronauts…”
-as spoken in reverence and awe on the CBC
Shriek! Cackle! Giggle! Omigod! Omigod! Omigod! I can’t believe what I’m seeing! Omidgod! Shriek! Cackle! Omigod! Omigod! Giggle! Omigod! I can’t believe what I’m seeing! Giggle! Omigod! Shriek! Cackle! Omigod! Omigod! Omigod! I can’t believe what I’m seeing! Giggle! Shriek! Cackle! Omigod! Omigod! Omigod! I can’t believe what I’m seeing! Shriek! Cackle! Omigod! Omigod! Omigod! I can’t believe what I’m seeing!
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
A Roadside Snapping Turtle in April
If you’d spent the winter
Sleeping deep down in the mud
You’d be snappish too!
