The Most Embarrassed Young Father in All of Christendom - poem

 

Lawrence Hall, HSG

Mhall46184@aol.com

 

The Most Embarrassed Young Father in All of Christendom

 

I will go in to the Altar of God.

To God who giveth joy to my youth.

 

The Roman Missal, 1962

 

The processional had hardly ended

With each minister and server in place

Each knee for a moment respectfully bended

In acknowledgement of God’s gentle Grace

 

When came to our ears a frightening assault

Of sirens and horns, and then flashing lights

Beneath the sanctuary’s sacred vault

A catalogue of wild electronic frights

 

To the narthex door a father rushed

Awkwardly in the sight of God and man

His handsome manly face was deeply flushed

His son’s toy helicopter was clutched in his hands

 

He carried the noisy gadget far away -

(A true helicopter parent we may say!)

We delight in our children; for them we pray

And thank God for all families this Sabbath day

 

I will go in to the Altar of God.

To God who giveth youthful joy to old age.

 

-Parenting 1301

The Sunday Evening News in a Time of Elections - poem

  

Lawrence Hall, HSG

Mhall46184@aol.com

 

The Sunday Evening News in a Time of Elections

 

“Good things of day begin to droop and drowse”

 

-Macbeth III.ii.58

 

Suddenly the yellowing afternoon is still

For Indian Summer breezes have slipped away

While clouds of silent midges swirl against the sun

For reasons of nature known only to themselves

 

The treeline is blue as evening comes on

But the hayfields glow golden for a little while

Until Old Sol falls asleep at last

And the firstling stars come out to play

 

A rabbit shyly nibbles at the dewing grass –

The day is over; we have to let it pass

A Plumber's Assistant, a Nazi, and an Artificial Tree - poem

 

Lawrence Hall, HSG

Mhall46184@aol.com

 

A Plumber’s Assistant, a Nazi, and an Artificial Tree

 

Nazi Rally in Madison Square Garden, 10 February 1939

 

Isadore Greenbaum wanted to punch a Nazi

And so he charged – he didn’t get very far

And was beaten up by Real Americans (cough)

          (It took only four or five of ‘em)

And arrested by the New York City Police

 

One Nazi stopped kicking Greenbaum to set aright

An artificial tree that was about to fall

Which is a curiosity – what remnant of good

Was in that man that he kept a decoration in place?

 

Greenbaum is a hero in our nation’s history -

The tidy Nazi remains a mystery

I Hear America Whining - doggerel

  

Lawrence Hall, HSG

Mhall46184@aol.com

 

I Hear America Whining

 

The world’s fattest people, packin’ the pounds

Driving in to McDonald’s whenever struck by the mood

And then to the beer joint, drinking in rounds

While complaining about the price of food

Torah is Written with Flames - poem

 

Lawrence Hall, HSG

Mhall46184@aol.com

 

Torah is Written with Flames

 

English letters are as orderly as a battle line

But Hebrew letters are flames in their shining shapes

Even on a printed page they dance in light

And with Light comes Truth; you can see God in them

 

For Hebrew letters are the Burning Bush

The fires of Mount Horeb, the Temple sacrifice

The light of a Talmud scholar’s study lamp

The light of Torah upon civilization

 

We don’t know our letters as well as we should

But God has written them upon our hearts

Driving Home After Work: "Thus Spake Zararthustra" on the Radio - poem

  

Lawrence Hall, HSG

Mhall46184@aol.com

 

Driving Home After Work:

“Thus Spake Zarathustra” on the Radio

 

The first few bars must always remind us of

That space movie from the future long ago

With sophomores beating each other up

Or anyone trying to spell “Zarathustra “

 

Without looking it up; no spelling now

Driving into a drought-red setting sun

The vapours of chemicals, road tar, dust

Allergens drifting among the toxins

 

Poetry sorts meaning from chaos seeming -

Maybe not tonight (Sneeze!)

We Are All Children When We Attempt Haiku

 

Lawrence Hall, HSG

Mhall46184@aol.com

 

We are All Children When We Attempt Haiku

 

We all write Haiku

We’re not any good at it

But we honor the Shijin