Tuesday, August 11, 2026
The Girl with the Pearl Nose Ring - a poor attempt at senryu
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia
Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
The Girl with the
Pearl Nose Ring
Not
from Vermeer
“Girls purty as me
Shouldn’t have to work for a livin’
That’s what men are for”
Sunday, August 9, 2026
That Famous Participation Trophy - poem
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
That Famous Participation Trophy
One hears of that participation trophy-trope
A theme, a meme, mostly by cranky old men
Withered gaffer-gossips condemning the young
For being rewarded simply for showing up
Like Santa Claus it might be a good idea
I still listen for sleigh bells every Christmas
And yet – I have never seen a participation trophy
If you find one, call; you have my number
And, speaking of unearned rewards,
We’re presented a trophy each morning, just for fun
When God gives each of us a golden sun!
For the Feast of Saint Lawrence, 10 August 2026 - doggerel
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
For the Feast of Saint Lawrence
Today is the Feast of Saint Lawrence
His faith and martyrdom we already knew
We remember his death with a sense of abhorrence -
When Biologists Fall in Love - poem
Lawrence
Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
When Biologists Fall in Love
There
are many things that a frog doesn’t know:
That
he is a biological marker
That
he doesn’t sing as well as Chevalier
That
green is not appropriate evening wear
But
he knows the bugs are tasty on my window screen
That
he feels froggy this warm summer night
That
he sings well enough for m’lady frog
That
she admires him in his cool green coat
And
now the stars are brighter and the evening is darker:
Will
you be my sweet biological marker?
Happy Little Raindrops for Children and Liberal Arts Graduates - poem
Lawrence
Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
Happy Little Raindrops for Children and Liberal Arts
Graduates
Do
you suppose a raindrop laughs as it falls?
Water
vapor floating in the sky
Condenses
one little molecule at a time
Wrapping
around a particle of dust
Can
you say, “condensation nuclei?”
And
why would you?
And
all these tiny droplets join to form
A larger
droplet now too heavy for the air
Which
playfully sends it sailing back to earth
Where
it seeks for a safe place to land
“Hooray!”
it cries as down-down-down it goes
To
land at last upon your little nose!
Saturday, August 8, 2026
All My Neat School Stuff for the First Day of Term - poem
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
All My Neat School Stuff for the First Day of Term
The Trapper Keeper is a fun retro thing
I wonder if anyone else will have one
I might start a trend with this ‘way-back look
I wonder if that cute girl will notice me
This new graphing calculator is the best
I like the smell of new pencils and paper
And I’m going to rock the opening assembly
In my happenin’ new light hoodie and baggy jeans
There won’t be a second day, so on the first
Which of my daddy’s guns should I pack?
Thursday, August 6, 2026
You're Okay, Buddy; You're Gonna be Okay - poem
Lawrence
Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
You’re Okay, Buddy; You're Gonna be Okay
An
encouraging smile is a battle dressing
We apply
to the wounds of others
A cigarette
while waiting for the dust-off
Within
a collapsing perimeter
You’re
okay, buddy; you're gonna be okay
I’m
not sure I believe in God anymore
It’s
okay, buddy; He believes in you
Oh,
God, it hurts; why does He hurt me like this
I
need a cigarette / I gave you one
You’re
okay, buddy; you're gonna be okay
It’s
so loud; everything’s loud; make it stop
I
can’t breathe; why can’t I breathe…oh, God
You’re
okay, buddy
You're gonna be
Okay…
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Three Little Friends Spent the Day Playing in my Garden - a poor attempt at Haiku
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
Three Little Friends Who Spent the Day Playing in my Garden
Good Night, Brother ‘Possum
Dear Brother ‘Possum
Take supper at the cats’ bowl
Then waddle to bed
(Opossums are generally nocturnal, but this fuzzy little guy loves the sunny hours.)
Good Night, Sister Bee
You love my flowers
You work among them all day
At dusk fly away
Good Night, Sister Butterfly
You were up early
Floating among the zinnias
See you tomorrow!
Tuesday, August 4, 2026
I Met a Girl in Newfoundland - poem
Lawrence
Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
I Met a Girl in Newfoundland
‘Twas
in St. John’s on a cold and rainy day
Because
most days in St. John’s are rainy and cold
Even
in July, when I met a girl clerking in a store
Shivering
in a parka as she rang up my purchases
“Oh,
it’s not all that cold…” I began to jest
When
I saw that she was almost in tears
“I’ve
never been warm in my life,” she sighed
“I’ve
never been off this island
And
I’ve never been warm”
This is Not About a Casual Acquaintance Named Mohammed - poem
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
This is not About a Casual Acquaintance Named Mohammed
I really like him, and I would like to ask him
Why some of his co-religionists hate Jews
But we’re not really friends, and so I won’t
Because he might ask me about the Inquisition
Or about my great-grandfather, taken prisoner
At Saylor’s Creek (he was on the wrong side, you see)
A docent at Grand Pre’ asked me about my Acadian ancestors
“Not mine” I said; “mine would have been wearing red coats”
“Well,” she replied wryly, “Someone had to.”
But maybe these things won’t always be so
Saturday, August 1, 2026
Remember the Sabbath - Praying with the Reicheskirche
Lawrence
Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
Remember the Sabbath – Praying with the Reicheskirche
Bombs
across the sea
Still
winning the hearts and minds
Of all
the nations
Don't Phone Your Mom - poem
Lawrence
Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
Don’t Phone Your Mom
US military may require some troops
in Mideast to surrender cell phones, sources say
The
Admiralissimo has ruled and rendered
That
since our forces are low on ammunition
Our
soldiers’ phones might soon be surrendered
Which
will bring our victory to fruition
So
fight without those unsupplied supplies
The
Commies stole through your Apple phone
It’s
medals for us officers when an enlisted dies
Now
attack with just your testosterone!
No
phone will record the truth the moment you splatter -
Thank
you for your attention to this matter
Hearts and Minds and Books Open to the Autumn Air - poem
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
Hearts and Minds and Books Open to the Autumn Air
The Dreaming Water Towers of State University
“In the quad, where we lay our scene…”
-As Shakespeare did not say
Math students whose favorite dessert was always pi
Engineering students with leather scabbards at their belts
Ready to charge into battle with their Kueffel and Essers
Against heretics who believed in “It’s close enough”
Historians who made the acorns drop
With their thunderous defenses of Pirenne
And measured Turner’s western frontier thesis
Against the Czarist empire’s eastern lands
English majors (and maybe French lieutenants)
Free-versifiers arguing against disciplined meter
The next Rod Mckuen with his guitar
Biologists considering an ant’s nutritional needs
And hearts and minds and books, books everywhere -
All open to thought and the autumn air
It wasn’t that dreamy; I worked the night shift seven nights each week and often double shifts on the weekends in order to live and study, and so was constantly tired. But there were indeed golden moments…
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