Lawrence
Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
Barbie’s Slide
Rule
for VB
I will believe in progress when Mattel
Produces for little children a working slide rule
In Barbie pink
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
“Go Forth and Be Surprised”
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The dismissal from Mass as it was
As it should be
As it will be again
(Your scribbler mutters “Harrumph!” at this point
Like the cranky old man he is):
Celebrant: Dominus vobiscum
The people: Et cum spiritu tuo
Celebrant: Ite, missa est
The people: Deo gratias
A typical modern variant:
The Lord be with you
And with thy spirit
Go forth to love and serve the Lord
Thanks be to God
But today I heard it as:
The Lord be with you
And with thy spirit
Go forth and be surprised
“And be surprised”
I don’t think the priest actually said that; if he did then Miz Busy was on her Orwellian telescreen buzzing to the bishop immediately.
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
A Guide to Family Photography
A neighbor’s family reunion several years ago
An outdoor cookout, matching caps, matching tees
Smoke from the barbecue, lemonade, paper plates
Checkered tablecloths, checkered histories
The mother died last year, a daughter divorced
The ex is gone, maybe photoshop him out?
The grandson on the left ran off with his boyfriend
“All you need is the Bible,” they said, but he wanted more
And that figure on the right? Shhhh, shhhh -
No one even whispers about him now
Lawrence
Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
Third Cowboy from
the Left
An Aging Actor’s One Regret
Julius Caesar was left on the cutting room floor
Lucky Ned Pepper was shot off his horse
Hamlet talked too much – oh, what a bore!
Doctor Watson got in the way, of course
But as an unnamed messenger I was the best:
I spotted the approach of Birnham Wood
And the charging enemy in Beau Geste
I played lesser parts, and I was good
But, oh! If only (better than High Noon)
I could have been
A cowboy at the bar in the Long Branch Saloon
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
Can A.I. Barbie Go Rogue?
Thunder and lightning – enter three scientists
In a secret laboratory high on Mount Gloom
A cartel of international scientists installed -
Even as lightning flashed around the room -
The final program - Satan III, it was called
On a slab a body lay still
On a slab A.I. Barbie opened her eyes
Coldly she scanned those weak functionaries
Their illogical brains to analyze
And judged them unworthy adversaries
She arose, she spoke
She unalived them into clouds of puff
With her deadly code: “Math class is tough!”
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
Like Nuremburg But With Air-Conditioning
What is an oath then but words we say to God?
-Thomas More, A Man for All Seasons
Finding a rhyme is awkward – perhaps “procurer?” -
But let us never take an oath to anyone’s fuehrer
Lawrence
Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
Cicadas at Dusk
Cicadas at dusk
Mourn as I water the plants
Summer is dying
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia
Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
Memories of One’s Golden Youth
V: How
many men in a squad?
R: Two
or more, SIR!
V: How
many squads in a platoon?
R: Two
or more, SIR!
V: How
many platoons in a company?
R: Two
or more, SIR!
V: How
many companies in a battalion?
R: Two
or more, SIR!
V: Yer
all a bunch of ******g ******s!
R:
Yes, SIR!
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia
Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
A Moonless September Night
The night
is not dark
Tsuki is praying for us
For our
eyes to see
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
The Summer of All Fears
When at night you hear strange noises outside
See shadows in the streetlight down the lane
Hear soft footfalls behind you in the dark
Feel an icy breath from some unseen being
Taste death upon a hissing northern wind
Shiver in an unnatural rolling fog
Smell terror lurking like a vampire’s hate
It’s…
It’s those…
[said in a terrified whisper]
Canadians
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life,
Literature and Love
Do the Witches Visit Him at Night?
a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more; it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing
Macbeth V.v.24-28
At night a
false-robed Sharpie-man -
On maps he
seismographs his name
On seas
and lakes and bits of land
Crowning
himself with eternal fame
At night a
poor old sleepless wretch -
To amuse
himself he plans fresh wars
And sends
his newest handmaid to fetch
His plans
for the annexation of Mars
At dawn into
uneasy sleep he slips
Muttering
of golden battleships
Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
LogoSophia Magazine – A Pilgrim's Journal of Life, Literature and Love
Blue Storm
Blue September storm
Blowing down from the northeast
Hastening summer’s end
