mhall46184@aol.com
A Less-Than-Universal Declaration of the Wrongs of Man
To make the worship of a state the source
Of all the aspirations of a man
Of all his duties and of all his arts
Is not to be a man or artist at all
Thursday, March 14, 2019
A Less-Than-Universal Declaration of the Wrongs of Man - poem
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
To make the worship of a state the source
Of all the aspirations of a man
Of all his duties and of all his arts
Is not to be a man or artist at all
mhall46184@aol.com
To make the worship of a state the source
Of all the aspirations of a man
Of all his duties and of all his arts
Is not to be a man or artist at all
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Penguins and Oxford Blues - poem
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
Poor sailors and poor students parse the past
Between the paper covers of poor Penguins
Poor crumbling pages and crumbling civilizations
Held together with rubber bands and Scotch tape
And when in middle age The City of God
At last succumbs to the barbarians of time
A fresh one is built up in Oxford blue
By Vivian Ridler, who saved for us the words
And yet - the arguments of several Romes
Were somehow fresher at $3.75
mhall46184@aol.com
Penguins and Oxford Blues
Poor sailors and poor students parse the past
Between the paper covers of poor Penguins
Poor crumbling pages and crumbling civilizations
Held together with rubber bands and Scotch tape
And when in middle age The City of God
At last succumbs to the barbarians of time
A fresh one is built up in Oxford blue
By Vivian Ridler, who saved for us the words
And yet - the arguments of several Romes
Were somehow fresher at $3.75
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
"The F*g with the Bow Tie" - poem
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
Spain. Poetry got people killed in Spain -
And still wherever tyrants of delicate nerves
And artistic sensitivities hear
Whispered rumors of whispered disapproval
And so an innocent, fearful and trembling
Must be motored away to a moonless death
Upon orders spoken, written, tweeted
Telephoned, telegraphed, or teletyped
One prays he has a moment to adjust his tie
Perfectly - as an honor to Poetry
1 The slur is attributed to Federico Garcia Lorca’s murderers:
https://lithub.com/dictators-kill-poets-on-federico-garcia-lorcas-last-days/
2 Quoted by Yevgeny Yevtushenko in 20th Century Russian Poetry
mhall46184@aol.com
“The F*g with the Bow Tie” 1
“Only in Russia is poetry respected – it gets people killed.
Is there anywhere else where poetry is so common a motive for murder?”
-Osip Mandelstam 2
Spain. Poetry got people killed in Spain -
And still wherever tyrants of delicate nerves
And artistic sensitivities hear
Whispered rumors of whispered disapproval
And so an innocent, fearful and trembling
Must be motored away to a moonless death
Upon orders spoken, written, tweeted
Telephoned, telegraphed, or teletyped
One prays he has a moment to adjust his tie
Perfectly - as an honor to Poetry
1 The slur is attributed to Federico Garcia Lorca’s murderers:
https://lithub.com/dictators-kill-poets-on-federico-garcia-lorcas-last-days/
2 Quoted by Yevgeny Yevtushenko in 20th Century Russian Poetry
Monday, March 11, 2019
The Flight of iMet-4 #21598 - poem
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
There is perhaps a certain indignity
In grounding back on earth among some weeds
Your late balloon a fragment of itself
Your parachute all damp and limp and still
But, oh! what an adventure you have lived!
Scuffy the Tugboat might well envy you
Your day and night in scientific flight
With helium instead of pixie dust
Like Peter Pan you sailed along the wind
Straight on until morning, then home again
mhall46184@aol.com
The Flight of iMet-4 #21598
There is perhaps a certain indignity
In grounding back on earth among some weeds
Your late balloon a fragment of itself
Your parachute all damp and limp and still
But, oh! what an adventure you have lived!
Scuffy the Tugboat might well envy you
Your day and night in scientific flight
With helium instead of pixie dust
Like Peter Pan you sailed along the wind
Straight on until morning, then home again
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Billy Possum Destroys the Bird Feeder (again) - rhyming doggerel (or possumerrel)
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
That climbing ratitude
In nightly interlude
And moral turpitude
Eats all the birdy-food
(I haven’t thought up an appropriate amphimacer [yes, I had to look that up] “ude” rhyme for the destruction of a bird feeder, but if I do it will go here)
Thus shows his gratitude
Oh! What an attitude!
I speak with acritude
Thus ends this platitude
For the true adventures of Billy Possum, see Thornton W. Burgess’ wonderful Mother West Wind stories.
mhall46184@aol.com
Billy Possum Destroys the Bird Feeder in the Night
(Again)
That climbing ratitude
In nightly interlude
And moral turpitude
Eats all the birdy-food
(I haven’t thought up an appropriate amphimacer [yes, I had to look that up] “ude” rhyme for the destruction of a bird feeder, but if I do it will go here)
Thus shows his gratitude
Oh! What an attitude!
I speak with acritude
Thus ends this platitude
For the true adventures of Billy Possum, see Thornton W. Burgess’ wonderful Mother West Wind stories.
Saturday, March 9, 2019
"Only the Solitary Seek the Truth" - poem
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
You cannot write with your fist clenched in hate
You cannot sing with a conscripted voice
You cannot dance if you are made to march
You cannot love if your heart is not free
You cannot think if they slogan your mind
You cannot play if they deny your joy
You cannot dream if they program your spirit
You cannot pray if they poison your soul
You are an artist, a seeker of truth:
And no one should finish this line for you
mhall46184@aol.com
Workers of the World, Untie
“Every herd is a refuge for giftlessness…Only the solitary seek the truth,
and they break with all those who don't love it sufficiently.”
― Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago
You cannot write with your fist clenched in hate
You cannot sing with a conscripted voice
You cannot dance if you are made to march
You cannot love if your heart is not free
You cannot think if they slogan your mind
You cannot play if they deny your joy
You cannot dream if they program your spirit
You cannot pray if they poison your soul
You are an artist, a seeker of truth:
And no one should finish this line for you
Friday, March 8, 2019
The Happy Killer Who Dug The Lovin' Spoonful - poem
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
Caught in the net of conscription, most of us
Some joining up before being press-ganged
Why wait to be pushed into your own death
When you can push yourself, and wonder why
An E-4 not yet thirty - we called him Pops
A curly-haired kid named Skip - his head blown off
That Army guy who let go of the boat and drowned
The happy killer who dug The Lovin’ Spoonful
Caught in the net of conscription, most of us
Along with Miss March, withering in the heat
mhall46184@aol.com
The Happy Killer Who Dug The Lovin’ Spoonful
Caught in the net of conscription, most of us
Some joining up before being press-ganged
Why wait to be pushed into your own death
When you can push yourself, and wonder why
An E-4 not yet thirty - we called him Pops
A curly-haired kid named Skip - his head blown off
That Army guy who let go of the boat and drowned
The happy killer who dug The Lovin’ Spoonful
Caught in the net of conscription, most of us
Along with Miss March, withering in the heat
Thursday, March 7, 2019
My Weather Balloon - column
Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com
But don’t worry - the “it” was an iMet-4 radiosonde, tethered to a nifty parachute, and at a few ounces it would hardly have disturbed a flower petal.
Early on Sunday morning I, y’r ‘umble rustic scrivener, found a little parachute alongside a country road. The parachute had a harness and a line dangling, and atop it a burst balloon. I followed the line into the weeds, expecting to find a weather service device, a little camera, or a science experiment.
In the event, it was two of the three, a little plastic box on which was lettered “IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL (XXX-XXX-XXXX).” On the other side the maker’s label read “iMet-4” and “InterMet Systems.” Alongside the label was a row of indicators marked “402MHz” to “405Mx,” and a button for setting the frequency. On top was a connector of some sort and the attachment for the lanyard. On the bottom protruded a six-inch flexible antenna.
The parachute was of a very tight weave; from it was suspended a blue plastic ring built to accept the attachment of various scientific instruments.
Finally, there was a burst balloon. When the balloon failed, everything floated gently down to the weeds along my road.
The concept of the radiosonde dates from the 1930s, and was invented simultaneously in the USA and in the unfortunate Soviet Union.
This particular model, from International Met Systems of Grand Rapids, Michigan, measures temperature, humidity, air pressure, geopotential height (I don’t know what that means), wind speed, and wind direction, and sends this information constantly to its receiving station.
And while we were asleep this particular I-Met 4 spent the night in the silences high above the ground, swinging from its balloon while sniffing the air and feeling the wind and thinking happy electronic thoughts.
Dr. Don Conlee of God’s University, Texas A & M, sent me an electrical note thanking me for its recovery, and added: “We are involved in an experiment to better understand tornadoes in the SE U.S., and have been launching quite frequently of late.”
Given the deadly nature of tornadoes, we can all be grateful to Dr. Conlee, his students, and his fellow scientists for launching this little gadget and all its little electronic classmates from Easterwood Field in College Station to acquire knowledge that will save lives.
Dr. Conlee continued: “If you have a convenient way to return it to us…at A & M…that would be great. If not, I would suggest that you see if a local middle school or high school science teacher would like to take it, along with my contact information, and we can see how they might use it in the classroom to talk about weather/physics/etc.”
And so it was agreed. I have a young friend who teaches science and will take charge of the radiosonde for her students, and Dr. Conlee will send her and her students “…information about the launch, pictures of the data it collected, and maps that will be interesting.” Thus, the radiosonde will have contributed to civilization twice, first in the acquisition of knowledge that will help save lives, and then again through the intellectual enrichment of the young.
And that is The Aggie Way. Whoop!
When I was a lad I enjoyed science (until in the higher grades teachers messed it up with mathematics), and I would have had that single, tempting phillips screw out as soon as I could open up my Swiss Army Knife to see if there were any tiny little Martians aboard.
As it was, in my responsible old age I did not take the machine apart, though I did put it to my ear to listen for any secrets being beamed back out to space. It was silent, and there were no Martians.
Sigh.
Despite the intrusion of mathematics (maths are not in the Bible, you know), science is both useful and fun.
In this instance the radiosonde, its rigging, the blue plastic ring, the poofy parachute, and the balloon were also quite pretty. I wish I had seen them floating down through the sky because, as Blaise Pascal says, “the heart has its reasons, which the mind knows not.”
Mhall46184@aol.com
It Fell From the Skies!
But don’t worry - the “it” was an iMet-4 radiosonde, tethered to a nifty parachute, and at a few ounces it would hardly have disturbed a flower petal.
Early on Sunday morning I, y’r ‘umble rustic scrivener, found a little parachute alongside a country road. The parachute had a harness and a line dangling, and atop it a burst balloon. I followed the line into the weeds, expecting to find a weather service device, a little camera, or a science experiment.
In the event, it was two of the three, a little plastic box on which was lettered “IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL (XXX-XXX-XXXX).” On the other side the maker’s label read “iMet-4” and “InterMet Systems.” Alongside the label was a row of indicators marked “402MHz” to “405Mx,” and a button for setting the frequency. On top was a connector of some sort and the attachment for the lanyard. On the bottom protruded a six-inch flexible antenna.
The parachute was of a very tight weave; from it was suspended a blue plastic ring built to accept the attachment of various scientific instruments.
Finally, there was a burst balloon. When the balloon failed, everything floated gently down to the weeds along my road.
The concept of the radiosonde dates from the 1930s, and was invented simultaneously in the USA and in the unfortunate Soviet Union.
This particular model, from International Met Systems of Grand Rapids, Michigan, measures temperature, humidity, air pressure, geopotential height (I don’t know what that means), wind speed, and wind direction, and sends this information constantly to its receiving station.
And while we were asleep this particular I-Met 4 spent the night in the silences high above the ground, swinging from its balloon while sniffing the air and feeling the wind and thinking happy electronic thoughts.
Dr. Don Conlee of God’s University, Texas A & M, sent me an electrical note thanking me for its recovery, and added: “We are involved in an experiment to better understand tornadoes in the SE U.S., and have been launching quite frequently of late.”
Given the deadly nature of tornadoes, we can all be grateful to Dr. Conlee, his students, and his fellow scientists for launching this little gadget and all its little electronic classmates from Easterwood Field in College Station to acquire knowledge that will save lives.
Dr. Conlee continued: “If you have a convenient way to return it to us…at A & M…that would be great. If not, I would suggest that you see if a local middle school or high school science teacher would like to take it, along with my contact information, and we can see how they might use it in the classroom to talk about weather/physics/etc.”
And so it was agreed. I have a young friend who teaches science and will take charge of the radiosonde for her students, and Dr. Conlee will send her and her students “…information about the launch, pictures of the data it collected, and maps that will be interesting.” Thus, the radiosonde will have contributed to civilization twice, first in the acquisition of knowledge that will help save lives, and then again through the intellectual enrichment of the young.
And that is The Aggie Way. Whoop!
When I was a lad I enjoyed science (until in the higher grades teachers messed it up with mathematics), and I would have had that single, tempting phillips screw out as soon as I could open up my Swiss Army Knife to see if there were any tiny little Martians aboard.
As it was, in my responsible old age I did not take the machine apart, though I did put it to my ear to listen for any secrets being beamed back out to space. It was silent, and there were no Martians.
Sigh.
Despite the intrusion of mathematics (maths are not in the Bible, you know), science is both useful and fun.
In this instance the radiosonde, its rigging, the blue plastic ring, the poofy parachute, and the balloon were also quite pretty. I wish I had seen them floating down through the sky because, as Blaise Pascal says, “the heart has its reasons, which the mind knows not.”
-30-
Be a Manly Catholic Man (Your Major Credit Card Welcome)
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
Basic Manly Catholic Man ™® Journal $19.99
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Manly Catholic Man ™® Yeti ™® cup $39.99
Manly Catholic Man ™® Liberation Tee from $24.99
Manly Catholic Man ™® Day Whatever Tee $24.99 sold out
Manly Catholic Man ™® Sweater Fleece $59.99
And somewhere there’s possibly a pizza,
A Manly Catholic Man ™® Combat™® Rosary™®,
and a manly group hug
mhall46184@aol.com
Ya Can’t be a Manly Catholic Man ™® Without
Yer Official Manly Catholic Man ™® Tee Shirt
Yer Major Credit Card Welcome
Powered by Shopify
“Church? It's a shop! Salvation by the shilling!”
-Will Roper to Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons
Basic Manly Catholic Man ™® Journal $19.99
Handmade Manly Catholic Man ™® Leather Bound Journal $89.99
Manly Catholic Man ™® Yeti ™® cup $39.99
Manly Catholic Man ™® Liberation Tee from $24.99
Manly Catholic Man ™® Day Whatever Tee $24.99 sold out
Manly Catholic Man ™® Sweater Fleece $59.99
And somewhere there’s possibly a pizza,
A Manly Catholic Man ™® Combat™® Rosary™®,
and a manly group hug
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
My School of Thought - poem
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
We’ve heard of schools of thought for ideas sought -
Philosophy, history, music, and art -
Where everyone agrees that they are all smart
So I would like to build my own school of thought:
In the mornings the children will raise my flag
And all will pledge true allegiance to me
And in class children will look up to see
My thoughtful image, and they will brag
How everyone now thinks as I say they ought:
And that, dear friends, is my own school of thought!
mhall46184@aol.com
My School of Thought
We’ve heard of schools of thought for ideas sought -
Philosophy, history, music, and art -
Where everyone agrees that they are all smart
So I would like to build my own school of thought:
In the mornings the children will raise my flag
And all will pledge true allegiance to me
And in class children will look up to see
My thoughtful image, and they will brag
How everyone now thinks as I say they ought:
And that, dear friends, is my own school of thought!
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Diskos et Calyx - poem
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
The universe spirals through its starlit dance
Creation spins around, in, and down
Eternity circles the paten and cup
Miraculum
Eternity circles the paten and cup
Around and out and up, Creation spins
Through its starlit dance the universe spirals
mhall46184@aol.com
Diskos et Calyx
The universe spirals through its starlit dance
Creation spins around, in, and down
Eternity circles the paten and cup
Miraculum
Eternity circles the paten and cup
Around and out and up, Creation spins
Through its starlit dance the universe spirals
Monday, March 4, 2019
Cooperating with the Feds in Exchange for Immunity - Limerick
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
Dear Feds:
I wish to apply for immunity
Though I have done nothing with impunity
Show me how to conspire
So that I might acquire
Largess from the working community
Sincerely,
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
Cooperating with the Feds in Exchange for Immunity
(and a book deal)
Dear Feds:
I wish to apply for immunity
Though I have done nothing with impunity
Show me how to conspire
So that I might acquire
Largess from the working community
Sincerely,
Lawrence Hall
Sunday, March 3, 2019
There Are Only Two Dreams - poem
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
There are only two dreams: freedom and love
And if you wake exiled from Eden again
From a moment of exquisite happiness
Your dream was wonderfully, happily true
There are only two dreams: freedom and love
Any other topic is not a dream
But only the clamorings of others
Demanding always a piece of your soul
There are only two dreams: freedom and love -
Tears mean only that you must wait awhile
mhall46184@aol.com
There Are Only Two Dreams
There are only two dreams: freedom and love
And if you wake exiled from Eden again
From a moment of exquisite happiness
Your dream was wonderfully, happily true
There are only two dreams: freedom and love
Any other topic is not a dream
But only the clamorings of others
Demanding always a piece of your soul
There are only two dreams: freedom and love -
Tears mean only that you must wait awhile
Saturday, March 2, 2019
The Sorceress of Santarem - poem
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
Whatever happened to the sorceress?
The narratives leave her story unresolved -
Upon the Altar reposes the sacred Host
Before the Altar kneel graced penitents
But did the sorceress find mercy too
Or does she still cringe in her crusted cave
In a gully before the rubbish fires
Whose incense is the writhing smoke of Hell
Whatever happened to her life of blight -
Was she too wakened by that same true Light?
Suggested by a thought in a letter from Fr. Raphael Barousse, OSB
mhall46184@aol.com
The Sorceress of Santarem
Whatever happened to the sorceress?
The narratives leave her story unresolved -
Upon the Altar reposes the sacred Host
Before the Altar kneel graced penitents
But did the sorceress find mercy too
Or does she still cringe in her crusted cave
In a gully before the rubbish fires
Whose incense is the writhing smoke of Hell
Whatever happened to her life of blight -
Was she too wakened by that same true Light?
Suggested by a thought in a letter from Fr. Raphael Barousse, OSB
Friday, March 1, 2019
Looking for Something in a Burning Street
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol
He was looking for something in a burning street
Among blown wreckage and necrotic smoke
Among the drifting ashes and debris
Alone among grey-morning-crumbling stones
He later could not remember much of it
Among the empty greyness - were there dead?
Among the silences where screams had flown
Alone among accusers who weren’t there
“Don’t look for it. Go into solitude.
Don’t look for it. It will be found for you.”
mhall46184@aol
Looking for Something in a Burning Street
He was looking for something in a burning street
Among blown wreckage and necrotic smoke
Among the drifting ashes and debris
Alone among grey-morning-crumbling stones
He later could not remember much of it
Among the empty greyness - were there dead?
Among the silences where screams had flown
Alone among accusers who weren’t there
“Don’t look for it. Go into solitude.
Don’t look for it. It will be found for you.”
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Emerging Writers - poem
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
One reads of emerging writers
But from what do they emerge?
Wombs?
Tombs?
Rooms?
Cells?
Wells?
Shells?
Sins?
Bins?
Tins?
Canada?
So go ahead; emerge away
Then tell us what you have to say
mhall46184@aol.com
Emerging Writers
One reads of emerging writers
But from what do they emerge?
Wombs?
Tombs?
Rooms?
Cells?
Wells?
Shells?
Sins?
Bins?
Tins?
Canada?
So go ahead; emerge away
Then tell us what you have to say
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Intensifying the Dallas Charter - a poem and a cloud of unknowing
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
The cultural filters are all in place
And truth, some say, is past its sell-by date
Weak hymns embalmed by hippies, and lost in space
Where time is always 1968
A poison-green tattoo on a fleshy back
No incense, but the Purell’s pretty strong
A ten-year-old gobbles his comfort snack
During Communion and a three-chord song
Our bishops quack and honk in flocks and herds -
We need a starets
but all we get are words:
Intensify the Dallas Charter accountability focus accountability exclusively accountability collegial collective accountability responsibility address theme encounter dialectic collegiality variety universality unity flock dealing topic difficult reasons unexplored differences crisis difficult for bishops enable abusers gravely irreparably failures governance responsibility question engage conversation point brother problematic behavior cultivate culture correctio fraterna enables offending other recognize criticism opportunity to tasks related willingness personally mistakes to each other feeling maintain fraternal relationship cases we damaging weakness anecdotal parenthesis to his speech encounters course ministry recollection forgive counseling for healing discussing matter rationally headway realized psyche of the person measure semblance justice inability forgive his apparently perplexing consternating remarked noting changed personality of person realize humility mistakes learn mistakes better question unanswered unaddressed mistakes allowed consequences mishandling cases gathering conferences participants and journalists effective concrete measures combat scourge scandal technical theological sense term list reflection points adjunct secretary special portfolio combatting meeting chief architects roadmap for our discussion very, very concrete understatement seriously utter understatement things discussed follow-up meeting continued model of reform the so-called intensify the Dallas Charter metropolitan model metropolitan investigating disciplining wayward ecclesiastical provinces briefing responded you have to read the footnote disgrace investigations systemic coverup dismissed briefing expressed hope report position power prominence leadership structure report findings influence broader jurisdictions Accountability focus accountability exclusively accountability collegial collective accountability responsibility address theme encounter dialectic collegiality variety universality unity flock dealing topic difficult reasons unexplored differences crisis difficult for bishops enable abusers gravely irreparably failures governance responsibility question engage conversation point brother problematic behavior cultivate culture correctio fraterna enables offending other recognize criticism opportunity to tasks related willingness personally mistakes to each other feeling maintain fraternal relationship cases we damaging weakness anecdotal parenthesis to his speech encounters course ministry recollection forgive counseling for healing discussing matter rationally headway realized psyche of the person measure semblance justice inability forgive his apparently perplexing consternating remarked noting changed personality of person realize humility mistakes learn mistakes better question unanswered unaddressed mistakes allowed consequences mishandling cases gathering conferences participants and journalists effective concrete measures combat scourge scandal technical theological sense term list reflection points adjunct secretary special portfolio combatting meeting chief architects roadmap for our discussion very, very concrete understatement seriously utter understatement things discussed follow-up meeting continued model of reform the so-called Metropolitan model metropolitan investigating disciplining wayward ecclesiastical provinces briefing responded you have to read the footnote disgrace investigations systemic coverup dismissed briefing expressed hope report position power prominence leadership structure report findings influence broader jurisdictions accountable faithful promises episodes accountability supportive talking collegiality obligation misbehavior failures circumstances reputation representative discreet inquiries interview expression concern geographically confronted reported matter subject investigating disciplining malfeasance proposal wrongdoing explained carefully considered matter alternatives remarks paragraph rehearsed alternatives footnote 6 of text speeches delivered sessions briefing spoke involvement laity lay involvement transparency transparent offending other recognize criticism opportunity to tasks related willingness personally mistakes to each other feeling maintain fraternal relationship cases we damaging weakness anecdotal parenthesis to his speech encounters course ministry recollection forgive counseling for healing discussing matter rationally headway realized psyche of the person measure semblance justice inability forgive his apparently perplexing consternating remarked noting changed personality of person realize humility mistakes learn mistakes better question unanswered unaddressed mistakes allowed consequences mishandling cases gathering conferences participants and journalists effective concrete measures combat scourge scandal technical theological sense term list reflection points adjunct secretary special portfolio combatting meeting chief architects roadmap for our discussion very, very concrete understatement seriously utter understatement things discussed follow-up meeting continued model of reform the so-called Metropolitan model metropolitan investigating disciplining wayward ecclesiastical provinces briefing responded you have to read the footnote disgrace investigations systemic coverup dismissed briefing expressed hope report position power prominence leadership structure report findings influence broader jurisdictions accountable faithful promises episodes accountability supportive talking collegiality obligation misbehavior failures circumstances reputation representative discreet inquiries interview expression concern geographically confronted reported matter subject investigating disciplining malfeasance proposal wrongdoing explained carefully considered matter alternatives remarks paragraph rehearsed alternatives footnote 6 of text speeches delivered sessions briefing spoke involvement laity lay involvement transparency transparent intensify the Dallas Charter…
mhall46184@aol.com
Intensifying the Dallas Charter
The cultural filters are all in place
And truth, some say, is past its sell-by date
Weak hymns embalmed by hippies, and lost in space
Where time is always 1968
A poison-green tattoo on a fleshy back
No incense, but the Purell’s pretty strong
A ten-year-old gobbles his comfort snack
During Communion and a three-chord song
Our bishops quack and honk in flocks and herds -
We need a starets
but all we get are words:
Intensify the Dallas Charter accountability focus accountability exclusively accountability collegial collective accountability responsibility address theme encounter dialectic collegiality variety universality unity flock dealing topic difficult reasons unexplored differences crisis difficult for bishops enable abusers gravely irreparably failures governance responsibility question engage conversation point brother problematic behavior cultivate culture correctio fraterna enables offending other recognize criticism opportunity to tasks related willingness personally mistakes to each other feeling maintain fraternal relationship cases we damaging weakness anecdotal parenthesis to his speech encounters course ministry recollection forgive counseling for healing discussing matter rationally headway realized psyche of the person measure semblance justice inability forgive his apparently perplexing consternating remarked noting changed personality of person realize humility mistakes learn mistakes better question unanswered unaddressed mistakes allowed consequences mishandling cases gathering conferences participants and journalists effective concrete measures combat scourge scandal technical theological sense term list reflection points adjunct secretary special portfolio combatting meeting chief architects roadmap for our discussion very, very concrete understatement seriously utter understatement things discussed follow-up meeting continued model of reform the so-called intensify the Dallas Charter metropolitan model metropolitan investigating disciplining wayward ecclesiastical provinces briefing responded you have to read the footnote disgrace investigations systemic coverup dismissed briefing expressed hope report position power prominence leadership structure report findings influence broader jurisdictions Accountability focus accountability exclusively accountability collegial collective accountability responsibility address theme encounter dialectic collegiality variety universality unity flock dealing topic difficult reasons unexplored differences crisis difficult for bishops enable abusers gravely irreparably failures governance responsibility question engage conversation point brother problematic behavior cultivate culture correctio fraterna enables offending other recognize criticism opportunity to tasks related willingness personally mistakes to each other feeling maintain fraternal relationship cases we damaging weakness anecdotal parenthesis to his speech encounters course ministry recollection forgive counseling for healing discussing matter rationally headway realized psyche of the person measure semblance justice inability forgive his apparently perplexing consternating remarked noting changed personality of person realize humility mistakes learn mistakes better question unanswered unaddressed mistakes allowed consequences mishandling cases gathering conferences participants and journalists effective concrete measures combat scourge scandal technical theological sense term list reflection points adjunct secretary special portfolio combatting meeting chief architects roadmap for our discussion very, very concrete understatement seriously utter understatement things discussed follow-up meeting continued model of reform the so-called Metropolitan model metropolitan investigating disciplining wayward ecclesiastical provinces briefing responded you have to read the footnote disgrace investigations systemic coverup dismissed briefing expressed hope report position power prominence leadership structure report findings influence broader jurisdictions accountable faithful promises episodes accountability supportive talking collegiality obligation misbehavior failures circumstances reputation representative discreet inquiries interview expression concern geographically confronted reported matter subject investigating disciplining malfeasance proposal wrongdoing explained carefully considered matter alternatives remarks paragraph rehearsed alternatives footnote 6 of text speeches delivered sessions briefing spoke involvement laity lay involvement transparency transparent offending other recognize criticism opportunity to tasks related willingness personally mistakes to each other feeling maintain fraternal relationship cases we damaging weakness anecdotal parenthesis to his speech encounters course ministry recollection forgive counseling for healing discussing matter rationally headway realized psyche of the person measure semblance justice inability forgive his apparently perplexing consternating remarked noting changed personality of person realize humility mistakes learn mistakes better question unanswered unaddressed mistakes allowed consequences mishandling cases gathering conferences participants and journalists effective concrete measures combat scourge scandal technical theological sense term list reflection points adjunct secretary special portfolio combatting meeting chief architects roadmap for our discussion very, very concrete understatement seriously utter understatement things discussed follow-up meeting continued model of reform the so-called Metropolitan model metropolitan investigating disciplining wayward ecclesiastical provinces briefing responded you have to read the footnote disgrace investigations systemic coverup dismissed briefing expressed hope report position power prominence leadership structure report findings influence broader jurisdictions accountable faithful promises episodes accountability supportive talking collegiality obligation misbehavior failures circumstances reputation representative discreet inquiries interview expression concern geographically confronted reported matter subject investigating disciplining malfeasance proposal wrongdoing explained carefully considered matter alternatives remarks paragraph rehearsed alternatives footnote 6 of text speeches delivered sessions briefing spoke involvement laity lay involvement transparency transparent intensify the Dallas Charter…
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Theatrical Night at the Nudist Colony - a poem (of sorts)
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
A beautiful girl
Pleasingly and teasingly
Naughtily and saucily
Wooingly and cooingly
Playfully and seductively
Puts her clothes back on
mhall46184@aol.com
Theatrical Night at the Nudist Colony
A beautiful girl
Pleasingly and teasingly
Naughtily and saucily
Wooingly and cooingly
Playfully and seductively
Puts her clothes back on
Monday, February 25, 2019
"All-Male Military Draft Ruled Unconstitutional" - intemperate doggerel
Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com
And for the President, whose manly sons
Shoot animals dead with their great big guns
But when the the bullets, bombs, and shells are raining
Those brave lads won’t be found in basic training
Since when it comes to the generals’ slaughter
They’ll send to her death your little daughter
And when the generalissimos yell “Go!”
Our Merovingian Congress won’t say “No”
They fight the wars with perks and private jets
As do their beribboned flag-rank house pets
And so our daughters are the harvest yield
That must forever rot in some foreign field 1
As for our leaders’ daughters, don’t be so hard -
Someone’s got to sun-bathe in Harvard Yard
1 cf. “The Soldier,” Rupert Brooke
mhall46184@aol.com
“All-Male Military Draft Ruled Unconstitutional”
Because nothing says democracy more
Than sending off the daughters of the poor
To die for Raytheon and General Dynamics
And for the President, whose manly sons
Shoot animals dead with their great big guns
But when the the bullets, bombs, and shells are raining
Those brave lads won’t be found in basic training
Since when it comes to the generals’ slaughter
They’ll send to her death your little daughter
And when the generalissimos yell “Go!”
Our Merovingian Congress won’t say “No”
They fight the wars with perks and private jets
As do their beribboned flag-rank house pets
And so our daughters are the harvest yield
That must forever rot in some foreign field 1
As for our leaders’ daughters, don’t be so hard -
Someone’s got to sun-bathe in Harvard Yard
1 cf. “The Soldier,” Rupert Brooke
Sunday, February 24, 2019
"Select Product and Begin Fueling" - Road Tripping Poem
Lawrence Hall, HSG
mhall46184@aol.com
Gas, yes, but we need more products than that
For the Great American Road: check the water,
And check the oil, check the number of kids
Fighting with each other in the back seat
Select some Eagles tunes and fuel them too
Into the six-layer CD machine -
Let’s bust out of Texas and head for Horse Springs
Which isn’t there anymore, but Magdalena is
And they’ve got twenty-seven radio telescopes
Out on the plains to fuel our dreams and hopes
mhall46184@aol.com
“Select Product and Begin Fueling”
Gas, yes, but we need more products than that
For the Great American Road: check the water,
And check the oil, check the number of kids
Fighting with each other in the back seat
Select some Eagles tunes and fuel them too
Into the six-layer CD machine -
Let’s bust out of Texas and head for Horse Springs
Which isn’t there anymore, but Magdalena is
And they’ve got twenty-seven radio telescopes
Out on the plains to fuel our dreams and hopes
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