Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
A Question about
the Monarchy
The question is not
Whether the monarchy is relevant to modern times
But whether modern times are relevant to the monarchy
Saturday, September 10, 2022
A Question about the Monarchy - poem
Friday, September 9, 2022
Someone's Beating on the Door of the Gospel Radio Station - doggerel
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
Someone’s Beating
on the Door of the Gospel Radio Station
I switched on the scanner when the weather turned foul
Hailstones and lightning, and clouds in rotation
Through the static came a voice in a cop-speak growl:
“Someone’s beating on the door of the gospel radio
station”
I tuned then to Jesus on the radio dial
Wondering what drama I might happen to hear
I listened to the three-chord commandos awhile
But never learned the cause of the caller’s fear
Maybe for the music, or from fear of damnation -
Someone wanted in at the gospel station
Thursday, September 8, 2022
The Passing of the Queen - poem
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
The Passing of The
Queen
Regina Dei Gratia
Few constants obtain in our shifting world
And even those few constants must leave us at last
Even as the mists of September obscure
The golden days of a summer now past
It is not only the Queen who has passed today
But rather the passing of something in us
Who stand to our duty as she led us to do
Each of us made better because she served
God save the Queen
God save the King
A Quote from C. S. Lewis about the Monarchy
“Monarchy can easily be
"debunked", but watch the faces, mark well the accents of the
debunkers. These are the men whose taproot in Eden has been cut -- whom no
rumor of the polyphony, the dance, can reach – men to whom pebbles laid in a
row are more beautiful than an arch. Yet even if they desire mere equality they
cannot reach it. Where men are forbidden to honor a king they honor
millionaires, athletes, or film-stars instead -- even famous prostitutes or
gangsters. For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served -- deny it
food and it will gobble poison.”
Quote by C.S. Lewis: “Monarchy can easily be
"debunked", but watch th...” (goodreads.com)
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
A Full Moon Every Night - poem
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
A Full Moon Every
Night
I’d like a full moon every night. But why?
The cycles, the dance of the solar calendar
The dance of the shadowing lunar calendar
The stern regulae of the liturgical calendar
All swing in orbits through the universe
Orbits that vary wildly yet keep returning
Returning to each other in sacred waves
That in their seasons send the moon to us
But I’d like a full moon every night anyway
And why?
Because she’s pretty
Monday, September 5, 2022
A Note about Greeting Even the Most Beneficent Reptiles - haiku
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
A Note about
Greeting Even the Most Beneficent Reptiles
I speak to them softly
But the tree frogs look at me
Disapprovingly
Sunday, September 4, 2022
The United States Door-Opener Corps - weekly column, 4 September 2022
Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com
The United States
Doormen
United States Marines should not be employed as doormen.
There is of course everything right with being a doorman
in civilian life. They serve in hotels, private institutions, corporate
offices, and private homes not only in the matter of opening doors but also as part
of the concierge staff.
However, the United States Marines are the premiere
fighting force of this nation, well-trained, well-disciplined, and fighting
fit. They are trained in all sorts of weaponry, both ours and theirs, and in
tactics as individuals and from the squad level up. Although each Marine is
exceptionally well-trained in and focused on a specialty, all Marines are well-rounded
multi-taskers who can perform a multitude of combat, technical, and leadership
tasks when needed. A Marine never says, “That’s not my department”; he or she
says, “Follow me.”
The “follow me” is not to the butler’s pantry to polish
the silver.
A Marine will, as would any well-brought-up individual, open
a door for a frail, elderly gentleman. That is ordinary courtesy, however, not a
military specialty.
There is something inappropriate about United States
Marines being posted to opening doors for people at the White House. After all,
we are a republic and the White House is each elected president’s temporary
home and office, not a Habsburg palace.
In an aside, the answer to the democracy / republic
question is “yes.” We are a democracy because we vote on those who represent us
in the House and Senate; we are a republic because those whom we elect establish
the laws for us. They also take very good care of themselves, but that’s
another matter.
Similarly, United States Navy officers (apparently
enlisted won’t do) should not be hired as social aides – that is their title –
in the White House. We understand that the presidential teacups and the
presidential flowers won’t arrange themselves, but a commission as an officer in
the Navy is hardly necessary for ordinary household tasks.
Several of our recent presidents appear to have had a
fascination at playing with real military men and women just as little children
play with toy soldiers. Our presidents want to be associated with the military,
to be seen with them, set them to opening doors and handing out menus, and positioning
them as decorations.
That happens in President-for-Life Putin’s gilded and
mirrored palaces; it shouldn’t happen here.
Military men and women employed in domestic duties in the
White House should be returned to their units for training and deployment. The
president can then have a secretary contact a local employment agency for
civilians to show visitors where the guest restrooms are.
The thought occurs to some that our senators and
congressmen could be gainfully employed as domestic staff, but since they won’t
even clean up their own houses and demonstrate a poor work ethic they would not
make good hires.
-30-
A Pebble, a Pine Cone, a Mystery - haiku
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
Mysteries for the
Day
Mysteries for the day
A pebble and a pine
cone
They are enough
Saturday, September 3, 2022
The Water at Camp Lejeune - doggerel
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
The Water at Camp
Lejeune
And the water in Viet-Nam, chlorinated muck
Flavored with Agent Orange and other guck
Was good enough for us – that’s our tough luck!
Friday, September 2, 2022
Editors Who Checklist Poets - poem (a poem about poetry - that's redundant, eh!)
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
Editors Who Checklist
Poets
A Poet’s Autobiography is his Poetry
-Yevtushenko
A poem is itself
So I’m not going to play any victim cards
I’m not even seated in their game
Ticking self-pity boxes is their game
Not mine
A poem is itself
I am not anyone’s propagandist
All are free to read a poem or not
Like it or not for its artistry and craft
(Or lack
thereof)
But I won’t be a confessional professional
A poem is itself
A worthy editor is a pearl beyond price
But a literary commissar is nekul'turnyy
For a poem is itself
Thursday, September 1, 2022
Self-Government in the United States with Tats and Extra Fries - poem
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
Self-Government in
the United States with Tats and Extra Fries
“Here, sir, The People rule.”
-Numerous attributions
I blame the Russians. And people who read books.
And that pornography in these here schools
The Navy SEALS is actually Lizard People
I only know what Q told me, okay?
I seen them suitcases of electoral votes
For the junior high cheerleading squad
It was stolen, I tell ya! Sarah Palin rocks!
It’s all in the Bible, you Commie-freak
Secret U.N. observers occupy our town
And that is why the InterGossip’s down
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Cockroaches and Cold-Callers - rhyming doggerel
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
Cockroaches and Cold-Callers
We honor life as part of God’s creation
Its good is an objective reality
Cruelty to animals is an abomination
(Though a cockroach we flush with fiendish glee)
“Hi, this is Heather; we’re taking a survey…”
There are variations on this Leaden Rule
For if you haven’t sent a cockroach down the loo
(This practice should be taught in every school)
An telephone cold-caller will certainly do
“Good morning! We’re giving away free siding…”
Thus you may WOOOOSH! a swindler or a roach
Completely free of any self-reproach
“This isn’t a sales call; we only want to ask…”
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
As Neatly Packaged as a Letter-Bomb - poem
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
The Brilliance of
Propaganda
“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent
under it”
-Lady Macbeth
We
have seen vituperation beautifully expressed
In
the most elegant meter and rhyme
Wild
shriekings crafted with an artist’s skill
And
as neatly packaged as a letter-bomb
Monday, August 29, 2022
Sunday, August 28, 2022
Silencing Rooster Cogburn - weekly column, 28 August 2022
Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com
Silencing Rooster
Cogburn
True Grit appeared on the Orwellian telescreen the
other night, and I found myself watching that wonderful film yet again.
The climax of the film comes when John Wayne as Marshal Rooster
Cogburn confronts Robert Duvall’s Lucky Ned Pepper and his gang. After a few prefatory
remarks of ritual verbal abuse, Ned sneeringly demands that Rooster state his
intentions or get out of the way.
“I mean to kill you in one minute, Ned, or see you hanged
in Fort smith at Judge Parker’s convenience,” replies Rooster. “Which’ll it be?”
After some wonderfully Snidely Whiplash laughter from the
desperadoes, Ned taunts Rooster with, “I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat
man!”
And then comes The Moment – The Moment, The Academy Award
Moment - when Rooster challenges Ned and his entire gang with perhaps the most
famous line in the history of cinema…
But the line was not spoken; The Moment never came.
The center, the axis, the climax of this great film was silenced
for television by some officious busy-body.
While Rooster spins his rifle in a menacing manner and Ned
and the lads are laughing at him, let us pause and consider the insensitivities
that have preceded this moment in True Grit:
1.
Tom Chaney murders Mattie’s father with a gutshot.
2.
Three prisoners are hanged on the courthouse
square before a mocking crowd which includes children
3.
A federal marshal repeatedly handles prisoners
with inappropriate roughness and occasional brutality.
4.
A Chinese character is stereotyped, although we
must admit that he gives the marshal a good what-fer when necessary.
5.
There is some casual stereotyping of American
Indians.
6.
The body count in the film would require a statistician,
and the deaths are gruesome.
7.
Several adults threaten the life of a child.
8.
A child shoots an adult.
9.
As for Mattie’s snide remarks about Texas
senators and bird dogs, we should let them stand with some sympathy for bird
dogs.
Dozens die in the film, but That Line, that Academy Award
line without which the story would fail to be true to the vision of the book’s
author and the artistry of the film’s professionals, must apparently not be
spoken lest it give offense to the delicate among us.
Look, the metaphor Rooster uses in the uncut version is
pretty rough, and on the lips of almost anyone else would come across as
adolescent potty-mouth-ness. But in the context of this great film and as
spoken by John Wayne, yep, it’s a work of art.
But what about the children who might hear it?
The prime duty in raising a child belongs to the parent.
Thus, the parent must guide his (the pronoun is
gender-neutral) child’s cultural experiences.
After all, it is pointless and indeed hypocritical to
give a child unrestricted access to a MePhone or the InterGossip and then demand
that a cinema, an author, an artist, a public library, a museum, or other
cultural milieux surrender their freedom of cultural exchanges with other
adults.
In sum, know when to turn off the television in your own
house. That’s your decision, not someone else’s
-30-
An Extended Warranty - poem
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
An Extended
Warranty
You buy something and the man behind the counter
Asks you if you want to pay extra for a warranty
And when you ask why, doesn’t the gadget work
He’s grumpily ready for you to move on
Most things in life don’t have extended warranties:
Love, Hershey bars, tree frogs on the window screen
The John Wayne movie machine that broke long ago
But memories of MeeMaw are always fresh
You live through pain, and He who is beyond the stars
Gives it meaning – that’s the warranty
Saturday, August 27, 2022
Trust the Official Texas State God - That's an Order
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
Trust the Official
Texas State God – That’s an Order
Some say
“All of us worship the same god, you know”
But what makes them think that this is so?
Is ‘In God We Trust’ an assertion of Christian nationalism or of American history in public schools? – Baptist News Global
Texas schools hanging 'In God We Trust' signs after new state law requiring donated signs be posted | Fox News
Thoreau-ly August - doggerel about the heat
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
Thoreau-ly
August
“The mass of
men live lives of quiet desperation,”
Protested
Thoreau in hopeless exasperation.
One would not
enter into disputation
With a famous
writer of great reputation
But
Alas that here
our lives are rank perspiration!
-
From The Road to Magdalena, 2012
(Available
on amazon)
Friday, August 26, 2022
Allusions to DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, Patrick McGoohan's THE PRISONER, Kafka, Orwell, and Mordor
Dear Anonymous Google Accuser:
Thank you for your note, the contents of
which sound much like the block warden’s caution (“Your attitude is noticed,
comrade.”) to Yuri in the film version of Doctor Zhivago.
I have re-read the column, which I wrote
nine years ago, and find nothing offensive in it (although it is rather
puerile), nor do you detail exactly what is offensive in it and why I should be
sanctioned. You are being Kafka-esque, and I say this as someone who has read
Kafka: you do not tell me what offense I have purportedly committed nor do you face
me with an accuser. You do not even face me with you, for you do not give your
name. You employ the passive voice in referring to an “Adult Content policy” and
to “Community Guidelines,” which sounds like something from an episode of
Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner: “The Committee won’t like this, Number
Six.”
Google (and one could find “google”
offensive, with its history mocking someone’s physical characteristics) is a
private company, and so is free to publish or not publish, as is only
right. And I am free to pity Google for
moral, ethical, and literary cowardice.
I was raised in situational poverty,
barely graduated from high school, and spent 18 months in Viet-Nam. Upon
returning to the USA (with life-long skin cancer which the DVA denies) I worked
straight nights (double shifts on weekends) as an ambulance driver and later an
LVN to put myself through university. I taught for almost forty years in public
school, community college, and university as an adjunct instructor of no status
whatsoever. In retirement I volunteered with our local school’s reading program
until the Covid ended that, and I still volunteer with the lads at the local prison.
I volunteer in community cleanup after our hurricanes (tho’ I’m getting a
little old for that). I’ve worked hard all my life, paid my taxes, paid off my
house at age 70, receive only half of my Social Security because of some vague
law, and never gamed the system. Indeed, I would say that the system has gamed
me.
And was all of this so that some frightened
committee of anonymous inquisitors staring at an Orwellian telescreen or a
Mordor-ish Palantir could find an innocuous scribble insensitive?
Pffffft.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Hall
Thursday, August 25, 2022
Pontifex Minimus - poem
Lawrence Hall
https://hellopoetry.com/lawrence-hall/
poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
Pontifex Minimus
I met a man who once
lived under a bridge
He said that was when
he was happiest
But he found Jesus and
civilization
So they put him in
prison
He likes having a bed
and three meals each day
But he misses his
bridge
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
