Poems Summer 2026

1. The Rummage Sale

I walk into the Church's sale,
And I sense a lie surrounds me.
Like I am in the presence of seven demons.
To tell the truth, I feel this way,
That there is a lie in the air...
It feels like fire burns through my chest
And a deep depression of hellish sorrows.
Note, when I walk into a Cathedral, 
I ought to feel peace
And the smell of woods and pine.
As a friend once said there should be church dust
And there should be peaceful wine.
But something dark lurks there
I do not know what.

2. The Battle Cry

Through the river, of Zion's shores,
I see the mountain God adores;
Twelve Thousand Furlongs raised to the sky
With golden streets, so I'll be wise.

I see the Nations gathered for war.
I put my armor on, and God has warned
That to flinch in battle, I'll be slain,
Thus I hold to my faith, without feign:

I thrust my spear of the Bible's Word,
I hold my faithful shield and am cured...
My battle is not with you outside,
It is within me, of powers wild.

So, I wrestle the prince I knew
Who holds to darkness, and never few
Are his lies, which in my ears
Makes subtle curses and tells me to fear.

He says to me, "Holiness is sin,"
And he says, "Righteousness won't win."
Thus the stars fall, and at the battle cry
I oil my shield, and so am wise.

On the bloody day, I shall be hid,
When the trumpets blast, and God will win:
My heart and soul and my righteous deed
Shall cleave to Christ for eternity.

3. A Thought

Watching her set fire to her home,
And sit and read silently as it burned...
And seeing myself driven to madness once...
I realize there are many weird things in this world.
It is best not to think of them too often.
The Levite's Concubine was raped, murdered, and mutilated...
Then her mutilated corpse was mailed all over the country...
Let that be enough to dwell on of the world's evil,
Or as Jesus said, "The tower fell, and Pilate mingled human blood in the sacrifice.
"Were these any more wicked?"
Let not your mind imagine too much wickedness.
For there are many strange things in this world...
Too many to count.

4. The Grackle and Cardinal

The Grackle and the Cardinal fought
Upon the bough, the Cardinal in 
The sweetest plumage, red crest bright,
A florescent paint. The Grackle
Pearlescent black, purple, green.
I consider Democracy;
The Poet and Priest fight for wise
Thoughts and sayings, to sway mankind.
Yet, the people almost always
In their decadence, elect those
Who will agree upon the worst
Thoughts and decrees. Thus, both birds flee
To another place, where safely
They flit upon the boughs again.

5. The Thing I Do Not Want

The feminist at my daughter's bedside
While she is in the ER, telling me
To my face, that I, in my panic,
Scare her. I might say these words to her,
"Your whole race should be back in the tent
"And not allowed to associate with anyone
"If this is how you behave
"When my little one is sick."
Both things are what I don't want.
So love a little better. So I don't have to be bitter anymore
And say things I don't really mean.

6. The Wildfire, July 16th, 2026

A wasp stings my calf;
I put baking-soda paste on.
The sting disappears.
I see a deer in the woods.
We look at one another.

The smoke looks like smog.
It smells like a wood.
It dims the sun to
The color it makes
At sunset. I eat.

I remember the fawn there
In the woods, and I thought this:
“We're a merciful nation.”
But the park ranger had it 
Euthanized. So I cursed that.
I do not now take it back.
America was good, when
We had a kind heart. Mercy
Was our way. Now, it is strife.

But know this, after
The Hornet stung me I did
Not kill. I did not.

7. My Talent

I received my talent from my Master---
It was a good price. He said, "Invest."
So, I took to music, and used the talent
To learn my song, and played for the feeble.
Then, I bought a store of wisdom, and proved
My master were King, and told all to submit.
Then, I took my talent, and used it
To invest my body, which I wrought;
At the end, how many talents did I make?
I studied Music, Wisdom, and my Body sweat
And my body bled, and my eyes watered.
Also, my wisdom was kept in the bank---
Thus, I compounded my interest.

8. Christian

"Fortune is ever dead... so I struggled.
"I lost every battle, for the resources were scarce.
"Thus, I mustered what I could.
"With an arid land, I learned to nourish it.
"I grew the grasses, I spread the decayed flesh
"And the dead vegetables, and the ashes burnt off my weeds.
"When the waters were dry, I dug down and found springs.
"When my house drooped, I found the mighty Ash and built it back again stronger.
"When there was no Ash, I searched ten miles for the mighty tree
"And I found its samaras and planted them, making my own forest to harvest.
"God did not smile on me.
"My every plan failed. But I strove and would not curse Him.
"I had no money. I had every plan fail, and every friend walk away.
"All who helped me, even those who took pity, their assistance failed, too.
"I was alone. When I sat down for play, to play the game,
"My hand was the worst hand.
"But, soon I began to win.
"With my crushed fortune, I took what was losing,
"And strove ahead of most.
"And then, came Providence's smile.
"And with fortune and know how, I began to smash my enemy to pieces.
"My enemy is Sin."

9. A Hard Message

Walking along the park path's green
I saw a shirt, there, in the leaves.
I thought, oh I thought, about God
There in Deuteronomy's Law
Knowing it wouldn't be retrieved.

I saw the preacher, yes, I've seen
Losing his faith's authority---
Waning;---Paul couldn't heal, but loved;
Walking along the park path's green

I adjure him to let it be,
For sometimes I too don't believe,
And things grow hard, and have no laude.
Yet, remember, this world is naught.
To heal, or not, God is there seen
Walking along the park path's green.

10. Mary Jones

Twenty-five miles you trekked
To receive your bible in 
Bare feet, and at the threshold
You almost were denied it.
Yet, you wept true tears, and you
Received the Bible you'd need.
How awesome is this, to see?
Six years you saved, penury
Your position, a Daughter
Of a Weaver. And almost
Had you not there received it.
But your tears inspired the
Great Apostle of of Bala
To start to print them for all;
And Millions would be then sown.
Now, Gideons do the work
And will freely distribute.

11. Birthday Thoughts

Plato I was, walking down the pathway
And there was Aristotle before me.
I said, "Look up at the trees! Aren't they tall?"
He said, "Look down at the flowers, aren't they
"Beautiful, and always in their timing?"
I see the Swallowtail flutter on the
Cone of a red Phlox flower, fluttering
Wings like a hummingbird's, blue and black dust.
I see the Hemlock and Wild Carrot
There, growing, only a naturalist could
Know the Wild Carrot has a flower
Of Velvet in its large flower's center.
Aristotle made me look to the Earth;
I hope I caused his eyes to see Heaven.

12. Jude to Judas

"I see you, rapturous with the life you wanted.
"The life you stole from me, my friend.
"You are happy, and my heart rejoices for you.
"You took my life, my income, my work,
"And you took it all away, and left me with nothing.
"My heart rejoices for you, with such tender love.
"Live well, Judas, live well...
"I am Jude, and I will be happy you achieved
"The life you robbed, destroyed and killed for.
"And when I am in heaven's bosom,
"I shall sit over you, at the bench.
"You did not expect it, for you truly believed it were a lie.
"And I shall go down, count for count,
"The ways you betrayed all of us."

13. My Thumbscrew

My Thumbscrew is to honor God...
Cause me to think it honors Him,
So when I fail, I am disheartened;
For we cannot fully please Him
By our own good deeds.

14. Lost in Devonshire

I was lost in Devonshire, 
And I saw there all I needed to see...
There was a Sage who neither man nor woman,
And there was there a great foe to beat.
I saw a prophet speaking,
They wish to turn my life 'to a curse...
To term me that forsaken,
To cause penury for my purse.
I drove to that great highway,
I had left a defeated man...
But though I could not succeed...
I am who I am...
I am that Christian in the Land...
Wandering over the valleys
So if you ever find me 
My friends will understand.

15. August 1st, 2026

Yesterday, I got stung by the hornet.
Right on the brow of my eye, swelling large.
Not as painful as the emotional 
Swells in my heart, I plucked them off my face
And in my inner thigh, and mowed the rest.
Cabbage could be smelled outside, and as it
Was said, "You have now revealed yourself to
"Another beside me." As the judge acts
As Brandon's Defense Attorney in court.
No Defender, a Fop for the DA
The Judge was remarkable, I say it:
"Who voted for this scum? Was it I? I?"
And I walk funny on my ankle, nigh
Sprained, and I realize I have clean thoughts and
Unclean thoughts, and God has disciplined me.

16. The Occult

Chatoyant light flies
Off the gem, the syzygy 
Of Saturn, Venus 
And the Moon high in the sky.
He called eudaemonia
In mellifluous tenor.

His victim died. 
Thus did he.
It's purple blood a fact...
Dripping down the altar
To Baphomet and Baal---
And his fortune never failed,
But he had lost all his joy.

17. The Well Lived Life

To live righteously, and do little harm.
To make others feel happy, and trust them.
To do work, and sweat, or learn; to know truth.
To eat good food, drink good drink, sleep enough.
To have at least a friend, who knows you well.
To die without fear, not self inflicted.
To avoid strong drink, noxious herbs and debt.
To make love only with one, who won't leave.
This is the well lived life.

18. Timothy Dexter

Wild were your fortunes,
Which you shipped across the seas...
A man for these times,
Let everyone now see.
You sailed so strong, and mighty
And took the risk it's sure.
All tried to stop you
Yet, you made profit on every shore.
A man of the times, you sailed to where there was best
Where there was naught, now there is
And that was the greatest test.
A great man, Lord in America,
Everyone could see...
Where there were no Baronry
You thought there still were, it seems.

19. Turning 37

Oh, at 5 I could think about Robots
And do my ABCs, at 10 I could
Kill an Ant, and do my algebra, please.
At 16 I could fall in love, and at
20 I gained my maturity's fat.
At 25 I became proficient
At 30 I became a Journeyman.
37, though, my mind is quiet
Almost immediately afterward.
Composed, in a way that is different.
It is a different mind already.
More grateful for the fresh tomato sauce;
My blood pressure is getting higher, too.
I have more peace than I used to. Like the
Flowers turn on their precious dates, so my
Mind does the same. Its seasons flower ripe;
And they are at their most beautiful peak
About to turn to an unripe berry.
And then a sweet fruit, ready to eat. Pluck
It when you do, the mind I do not know;
Will it stop soon? Or will it always grow?

20. Bones

Rotting bones, rotting bones
From the jail it's rotting bones.
I smell them, yes, my stalwart mate
You told me once, before 'tis too late.
I smell the rotting bones.
Into the furnace they go.
Save them, save then, stop the curse.
I am afraid, for the worst.

21. August 19th, 2026

Pacifism only goes so far.
Shall I get stung for my labor
Over and over again?
Destroy to the last...
Mercy has had an end.
I have showed mercy on the hornet
And they have showed me none.
Now is the time to kill.

22. Hypocrites

No atheist can steal my faith---
With perfect logic I defend.
Yet, the Hypocrite turns around and says,
"With faith I dare, so your reasons end."
Blood drips from a wall
And it cures the child of her muteness.
The Catholics worship it like it's God
And I see the demon child with her cuteness.
Whacky is, what whacky does,
There is no soundness in the faith.
No atheist can steal it now
But Hypocrites can make it dangerous.

Why do I believe? I ask it now...
I believe because of peace and love.
I see less of it every day,
But I remember it when it descended from above.
There were sober men, and sober Christians
Not the whacky, strange and weird.
Yet, all have drunk from the poisoned well
But I will not drink it due to fear.

23. The Song of a Christian Maid

I listen to the most beautiful pour out her woes to me
About a lost lover, and a Christian I do see.
Yet, what is her heartbreak, is so pure---
It is not the swells of hate.
No, my love, keep your youthful bloom,
For you have no enemies irate.

For Christ is mine, and I am His,
And I listen to the shepherds sing,---
Of Songs of Solomon, and of the maid,
A Bridal loom do spin.
The lace of truth, and the ornaments of grace
I see upon you now,
Oh beautiful among the maidens, thy face is not so proud.

Yet, like a warrior, I fight my battle
And I cast my crown to He.
The war is all around me, and at the end I will sing.
Great are the warfares of precious love and truth.
To keep the love you have for all,
That is what you fight for: prove
To me your worthy brow, by being a righteous maid.
Keep your virgin heart for love
And to the LORD do pray.

For I see your heart is so beautiful,
And your righteous love beats true.
You are often in my prayers my sister
And I speak to you words so smooth.
The glassy eye you have for her
Who sits upon your lap,
Who faithfully looks up at you, that is why I laugh.
Not in mocking, but with joy, for your love is ever true:
Keep that love you have for all, and I shall always love you.

And walking down the clayey path
I see the toads do scamper true,
The swallowtails do flutter by
In their indigo blues.
I think of you, and your true love
And think to myself 'tis from above:
Do not, oh Sister Faith, lose it, few
Have such love in their bones.
That is true Christianity, at least the one I have known.

❦

And the geese did forget their way
As they flew in their gaggles,
Not in their aerodynamic Vs did they go their way;
The winds did storm, and they did break
For love causes them to form their skein:
That shall be a Christian who has no love, they daggle
Off the path, to the left or right they say.
My love, the worker forgets his skill
And the armies are in the pills;
All do wonder, yet love is true, always.
Remember this wisdom in time:
God shall bless your name and make you wise.

24. I Am Not Your Rabbi

The wary student said to the teacher:
"Master I bid, thee well to do,"
The teacher said, "I make thee free of me
"To do what thou ought to do.
"For if you call me master
"Know there be but one Who walked the Earth:
"My job is to teach you how to seek
"And find what is lacking in the dearth.
"Therefore, wisdom is found from the rock
"The air and the sea;
"It is found in the Form of bodily shapes
"And is found when there is no envy.
"For the Air, the Rock the Ocean
"Are the Spirit, Body and Motion;
"Seek what is, and not what you think
"And there shall be no end.
"Yet if you seek your own thoughts my dove
"You shall your silken garment rend.
"For the crucible of our power
"Comes from the Bedrock of the Earth;
"The world moves in mysterious ways
"But we shall know from what is first.
"The great and mighty know a thing
"By witnessing it all the same.
"Therefore, call me not a teacher
"But seek what lies beneath a name."

25. The Righteous Bully?

A good deed is never enough
Self sacrifice is called "Not love."
Though he be trampled, scorned, and made a gazing stock
The people scorn him, and say he's not worth his lot.
Though poor, and can't afford cigarettes
He wouldn't smoke them, nor invest
If he had money to pay the clime
It's misery to him which he has in time.
All use him, and his every selfish woe
His one request is backbit you know.
Thus, all do laugh and scorn...
Yet, he does it with cheer, and yet you never learn.
He may frown at folly, and fear what's rash
He may, and then they call him trash.
The people hawk and mock and scorn...
Is that the righteous bully we all have learned?
The one who gives his back to scorn
Let him have a little darkness
So we may sweetly learn.
For his heart is pressed to do good deeds...
When he is a little grumpy, don't tease his weeds.
For we all love to mock a righteous man
Yet who is there when you need him? Now understand.

26. The Two Sinners

"I have two worlds who work off my debts
"To pay for my bag of dreams.
"In the room they came and went
"And my enemy sat by and screamed."

I have forty trillion dollars debt
Which pay interest every day.
Yet, the LORD my God shall be my rent
And for my Dreams His blood shall pay.

27. Mates

The owl perched atop the Neighbor's house
Calling for its mate across the way...
Wisdom calls to wisdom in the night.
What is wisdom is often what is understood---
Yet to know, is not the same as to do.
For to teach cunning to the wise man
That is not his art... his art is to learn.
To know sometimes gets in the way of how to do it:
For what we do not know, we do instinctively.
Thus, it is better to do a thing with little knowledge
Of the theory, for the theory teaches us why
But not how. 

                           Wisdom calls to wisdom:
"I am wise because I do."
"I am wise because I know."
The two are perfectly mated
For one will know, while the other will do.
The pair on their migratory path, here every September
Their habitation wide and large.

28. What Makes Good Art?

What makes good art?
I know not...

A reflection of the times
A reflection of the soul
A long devotion
An intricate web
A rich meaning
A true aesthetic
A deep learning?

29. The Wise Man and the Oracle

The wise man wandered through a vast desert
And was searching for the Oracle of Ammon;
He heard Alexander had been there, and wished
To hear the vast wisdom of her cherished thoughts.

He finally arrived, and asked the Oracle:

"Tell me about the arts."

The Oracle laughed and said,

"The arts? Be in time, and if the sewer is where
"Do not seek to clean it.
"For down the debacle does the slough flow
"And into the river, where there will be none.
"And when purified, all will be made new."

The wise man furrowed his brow.

"What of my wisdom?"

The Oracle said,

"Wisdom goes in its cycles.
"What makes a man prosperous is honor in one era
"And what makes a man profitable is deceit in another.
"Be in the times. Do not burden yourself with the past
"And think not about the future.
"Rather, know only the present."

The wise man said,

"What of my body?"

The Oracle said,

"Health, wealth and power are the gods of one generation
"Amity, friendship and pleasure another.
"It goes its ways, in cycles,
"Men are fit with pleasure, and the next generation squanders it."

The wise man said,

"What of religion?"

The Oracle said, 

"Religion is whatever the times decree.
"In one era, it focuses on war and wealth
"And another it focuses on peace and health.
"Both are contained in every scripture
"But man must choose his path."

The wise man said,

"What of sex?"

The Oracle said,

"In one era, nothing is known about it.
"Not even the marriage bed is their pleasure.
"The affaires are only social,
"And nudity is never known.
"In another, the very point of pleasure is sought by all
"And marriage is forgotten.
"There can be no affaires, for all are mates
"And nudity is seen in the public square."

The wise man said,

"What of pleasure?

The Oracle said,

"Pleasure is like a wheel:
"There is pleasure in work
"There is work in pleasure
"There is no pleasure in work
"There is no work in pleasure.
"Thus, it goes in its wheel."

The wise man said,

"I have studied the sages,
"What of the Sophists?"

The Oracle said,

"Science is forgotten, and science is then known.
"It leads to suffering when science is unknown
"But it leads to suffering when science is too well known.
"For where science is too well known, it ceases, for all disappears within the gaps.
"Where science is unknown, it never is."

The wise man said,

"What of economics?"

The Oracle said,

"Let a man eat from what he earns, and lay no barrier to him.
"Do not slander his business, for he may be a grandmaster
"In penury, and all mock him because of public debate.
"Let men do their business, and do not hinder them.
"Grow the fruit tree at every hecter.
"Do not scorn the arts or sciences or law or freedom.
"For economics is the vehicle of a people's happiness."

The wise man said,
"I have heard enough."

The Oracle said,

"My friend, listen close to all
"And reproduce their speech exactly.
"Speak as a thing is, and as a thing ought
"And counterplay between them.
"Know a thing a thousand ways
"And understand it in many dimensions.
"For a shape that is real has many sides
"And the whole object is joined to them.
"One side is separated from another side
"But it is part of the one whole.
"The truth contradicts itself  in taciturn ways:
"The Holy Books all have Good and Evil;
"The good man is not wholly good;
"The evil man not wholly evil.
"A good God must do some evil things
"And an evil daemon must do some good things.
"Such it is... know only this:
"Wisdom comes from ears and the mouth
"Applied to forming what the ears have heard."

30. Math Thoughts

Subtraction must be in a certain order---
Or you can just add with negatives.
Likewise, a function can express a line or curve,
And understanding this can derive an exact area
For what is underneath it, or the curve itself.
The limit is the exact ratio, of the division of the function,
Which the function is explained through multiple
Trigonometric variables.
And we can combine these, to calculate the whole curve
And then take those variables, and calculate another curve.
What a wonderful world it would be?

31. Fortune

To understand our world,
One must know the wills of other minds:
Every cent you earn is from a willing buyer.
The very life blood, the very health
Requires trust in your fellow man:
Your entire fortune is in another man's hand
Whether you believe it or not.

Fortune corrodes, and delusions make a man rich:
Or do they? Other wills destroy.
Other wills build.
They give and take away, you understand?
Philosophers do work,
But if another man says it is not so...
They take it all away and say it is no more.
There is no rhyme or reason to fortune.
It is a wheel, elevating one man
And crushing another.
Making a skilled craftsman into an apprentice
And a novice into a grand master.

There is nothing in our world that makes sense:
The empress falls to the will of other men:
She is no more.
Good or bad, it matters nothing.
Wills produce all fortune good or ill.

32. Bad Magic

He says, "You made a lot of bad magic."
Yet, Amos prophesied, and the earthquake 
Was his sign that he was true.
I don't know any magic...
Only that I dreamt it and it happened.

©2026 B. K. Neifert
All Rights Reserved