John Donne

1.

The prettiest of words, doth not make a faith
When thou crown'st thy works to make Catholics afraid...
Sore reminder you are that a Poet great
Does not save a soul, for rather irate
You were at your brother's death
And then became a Protestant mess.
You persecuted your brethren who were very poor
You wagged your tongue and then once more
Preached against their miserable poverty;
You lashed your tongue at their misery---
And mocked and scorned and had no remorse:
You teach me that a poet does not get saved
By pretty words, which always amaze.---
For I would have rather been dull and not said a word.

2.

For I would have rather been dull and not said a word,
Should my words be toward my brother in curse.
For when you were Catholic, your heart was pure
I see it, I see it, you were so cured
Of malice and slander and awful hate.
Then, your brother died and irate
You took it out on the Catholic Church
When England had made its laws a curse.
Your brethren had no means to find work
As you wagged your tongue on the lector's perch.
And judge I do not, I do not this day
For I know not whether you are in heaven always.
I just know... like Antichrist will some day
Study the dictators, the Christians, their lives I shall gain.

3.

Study the dictators: The Christians, their lives I shall gain,
To know how to live a life so gay.
I shall study you and Bunyan and Paul
And learn how to be Most Christian of them all.
For Antichrist thou art, with your false prophet tongue
To wag at good Christians and their sons.
So Antichrist shall study the Dictators and Laws
I shall study Good Christian sons.
And the poets and the sages and the wise men too;
I shall learn all there is to know about the good.
And when it is, even the gays
I shall not wag against them on that day.
I shall say, "Look, these are sinners it's true
"But have mercy on them, have mercy on them too."

4.

"But have mercy on them, have mercy on them too,"
I shall scream as the Christians march by twos
In their lines of war and peace
And the invasions of their worldly armies.
And I shall say on that day,
"You wagged against the Catholics and I by my way
"Studied only the good heavenly truth
"For I do not know if in heaven you roost.
"Yet, I shall not judge, I shall not judge
"Not you, not me, not a gay man's sludge
"Of foul sin and dirt and sodomy's filth
"I shall speak of peace until I'm stilled."
For a good man you were in your youth
Before you were fearful of your brother's couth.

5.

Before you were fearful of your brother's couth,
You were good, and you were then proved.
Why did you then put to the worse your proof?
When your brother died, you converted to Anglican
And then you slandered your Catholic fellowman.
I am, I am, I am a good Lutheran
And will not leave my peace of Philadelphia's rudiments.
For I will not wag against any man
And those who I did I shall then understand
From every tongue's judgment I shall be weaned
For I may be a poet Laureate some day, it remains to be seen.
Over my life and over my words, it will be said
"He practiced what he preached, and he did what he says." [So]
The prettiest of words, do not make a faith.

Another Chewing of the Cud on the Death of Cuchulain

Cuchulain, many have you slain
Upon the Warfield, with the fat
Of blood upon your weapon.
Waxy is your steel---so like Christ's
When He treads the winepress---
And the bloody bands and brains
Are blown out by your blows.
Finally, one hapless warrior wounds you
And guts hanging from your stomach
You go through, and murder many;
And then you die, creating a blood feud
Which your pal takes an oath to avenge.
Such is war, and its eventual end.

The Dragon the Beast and the Satyr

There was a Sheep who found a Dragon, and the Dragon spoke to him, "Do as I say, and you will have a pleasant life. Be not fearful, little Lamb, and prosper, revel, but give up your voice. Give up your freedom and your pastures, and lounge in my fields, and I shall cause the grass to grow and feed you. I shall give you greener pastures, if you give up your voice." The Sheep, seeing the Dragon's teeth, said, "I know thou art dangerous, and will gobble me up."

Then, a Beast approached, being far more tempting. It said, "Just give me your voice, and your freedom, and let me feed you, and give you all your heart's desires. I shall treat you right. You shall take my money, and be happy and fed. Work all hours, and work all days, and I shall give you the life you desire." The Sheep said, "No, for I know you are a gnarly Beast and will gobble me up."

Then, finally, a Satyr came, and said, "Little Lamb, Thou dost protest too much. Here, take this mark into your flesh, and into your body; become a machine. And worship this former Beast, for he is good, and will feed your belly. He will give you much work, and much food, and satisfy your wants with pleasure innumerable. For we shall dance, and make nude play with the she-Lambs, and make good fortunes. And you will never have to worry again." The Sheep said, "No, you are more tricky than the last, for I saw he was ugly, and you are still so kind in your voice, but again, I say no."

Thus, the Satyr was furious, and said, "So you shall not take my master's bidding, and worship him? You shall not have the religion I profess? Then you shall be roasted on a spit." And the Satyr beheaded the Lamb, and roasted him on a spit. Yet, the Lamb was happy where his soul went, in a better pasture, with a better Shepherd in a better Land.

A Christian on Nature

As time passes on, and men lose their faith, it'll be asked, "What did Christians view about nature?" And the staunch Conservative places forth an unwieldy verse in Genesis,---that is Antichrist---saying "Aha, we must subdue it!" Yet the LORD curses those who destroy the Earth in Revelation, and speaks of the Sabbath in the Torah. Why did Israel get sacked by Babylon? It was because the land needed its rest. The Sabbaths needed to be observed, and the soil made healthy again. 

Man is Nature's steward, and in that verse in Genesis is the opposite point of view... not that man must severely disappoint Nature, and destroy her, and strip her of her resources, but quite the opposite, that we are her steward and defender, and protector. Through Sabbaths, through the beasts which were given to us for our company--as the animals were made to help Adam be less lonely, before Eve was formed.

Then, in the restoration of Zion, the animals shall have a part in the kingdom. Nature is to be preserved, and will God not destroy those who destroy His earth? Surely He will. For Nature is beautiful, and the Natural Splendor close to God's heart.

The Crow and the Toddler

The Crow could count, and the Toddler could too. And the Crow could speak, and the Toddler could, too. The Crow and the Toddler went to a contest. "Tell me the color of this," and both the Crow and Toddler could. "Open this jar," the Crow could, but the Toddler couldn't. Thus, the Mad Scientist over the project said, "Alas! The Crow is more intelligent!" Yet, the Toddler sung a hymn and old Nursery Rhyme, and the Toddler painted a picture with his finger. And the Toddler also stacked upon themselves, blocks in great number. And the Toddler also could do everything the Crow could, save open the jar to get to the food. The Crow then rebuked the scientist, "Look to this child, what else it can do, and not just complete menial tasks to get fed. For the Child is a wonder to all Heaven, and I but a Crow that can name the colors of ornaments, and know shapes and know what is bigger. The Child, on the other hand, does all this and more, and so I can surf on a piece of bark, and play in the snow, the Child does this, too. What the Child does that I do not, is it bears the image of God."

The Bonobo and the Gamer

There was a Man who was not famous for playing games, while a Bonobo was famous for playing them, too. The Man enjoyed creating, and building, and built many castles and a heavenly kingdom in his game. The Bonobo, however, did not. The Man was not famous, but the Bonobo were. The Man became jealous at this, and said, "I sit here, and create great masterpieces, and have no fortune. And this, this creature, only knows how to move forward and back, and he is more successful than even I!" The Bonobo signed to the Man, "I have not the faculties of a man, for this is the best I can do. I do not play this for enjoyment, like you, but only for bananas. Know, for that reason, that you construct and build, and move to greater plateaus, that is why you are more beloved in God's eyes. Let me have my fame in this short period of time, while you seek after eternal glory and rest."

Vague Memories

A reader on my blog today
Dug up something from long ago...
An essay on Charles Lamb 
And Jane Austen.

At first, I had no recall
Of the essay, but then poring over it
The memories came back vague and shadowy.
Memory is such a faulty thing...

Yet I remember... when I read it...
And they slowly return
As the browned pages
Of Lamb's essay bring back perfect recall.

And then you wonder about sin...
What have I done that I don't know?
If anything... that a moment's glance
Can bring it back? Heaven forbid, remove it far away.

President Trump

I will look like a fool for you
If you do the thing I need you to do.
Which is prevent disease, and gun barrels 
From flashing at my door.
I don't care if I lose my credibility with the world---
In my dream, there was war, and pestilence,
And I knew someone had started it.
If you prevent what my heart sore fears
I shall take back every evil thought...
Though, lend me my freedom to be wrong.

The Return of the Robins

Walking down the street, it is a chilly spring day...
The Robin is seen in mid March.
The first one of the season---
I've seen them nigh a February's fay---
And the strongest males return
From their Southern homes, and they pioneer
Their troop, searching out to see if the land is safe.
And then, their little ones, their females
And their weaker males return.
Yet, only the strongest are the pioneers, whom
You see are those first males of the season.
The Maples have their florets, and the Willows
Are soon to push forth their yellow branches---
In fact, some already have.