God told me a joke.
First, he cracked my heart
As though it were a crisp cookie.
Into the space between the halves
He breathed a burr
That wedged and twisted in my chest.
Then, just when I thought
I too must fully break in half,
God sent me a sign.
A bird, trapped in the garage.
Grey, small, with long tail.
Poor thing,
Flying in ineffectual circles,
Singing hollow in the darkened space,
Waiting for me to press the button and
Return it to the world.
Very funny.
Great punch line.
Month: March 2015
Saint Brigid, Saint Patrick, Mary, and God
StandardSaint Brigid, Saint Patrick, Mary, and God
Saint Brigid saw Saint Patrick
Walking by her lake of beer.
She called to him, “Hey, Patrick!
Care to share a cup of cheer?”
Saint Patrick winked and nodded.
“Aye, but I will drink no beer.
It’s whiskey that’s my drink of choice –
Would you like a dram, my dear?”
So Saint Patrick and Saint Brigid
Got to celebrating days
Until their song reached Heaven
(Drunk voices carry quite a ways.)
Immaculate Mary descended
Down to the lake of beer
And Saint Brigid raised her tankard,
“Hey Mary, how ‘bout a mug of beer?”
Gentle Mary smiled at the pair
“I’ll drink something more fine.
If we’re in celebrating mood
I’d much prefer a glass of wine.”
So Brigid drank a mighty draught
And Patrick from his flasks
Sweet Mary had amphora brought
The angels rolled the casks.
The trio sat by the lake of beer
And sang hymnals full of praise
Until God himself popped into sight
(For he has mysterious ways)
“Across my kingdom’s reaches
Have I heard the noise you’ve made
You could awaken souls asleep
What happens in this glade?”
“Good Father,” said Saint Patrick.
“Come and join us for a drink!
Be merry and happy on a day of feast
Come on, Lord, whatdya think?”
“Holy Lord,” enjoined Saint Brigid.
“Let me offer you a glass!
Let’s celebrate the day of days
That many more may pass!”
“Almighty God,” spoke Mary.
“Come drink the grape’s delight
Let’s sing and dance and spin the Earth
Throughout the day and night.”
And God sat down beside them
By the lake of beer and song
He drank the whiskey and the wine
For God’s tolerance is strong.
Until, that is, God’s humor
Got the better of his mind
“Hey guys, check out what I can do!
Let’s see what I can find!”
Saint Brigid, Saint Patrick, and Mary
All paused within their drinking
Each wanting to see what the Lord would bring
To see what Yahweh was thinking.
With a mighty clap and a joyous noise
The Lord gave out a cheer
And all around the angels sang
And drank at the lake of beer.
Yet when the magic settled,
And the power had all been spent,
The only thing that God had made
Was an awkward looking rodent.
Its tail was rat, its fur was white
“I shall call it – an opossum!
It shall confound my mortal charges…
Now, which Saint had the rum?”
Saint Brigid cheered the creature
And Saint Patrick cried “Here! Here!”
Sweet Mary laughed and clapped her hands
By that merry lake of beer.
*****
Saint Brigid of Ireland is my patron saint, and her prayer involves providing beer for all eternity for the holy family. On this, Saint Patrick’s day, I like to think that God gets to enjoy him/herself with the Saints.
And like all drunks, strange creatures get made when God gets tipsy. I mean, the platypus, most deep sea creatures, the opossum (which I call God’s sneeze).
Internet Ghazal
StandardA “Ghazal” is an antique style of poetry which started in India and moved on through the Middle East. It has strong ties to Sufism.
Anyway, someone actually challenged me to write a Ghazal after I wrote a sonnet, which I wrote in response to an “incorrectly” identified haiku, which was itself a parody of a song lyric.
I highly recommend taking a moment of your day to read through the Wikipedia article about the Ghazal. It’s one of those nice little pieces that illustrate the rules that certain forms require. A ghazal was to focus themes of love, mysticism, unattainable emotion – it’s actually beautiful and incredibly challenging if done correctly.
I was just trying to show off for a stranger on the internet.
Internet Ghazal
A poet’s words unnoticed, lost in thread forever
Buried amid counter-comments instead forever
Stretch out the Internet’s letters round the world
And fill all tongues with dread forever
Muses of the internet, be kind and present
Keep my creativity well-fed forever
Run virtual fingers through Wikipedian pages
So as not to lose my poetic cred forever
I’ll reach for old forms long forgotten
Sub-continentally considered dead forever
Stare at the GreatGreyBeast’s challenge
Let words rush through my head forever
Stand under the coded skies of the virtual world
Where thoughts have all but fled forever
To write, and write, delete and write again
A set of tiny literate wings I’ll spread forever
And though my bones will someday rest interred
Serving as the worm’s bread forever
My soul through words will always reach beyond
My soul through words that will be said forever.
—-
Well done!
