If I were a bird
You would be my nest.

You are the bed
When I need rest.

My ears had heard
But now my eyes see.

I come to know the depth
Of what you mean to me,

Life and love, and breath.

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com


                            The Last American Westclox Baby Ben

                                                         (Maybe)


It ticked into my heart at the Goodwill store
Two dollars’ worth of Americana
A charmer in a battered metal shell
Hiding behind a tired plastic face

The tick, the tock, the talk of Peru, Illinois
The clock that woke America each dawn
For work and study, and to meet the Chicago train
For a century until time ran out

It clicks and clanks and ticks and tocks and talks

All-day dutiful hands, a jangling bell -
How long will this old clock last?

Only time will tell

monsters unleashed I fear
light might freeze on our faces
and what a rush to be generous
an eden of objects, a living emptiness
all in the name of christmas
merciless the geopolitics of hatred
this is not a poem but sheer rage
when streets explode under our feet
exhausted by words turned into death sentences

I stand here translucent
Shine thru me sunlight
Finish my portrait, colour my grays
Until no shadows remain

Give it free,
Without accountability.
29/12/2024

"Hey, babe, the taxi will be here in five minutes. No more poetry for two weeks. Copenhagen, here we come."

"Yeah, I need a break, Bertha. I've run dry of ideas anyway."

"You'll have plenty of material when we return."

"God, I love you. I can't wait to get to the hotel room."

"Snap!"

"Logging out... now."

Life always looks better
    with laughter and humour
    reason stands in the way of such
    it's too stern and breaks asunder-

    every day there's room
   for gaiety and lightheartedness
   why knock on the door of philosophy
   and court doubt and restlessness?

I met a budgie
High on a perch
I asked where
You going
What do you
Search,
I flew out the
Window now I’m
Free
So I ate the budgie
It was
Fine by me,
Freedom is dangerous
You must have rules
I think this meal
was a stupid fool.

Dear Irene

This is my third year at the monastery. Excuse me for being tardy in writing--I hardly have any spare time.  Monastic life calls for the utmost discipline as we monks live communally-- prayers, tending to the the garden which provides us with some of the food we need,  listening to the instruction of the elders,  helping to keep the monastery and its compounds clean,  talking to  and advising parishers, visiting the sick, doing charity rounds, educating the novices,  working in the kitchen and cleaning up, praying at vespers and retiring sharping at 9 pm, waking at 5 a.m. the next day.

It was very hard for me to get used to this routine during my first six months here, but with patience, encouragement of the elders and divine grace,  I was able to settle in quite well---it's no longer regimentation but living a life of devotion, obedience sacrifice and selflessness.

You asked me once whether I was happy as I had given up the world. I can honestly say that I have found peace, contentment and joy in my priesthood.  I didn't come here to run away from life but to understand myself and to seek meaning and purpose.  In this state of grace,  I have been able to discard all that which reduces my humanity and  discover that I have drawn closer for the first time to loving my fellow-beings. It is as though I have lost myself in being at one with others and life at large ,  as well as the universe.  It is hard for people who live in the outside world to understand the transcendental dimension of a spiritual life.  Yes, we monks have to die to find the way to live---in giving up our ego liberates us from earthly attachments-- the spirit is infinitely more important than the body.  

Everything of the earthly life perishes---knowledge, wisdom success, fame, wealth, status, influence, even  beauty, love, kinship and friendship.  But the religious life transcends all these as we are lifted to a higher dimension beyond comprehension.

We have loved each other once and my decision to become a monk I know has broken your heart.  I do ask for your forgiveness and will pray that love will somehow come your way.  You must think of yourself and your future happiness and try to erase me from your memory.  You will always have a sacred place in my heart though I cannot share my life with you.

Yours truly

John  

Life outside