There are many beautiful things here
On earth.  Places and persons we may
Visit, never going far from home.  It
Is our choice.  In nature there are what
Is called  "Acts of God"that we have no
Choice about but must get thru them
As best we can.  But for much of life
We go to places we would not by an
Act of choice.  To be fair there are to
Be sure reasons: to prepare against an
Evil foreseen; to learn from- so to avoid
A next time.  We go to war to defend
The peace-afraid to do otherwise would
Be cowardly and invite aggression. There
Is no end of rationales for our sorties near
To the bad place we would not go-whole
Segment of our society and many of our
"Finest"have it in their job description,
Are duty bind to look deeply into hell.
Is there something wrong with this?
Almost certainly.  Should we rather be
Like ostriches burying our heads in
The sand.  Be liked the three monkeys
That see no evil; hear no evil; speak no
Evil.  We should at least be allowed to
Doubt bad news-Knowing Satan is a
Liar.  We should doubt the benefit of
Being warned about evil as it so often
Lead to self fulfilling prophecies and
Errors of judgement repugnant to our
Conscience.  It is a morass.  A world we
Would not and it is all too much for us.
Our world is not as we would have it.  If
It is the truth we say unto our God: Let it
Not be so.   I give up; it is up to you to make
It better.  For my part let me do my best
To contemplate your Grandeur-Oh and
Thank you God for all the dappled things.



Acknowledging my debt to Gerard Manley.
Hopkins and his two famous poems

Love is always first awake
Always fresh.  First to know
From the early bud to full
Bloom. from Spring to Fall
The sadness that is its going
Dying then and shorn of it's
Beauty only thorns upon
The still green stem.  The
Whole is greater than the
Sum.  Love writes  our
History; closes the book
And says with it's last
Words that it is  to love
The final victory's given:
The meaning of all the  
Rest. As it was in the
Beginning a rose is for
Forever to me with love


For Grandma Rose

God said to thepersnickiity judge
I will make a man out of you yet.
How so said the Judge do you
Know the Sovereign?  God
Said: There is only you and me
Here.  What shall we wager, a
Life for a life.  Sounds Fair.  But
The judge said who will say it is
Me  if there is only one left. God
Said One will be gone one will
Be left  Let all men judge for
Themselves who is he. I can
Only say He is my Father.
Who looks not upon my sin

To be seated in your midst knowing
What the longed for child knows that
He belong that she delights; can do
No wrong that would take away the
Birthright to be seated here. Strong
Is the content to be least among many
By love assured in this community
Belonging a colleague  ever anon.
That  may bear witness to the glory

Our Father You who are at all times everywhere
The only true reality.  Your Kingdom is now and
Always was and forever will be.  You give us our
Daily bread.You forgive us.  We too forgive all.
Boundlessly are we are loved so boundless is
Our love.  You do not lead us astray but Keep
Us safe.  We see you now as in a vanishing mist
Ever more clearly that our love may grown
But in our heart of hearts you are truly one.

There are many ideas we lend
Credence to.  Old saws too
Often heard.  We believe
Them .  Think they are
True in a pallid way but
Convincing proof it is no
Longer known. Yet were
Once truly experienced
Now they are tired unto
Death.  What is this but
A forgetting of tiredness
Of unfeeling.  To wake to
A new vibrancy of feeling
Of meaning, of keenly
Knowing.  Look and be
Astonished at how the
Grass is green.  Feel its
Green love.  Let it go in
You.  It is a salad that
You are hungry for.
Eat it with voracious
Eyes as the truth of
Green love.  You are
A horse set free at last
Into the living meadow
Do you not love Him
Who has said I make
All things new (at last)
But it was always so
And it is a wonder and
Cannot be remembered
I love you.  I love you.


For Stanley who loved the green

That we are living in Alternative
History and How long has it
Been?  If we have anything
To thank DT for it is at last
We must take the question
Seriously and if we choose
In the affirmative- What
If anything can we do.?
Can I can you Wake up
If we don't realize we are
Dreaming; a serial dream
Of many days and nights.
I imagine it will take a  loss
Of memories, a collective
Alzheimers in which we
Return to childhood where
History is only a rumor, a
Fairy tales that has some
Entertainment value to
Adults; but  is a story
We can only enter into
By a suspension of Dis-
Belief; and what do we
Really believe in in those
Childish days  For myself:
There is a Mother and Dad
A baby sister Sue, My two
Grandmothers and my
Aunt. My neighborhood
My dog Stubby and my
First best friend Ronny.
My neighborhood of
Small houses on a circle
Other children.Exploring
A little woods secluded
And finding some big
Mica rocks and strange
Red bugs under them with
Ronnie and Stubby nearby
All the time in the world
Today...  I suppose  that this
Too is a dream or  memory
Of a dream.  But it is a
Better dream and some
Of us old folks know it.
Just too many fake facts
Today  and so Donald
It's good to know that
There is something we
Can agree on even if
Its not that you really
Won the presidency.