The atmosphere was troubled at the end of that July.
The sounds of distant thunder rolled as lightening streaked the sky.
Though the weather had been warm, the woman felt a chill.
She prayed for her sailor son to live, if it be God’s will.

Her Homer was a specialist. He wore the Navy blue.
His ship was the Indianapolis. That was all she knew.
He never wrote about his work or told his port of call.
Loose lips sink ships so secrecy was sacred to them all.

Her animals seemed unsettled; something spooked them on that day.
As twilight fast descended the outside world turned grey.
Then came a flash of lightening and she saw it plain as day.
The face of her son Homer, then, just as quick, he slipped away.

Her heart was sorely troubled by the vision she had seen.
She sensed he was in danger, he’s’ just a boy, Lord, just nineteen.
She stared at the spot in silent shock. She seemed to lack all will.
Her heart was beating rapidly though all the house was still.

For weeks she had heard nothing; no letters of reply.
Civilians were told little; it was brave boys who fought and died.
It wasn’t until the doorbell rang that she knew the worst was true
She numbly read the telegram “We regret to inform you…

My brother related a strange dream that he had:
It took place in a bar; he was there with our Dad.
they both ordered a Guinness, in the mood for a stout.
They both were committed  to enjoy their night out
The barkeep then asked if they'd be running a tab.
Jim reached in his pocket, he paid for his drink  and Dad's.
" I don't think we will."" Just the one now" He said,
"For I'm on blood thinners and my Dad here is dead."

Our present is unsettled;
we are each others foe.
Ignorance  grows exponentially
and tolerance grows low.

Our Past and Future are both at risk
in our current culture war.
Twixt You and me I can't decide
which one I  pity more.

The teams were bitter rivals and, judging by the score,
The Dodgers would be champions once they retired just three more.
Don Newcombe was pitching brilliantly and had a three run lead.
Surely he would slay these Giants and get the outs we need.

Then Al Dark hit a single and Mueller did the same.
(Surely there was just no way that we could lose this game.)
Monte Irvin popped-up- that’s one for our boys in blue.
Then Luckman hit a double and Newcombe’s day was through.

Two Giants on the base paths and Blue had a two run lead.
Ralph Branca got the call to get the outs we need.
Bobby Thomson was at the plate, some kid named Mays on deck.
Branca had an open base- would he simply walk the vet?
Branca’s first pitch was a strike and some gave sighs of relief.
The second pitch was deposited by Thomson in the seats.

In disgust Ralph tossed the rosin bag as Thomson made his trot
His failure made immortal by Bobby Thomson’s shot.
Dejected, Branca left the mound amidst a mad mob scene.
The number on his uniform? -A starkly black Thirteen.

They gathered in the upper room; they locked and barred the door.
They were fearful of their fellow Jews; afraid of Roman law.
Like sheep who’d seen their Sheppard killed and torn apart,
Their confidence was at low ebb and they were faint of heart.

They were startled when they heard the sound of knocking at the door.
Had Judas sold them also?  Did his treachery demand yet more?
Then they heard the Magdalene’s voice its music heartened them.
She proclaimed excitedly that death is not the end.

At first they did not believe her; who can blame them for their doubt?
They had seen loved ones entombed and none to date walk out.
The Magdalene bore witness; Yoshua’s mother did the same.
Something had happened at the tomb both wonderful and strange.

John and Peter were deputized to go and see the tomb.
The other nine stayed hidden, waiting in the upper room.
John, the younger, ran ahead; he arrived then paused,
For Peter to arrive; For both to see what Mary saw.




The Roman guards had fled the scene.
The Stone had been rolled away.
They who grieved saw and believed
on Resurrection day.

Once his kind were ubiquitous; Men and their ponies herding live beef
from the prairies of Kansas and Texas to the slaughterhouses North East
It was a hard life, but good, nights out under the stars; amusing themselves with a song.
There was beans and good coffee shared at the fire; The prairie wind blew sweet and long.
Then the trains came and life wasn’t the same and the cowboys all faded away.
Old Tex was the last of that vanishing breed; He’d tell me tall tales of those days
when he and his crew battled rustlers and snakes to see the herd safe to their doom.
His skin was like leather from the wind and the sun; his big hands arthritic and gnarled.
A roll your own cigarette drooped from his lips and his speech sounded more like a snarl.
Tex passed on last night, a blessing they say, to die in his sleep with no pain.
No churchyard for Tex, he will rest ‘neath the sod just out beyond the old grange
He was the last of a vanishing breed; a man to his quarter horse wed.
The land that he loved will keep changing above, but the wind and the stars never change.

I didn’t know what the excitement was all about; being just a boy.
I thought my mother was taking me to see some harlot,
caught in the act of adultery,******.
Instead we left the city gates and climbed up Golgotha,
where three executions were taking place.
The sky was grey, foreboding, the wind tasted of rain.
I looked upon the three condemned, engaged in a cruel game.
Hanging, arms outstretched on crosses ,struggling to rise to take each breath.
I saw this was a losing battle; soon fatigue would stake its claim.
My mother said that two were thieves, caught in the act , condemned.
The other was a blasphemer; a crown of thorns upon his head.
(Strange for the Romans to take an interest in him,.
stoning to death a much more usual remedy for sin.)
The condemned were naked to the sky as they struggled and began to die.
The one they called the Rebbe called out
In words that gave my heart a chill.
Then he slumped in Death’s embrace
And all about was still.
The sky grew dark and the Earth beneath us shook.
My mother hurried me away from there then.
I didn’t stay to see his friends take his body down from the cross
But yes, yes, I was there the day they crucified my Lord.