Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com
Dispatches for the Colonial Office

                                                     30 September 2023

                                             “Make it so, Number One”

                                     -Star Trek: The New Generation (often)

Up at 0630 with coffee and Tuxedo-Cat
In the west-fading light of the still-full moon
To watch and hear and feel and touch and taste
The waning of night, the beginning of day

The air was cool, the grass was damp, the birds –
The birds were LOUD, fussing from tree to tree
An old lawn chair, layers of paint over rust
Was our captaincy over possibilities

“Is all well, Number One?” I asked the cat
He blinked his eyes that the world was ready to sail

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com
Dispatches for the Colonial Office

                              Stay Close to the Telephone

“Stay close to the telephone,” they used to say
Stay close to that Western Electric on the desk or wall
Since news of great importance might come your way
A message from the shop or some emergency call

“Stay close to the telephone” – you couldn’t go out
Without breaking contact in an hour of need
You could only wait in place in fear and doubt
For an order at last to move with speed

“Stay close to the telephone?” It had no reach
But a modern ‘phone drains you like a ****** leech

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com
Dispatches for the Colonial Office

                         A Little Green Lizard and Her Leap of Faith

She was the tiniest lizard you ever saw
Less than a feather on the back of my hand
Less than an inch but perfect, without a flaw
Perfect in function and form, as God had planned

I held my hand still to keep her safe
From accident or fall, or misjudged leap
But she knew her strengths, this reptilian waif
And launched to the leaves in a dramatic sweep

I wanted to warn her if she’d stayed for a chat:
“O mind where you leap – watch out for the cat!”

Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com

                                            Rain and Gasoline

                 Do you like the rain? Or do you think about it much?

                                               -Rod McKuen

Shoppers rattle their trolleys to their cars
An unexpected September thunderstorm
Splashes rain on the six-months-hot parking lot
Raising steam and hopes – will autumn ever come?

Thunderings rattle the ground and the air
From the service station up the concrete *****
Gasoline and diesel join the rivulets
In making iridescent the sloshing streams

Sale papers and cigarette ends float free
But only to the drains, not to the sea

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

           Everyone is Now a Two-Dimensional Religious Image

News writers are dull, almost catatonic
Dispensing metaphors soporifically phonic
For in their world of the cliched and ironic
Every topic, every person is invariably

                                                     ­       Iconic

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com
Dispatches for the Colonial Office

                                A Little Kitten and a Little Girl

A little girl sits with her mug of milk
Happy and peaceful with her breakfast toast
Her little kitten lays beside her and purrs
And takes a delicate sip for itself

“DID YOU LET THAT CAT DRINK FROM YOUR CUP THAT CAT HAS GERMS GO WASH YOUR HANDS GIVE ME THAT CUP I NEED TO WASH IT I DON’T KNOW WHY THAT CAT IS IN THE HOUSE CATS HAVE GERMS ***** CAT SNEAKY CAT THEY’RE ALWAYS UP TO SOMETHING DON’T YOU EVER LET AN ANIMAL DRINK FROM YOUR CUP THEY’RE NASTY WE DON’T LIVE LIKE THIS WITH ANIMALS IN THE HOUSE THAT’S A DISGUSTING HABIT PEOPLE WILL THINK WE’RE LOW CLASS WE WERE RAISED BETTER THAN THAT DID YOU LET THAT CAT DRINK FROM YOUR CUP THAT CAT HAS GERMS GO WASH YOUR HANDS GIVE ME THAT CUP I NEED TO WASH IT I DON’T KNOW WHY THAT CAT IS IN THE HOUSE CATS HAVE GERMS ***** CAT SNEAKY CAT THEY’RE ALWAYS UP TO SOMETHING DON’T YOU EVER LET AN ANIMAL DRINK FROM YOUR CUP THEY’RE NASTY WE DON’T LIVE LIKE THIS WITH ANIMALS IN THE HOUSE THAT’S A DISGUSTING HABIT PEOPLE WILL THINK WE’RE LOW CLASS WE WERE RAISED BETTER THAN THAT!!!!!!!!!”

A little girl sits in her backyard swing
Happy and peaceful with her little cat
Two conspirators winking at each other
Far away from their disapproving mother

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com
Dispatches for the Colonial Office

                           A Station Stop for the Hummingbird Express

Hummingbirds buzz the sugar water buffet
At this junction for the connection to Mexico
I feel I should be wearing a white apron and cap
Refills for everyone – and will that be to go?

No ideological baggage, no bumper stickers
Their maps all drawn for them by an invisible Hand
Their simple duties a transcendent joy
An ancient mission through divine command

Hummingbirds buzz the sugar water buffet
Then with a goodbye to summer they wing away