Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                                Beowulf Visits the Dentist

Arise from the nitrous oxide

From the somnolence, dreams, and pain

With forge-hammered teeth

And then go out

Go out and bite something

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                                         ­   Ford vs Chevy

In an era where everyone was either Ford or Chevy
I was an MG roadster
Unreliable
But lots of fun

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                        “Is That MePhone Surgically Attached to you?”


“Is that thing surgically attached to you?” the teacher sighed.

“You can’t talk to me like that!” the MePhone replied.

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                                    How is Your Adventure So Far?

                                  Tell me, what is it you plan to do
                                  with your one wild and precious life?

                                 -Mary Oliver, “The Summer Day”

Even if you are looking up at an I.V. drip
Instead of green leaves and a summer sky
Your adventure is not nearly at an end
Not even in this life – and the next life, wow!

Your childhood joys have never slipped away
That cheesy 45 rpm that graced your first dance
Has not come to the end of its groovy grooves
You’ve still got the happiness, the moves

Your first job, boot camp, university
Riding a big red bus ‘round Piccadilly Circus
Drinking from your canteen on a mountain top
Your first kiss, that evening in Rome – there’s more to come!

Your first car is still parked in the driveway
Waiting to take you where you always meant to go

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                        Their Ephemeral Temples Look Much the Same

Their ephemeral temples look much the same
In a semi-circle the faithful sit or stand
And turn their eager faces to an altar flood-lit
To be magicked by their leaders and gods

They wave their arms in ecstasy and awe
While lantern-slides of flags and martyred heroes
Ripple as electronic waves beamed into their eyes
Commanding free obedience through spontaneous scripts

At dawn

Contractors will tear away the plywood and paint
Take down the plastic statues and columns
The recordings of programmed emotions
And heave them into the beds of rented trucks

Preaching or politics, or some other game:
Their ephemeral temples look much the same

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                                        Two Chairs Overthrown

Overnight the wind tossed two lawn chairs about
The revolution abandoned them bottoms up
Unoccupied and whoopsy-daisy down
Leaving them unable to grace the dawn

Sheet-metal thrones, unoccupied, alone
Ozymandian relics among the grass
Where once (yesterday dusk) two wise men sat
And ruled the lawn with their single-malt thoughts

Oh, who will raise these royal seats and speak
With authority and knowledge to all who seek?

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                  Hurricane II: Outer Bands and Second Thoughts

Clouds give way to sun
Winds to stillness, birds circle
In healing symmetry