Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                              I Hear America Whining

The world’s fattest people, packin’ on the pounds
Driving to McDonald’s whenever the mood
And then to the beer joint, drinking those rounds
While complaining about the price of food

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                   The Sunday Evening News in a Time of Elections

                    “Good things of day begin to droop and drowse”

                                           -Macbeth III.ii.58

Suddenly the yellowing afternoon is still
For Indian Summer breezes have slipped away
While clouds of silent midges swirl against the sun
For reasons of nature known only to themselves

The treeline is blue as evening comes on
But the hayfields glow golden for a little while
Until Old Sol falls asleep at last
And the firstling stars come out to play

A rabbit shyly nibbles at the dewing grass –
The day is over; we have to let it pass

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

            A Plumber’s Assistant, a ****, and an Artificial Tree

       **** Rally in Madison Square Garden, 10 February 1939

Isadore Greenbaum wanted to punch a ****
And so he charged – he didn’t get very far
And was beaten up by Real Americans (cough)
      (It took only four or five of ‘em)
And arrested by the New York City Police

One **** stopped kicking Greenbaum to set aright
An artificial tree that was about to fall
Which is a curiosity – what remnant of good
Was in that man that he kept a decoration in place?

Greenbaum is a hero in our nation’s history -
The tidy **** remains a mystery

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                                    Torah is Written with Flame

English letters are as orderly as a battle line
But Hebrew letters are flames in their shining shapes
Even on a printed page they dance in light
And with Light comes Truth; you can see God in them

For Hebrew letters are the Burning Bush
The fires of Mount Horeb, the Temple sacrifice
The light of a Talmud scholar’s study lamp
The light of Torah upon civilization

We don’t know our letters as we should
But God has written them upon our hearts

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                                       A Man Card? Really?

                       “Consider your Man Card reissued.”

                            -Bushmaster advertising slogan

Upon your soul

Your bullet leaves the barrel; it’s not coming back
That’s not a cliché; that’s a truth, the coldest truth
It’s not engraved upon a tablet but upon your mind
Upon the arrest reports, the jail book-in, the trial schedule

Upon your soul

Your bullet leaves the barrel and carries away
Everything that is brave and good in you
Every hope and dream, every noble thought
Everyone whom you love, whom you wish to love

Upon your soul

Forever and ever, the screams and blood of innocents
Are faceless terrors stalking you through your nights

Upon your Man Card

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                            Driving Home After Work:
                  “Thus Spake Zarathustra” on the Radio

The first few bars must always remind us of
That space movie from the future long ago
With sophomores beating each other up
Or anyone trying to spell “Zarathustra “

Without looking it up; no spelling now
Driving into a drought-red setting sun
The vapours of chemicals, road tar, dust
Allergens drifting among the toxins

Poetry sorts meaning from chaos seeming -
Maybe not tonight (Sneeze!)

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                            “Catholics, You’ve Got to Vote for Me.”

                               -Mr. Trump at the Al Smith Dinner

Mr. Trump does not speak for me.
Cardinal Dolan does not speak for me.
The local bishop speaks only at me
And they all want money from me