Tuesday, April 5, 2016

I know not what to think

Mosiah 25:8-9 ~  "For they knew not what to think; for when they beheld those that had been delivered out of bondage they were filled with exceedingly great joy.
  And again, when they thought of their brethren who had been slain by the Lamanites they were filled with sorrow, and even shed many tears of sorrow."
 I know not what to think, when sunshine follows rain,
 when evil follows good, when fitness follows pain.
To me the world's confused, the mix of good and bad
is bunched like wheat and tares, like colors in a plaid.
Complexity is not my fancied cup of tea;
I have no answer pat for ambiguity.
O make me unafraid, thou God of all Design,
to see this tangled web as something more divine. 


Monday, April 4, 2016

Breaking News . . .

Most people don't think that Salt Lake
has an important News Break;
but where else will a Seer
give messages clear,
implying so much is at stake?



Salute to Peter Arno

I love a naughty picture, when drawn with real panache;
it makes a telling statement without the use of trash.
A cunning use of language, wherein the dishabille
of the quaint old Adam slips on banana peel.



The Harder Right

The harder Right, not easy wrong,
should be our everlasting song.
Like Alice, if we do not choose
with care, our way we surely lose.
Not ev'ry path a man can trod
will lead him to a loving God.
So heed the Cheshire cat, who said
you are the path that you will tread. 


Sunday, April 3, 2016

The Burglar

 The Burglar is not quite extinct;
they're common as white kitchen sink.
Just get with your banker;
without any rancor
he'll rob you before you can blink.


Limerick: The Anti-Consumer.

I consume very little these days.
To me shopping malls are a maze.
I like a thrift store
where prices don't soar;
pooh-pooh to J. Galbraith's essays! 


Saturday, April 2, 2016

The Gecko

The gecko can outpace a fly
when traipsing a ceiling up high.
The hairs on its feet
with molecules meet
(though I've known 'em to fall in stir fry . . .)


1MDB


There once was a canny Malay
who wanted an endless payday.
"A movie with fizz"
said Mr. Aziz
"will make me as rich as Norway!" 



Judy Garland took a trolley

Judy Garland took a trolley -- sang about it, too,
back when things moved slower and there was no traffic queue.
Now the tracks, paved over in a mad attempt at speed,
have been relaid to gentle the vehicular stampede.
The sense of dim nostalgia, and concern for dirty skies,
have made the trolley on the tracks an urgent enterprise.
A streetcar named Ambition might attract a lot of fares
if it featured wifi and some padded, comfy chairs.
If I could drive a trolley powered by the city's juice
I'd feel as proud and haughty as that fabled daemon Zeus!
But I am a pedestrian and do not choose to ride
any such contraption that with others may collide.
Give me a peaceful stroll upon the pavements straight and firm;
it keeps my bowels quite frisky (with a bit of raw wheat germ).


Friday, April 1, 2016

The Great Magician Satan


Mosiah 15:29 --   ". . . for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion."

That great magician Satan uses misdirection so
we never can see eye to eye but must fight toe to toe.
Our Zion can be made anew, yet we are unaware
in our squabbles and our broils of God's most steady care.
My hand is not for smiting, nor my tongue for deep abuse;
O Lord, help me seek beauty and contention to refuse!