Joy
takes on
a dire effect
Its absence
filled
with sorrow
Its loss
inflicts
a greater harm
Than grief
can buy
or borrow
Joy
when brief
endows with fear
A pain
to mark
its passing
To dread
the coming
of the night
With
sadness mourned
— and lasting
(The New Room: October, 2025)
Not A Child In Sight
A stitch past nine on borrowed time
memories rushing back
The Wolf is feasting in Grandma’s bed
Red Riding Hood a snack
A Cow gets ready to jump again
but the moon drops from the sky
Humpty Dumpty on the floor
Tweedle-dum starts to cry
A candle burns for Jack’s last jump
his waiting funeral pyre
The Stepmother screams, Cinderella hides
her daughter’s dress on fire
Little Jack Horner abandons his corner
curds harden and whey runs aground
With Mother Goose fleeing — the Grimm Brothers die
not a child in sight to be found
(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2017)
Truth Or Lie
Must God stay beyond
understanding
His prophecy to conscript
and confuse
Are the Trinity and
Resurrection
Both miracles or only
a ruse
Building temples to
edification
Storing Icons that judge
and decry
Is the Bible fictitious
or sacred
Is Redemption the truth
— or a lie
(Villanova Pennsylvania: April, 2017)