The Phone Poem Book
Simple GiftsBy L. Eugene StartzmanAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2010 L. Eugene Startzman
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4520-6302-7Contents
PART 1.....................................................................1Introduction: the Box......................................................3PART 2.....................................................................205Simple Gifts: the Shaker Song..............................................207Simple Gifts: the Text.....................................................209Simple Gifts: the First Turn Children's Perspectives.......................211Simple Gifts: the Second Turn Household Pets...............................239Simple Gifts: the Third Turn Adult Perspectives............................251Simple Gifts: the Fourth Turn The Father's Perspective.....................267Simple Gifts: the Fifth Turn The Mother's Perspective......................277Simple Gifts: the Final Turn The Place Just Right..........................281Simple Gifts: True Simplicity Isabelle Rebekah.............................289Simple Gifts: the Parable Where We Ought to Be.............................293FINAL CONSIDERATIONS.......................................................297Pills and Ills.............................................................298Heaven.....................................................................298Trinitarian Analogy........................................................299Gratitude..................................................................300Flotsam and Jetsam.........................................................313
Chapter One
#1
Secondary Causes
29 May 2009
Okay! This, I think, is true!
I was feeling like a tub of glue,
Wearied, depressed, stuck
Like Christian in the Slough
Of Despond.
That's when God chose to respond,
With a gift unparagoned,
Through a friend who knew us well
To lift me out of Christian's Hell.
He sent a long—a creature swift—
We call him Simon—
—our über dachshund rescue gift!
#2
Talking Heads
Talking heads are my despair;
All have such a knowing air,
Punctuating right and left,
With their heads, they're really deft.
Bobbing up and bobbing down,
Avoiding disapproving frowns,
Sticking to the printed text—
Goodness! I am truly vexed!
#3
Habitus Habit is a useful tool;
It keeps us going back to school.
Habit helps us brush our teeth,
Front and back and underneath.
Habit helps us get to work
Through the early morning murk;
Habit keeps us at our prayer,
Though our knees need great repair.
Habit though can aid our sin,
For once we let ourselves give in,
Habit lays down in our souls
Nasty ruts and great pot holes.
The more we travel Habit's way,
The further we will go astray.
Now there's nothing more to say:
Choose habits with great care each day.
#4
Dachshunds
Simon sits in Pookie's place,
Beside me on my chair;
He lacks her silver-dappled face
But wields her doggie air.
I stroke his little doggie back
And scratch his doggie rear,
While memory summons Pookie's lack
And memory starts the tear.
#5
Images
[for John W]
A flower in his chest, he says,
A Pirandello metaphor;
Or,
A field where one might rest,
And blossom like a meteor.
#6
Growth in Grace
Why is it when one grows better,
Closer to the holy saint,
One quickly finds himself enfettered
With a dark demonic taint?
#7
Halloween X
We tell our kids and tell them well
That all the Monsters live in Hell.
The problem with that easy lie
Is Michael Myers who lives close by.
#8
Feelings
In outer space the odds are great
There is no feeling such as hate.
Passion is a different case;
It moves all worlds with ceaseless grace.
#9
This Writer's Block
[a Simon poem]
I cannot write, I cannot read;
My mind has turned to mustard seed.
The reason rests upon my lap,
Blissfully blind to my mishap.
I stroke his back from head to tail,
While he sleeps on and I exhale.
#10
Losing the Blues
All it takes is a laser light
And one little gullible dog
To chase away a dreary day
And lift an oppressive fog.
#11
Reflections from the Feeder
See the little chipmunk
Charge the dogwood tree,
Trying to earn a living,
Just like you and me.
He stuffs his cheeks with ample seed,
Scurries to his nest,
Part of Nature's work force—
Time to reap and rest.
#12
Atheist
The world is made of matter,
And...