Cathedrals of Assisi

by Marilyn Jaeger

Brother Francis likes not legs
of those who wear short shorts;
to Sister Claire, they're overlooked--
quaint irony, in walled Assisi,
sun kissed, clinging to high hills,
laced with cobbled roads which
beg for walking, using legs.

Brother Francis, blessed by birds
glorified by sights and light
in shining Assisi.
Four stories up, on San Rufino Square,
a loud bird sings ceaselessly,
disturbing and delighting daytime sleep,
prayers of God who loves the birds.

Brother Francis, spirit of Apollo,
and Sister Claire, of Athena fair,
join, conjoin in awesome Assisi.
Ginger Joe claims prayer of Claire:
"Totally love him who gave himself
over totally for love of you."
Transcending journeys of legs on earth.

Emma's 10 songs again & again

Hi!  This year I'm  gonna see you in America. I have made a list of songs to listen to again & again. The reason I listed  these songs down is because in some of the songs I think there is a strong  meaning. These songs have interesting bridges for example Panic Ensemble's How Many Ways has a beautiful bridge with the viola. It has a bit of the Israeli culture music. My friend Lihi is from Israel and she would love this song. My 7th song I listed  because I danced to in my dance group. Space Oddity reminds of my friend Tony Mobbs, whose cats were really great. He let me pet them. I hope you like my unique list! I will see you in a while!

1. How Many Ways by Panic Ensemble, Israeli band
2. Space Oddity by David Bowie
3. Countin' Stars by OneRepublic
4. Take My Hand  by Dido
5. Fire on the mountain by Asa
6. Another Brick in the Wall part 2 by Pink Floyd
7. Kamos  by Zuby Nehty
8. Lovers On the Sun by David Guetta
9. Erase/Rewind by the Cardigans
10. I See Fire by Ed Sheeran

inspired as much by cousin Bruce

             Beyond Golden State

           (for anyone forty years young)

Goose-egg, be gone: you’re not going to pander

to Thomas no more. Decidedly old,

calculus dribbles the length of waxed floor,

drives a new alchemy into fool’s gold,

takes rather makeshift shots for the gander

to live in relief, with goslings galore,

my myopic dream: ruling the roost ’til

I’m fifty or more, putting an orb through

a hoop not errantly worth knighting for,

paying the piper self-levied bills. You

have reason to question wherefores and will,

daft premonitions to prove I can score,

and there I’d tend to turnover the ball—

a few moments more (what anyone needs

to get back on D) to freshly ignore

it’s only a pastime jealousy breeds….

Maybe the game needs such geese after all:

golden egg baskets to bring to the store.

Daniel Martin Vold Lamken (2015)

Inveterate

our daughter, spurred by vet advice, put pen to

paper (crumpled that) then brushed the teeth

of Bronko (undecrepit pet), new to such quotidian

bent—puerile fangs just softly clench—and so

she put to rest another of the old wives’ made-

for-TV tests, stopped a home-grown cure at horse’s

mouth—Bronko, barely bucking back or forth,

trusting brushing teeth a somehow sound idea,

seeking someone’s utter truth. Tread, by contrast,

rarely needs accouterments of grammar school

purview (let alone a truth), and so a business

piddle-paddles forth: dogs for dentists or, the versa

any kid with grit can tweak—‘local hygiene for

humanity’s best friend’—what could interfere?

Hardly hoping not to kick a cat when (toothless, in

the main) bents of days begin to calcify (unfaith-

fully, as they do), why not scrimp the makings

of simple escapades? Bid wild things interface with

paste, and let our daughter serve her better days

in spurs she’ll likely make—matron to mongrel,

in their mutual space. God knows we’ll more than

acclimate to cobwebbed brush strokes (foreign,

family held) upon dogmatic palettes, panting still.

Jot out, meanwhile, what we will—hold those

jowls and don’t surmise we’d want none of that—

a family, after all, enameled to a keeping clean.

Help me.  Thank You.

by Marilyn Jaeger, after Baccalaureate 2015

Help me.

Thank You.

Graduates, garbed in green and gold,

File quite willingly to the front,

Front of the altar, gazing out

To parents, in prayer or in waiting.

"Sing a song, 'Be Thou my vision':

It's a prayer, you know, just talking to God.

Simple conversation."

Then the light dawned.

How about this?

Reduced

Minimum

Chat.

Help is what we need

Beyond us,

We're not in control,

Whether a lost earring

Or ruined relationship

Or college complications

Or plane plummeting down.

Failure.

Help!

"Me" is the center,

Center of my world.

There are a few of us

Who make that claim.

Philanthropic service,

Altruism,

Compassionate giving,

Sacrifice,

At the core

Still

Me.

"Thank the lucky stars"

Or...

Who?

Attitude

Of gratitude,

Because

Beyond you and me,

God

To 

Thank.

"You light up my life."

You saw

Spoke

Hands moved in creating,

Divesting Self of Son,

Sun of galaxies beyond

Comprehension.

You, Jehovah

Adonai

All in all

Help me thank you.