Patrick, an old country Pastor
Who's parish was getting hard to master
He performed christenings galore.
Last month forty-four.
He wished the women ran faster.
Categories:
christenings, 10th grade,
Form: Limerick
I WILL CROON THE VOWELS
kneeling in church, arm around my angel girl.
my son’s propped up on pew, chewing gum.
the oldest tries to pray, the grownup way.
LIKE THE ANGELS DO
we belt out tunes for thirty minutes,
mama’s eyes closed, one eye strobe light blinking
quiet “sh sh” like the soft spoken wind.
WITHOUT THEIR HALO SWOONS,
those baby bonnets on sideways,
bent, just halfway toward sin,
but precious are those little hands,
look like steeples,
voice chaste as the trio say “amen.”
JUST PLAIN HALLELUJAHS,
“Jesus loves me this I know”
why do children sound heavenly?
especially with eyes closed and
silent snores, tears dripping from mama’s eyes.
WITHOUT THE SURROUND SOUND
swish swish goes the bridal gown -
losing daughters gaining daughter in-laws.
those once bubblegum popping boys,
dapperly dressed up, have made their choice.
EFFECTS, CERTAINLY NOT IN TUNE
and celestial hallelujahs, spur on the stars and moon.
silver spoons saved for christenings,
beneath angel’s wings,
veiling the scarcely innocent.
babies bathed in baptism, as grandma grins,
and prays, shushing the wind.
Kim Rodrigues © 2017
Categories:
christenings, angel, children, christian, prayer,
Form: Acrostic
Regrets
They follow you like vultures
soaring in wistful circles
alighting on church roofs
at weddings and christenings,
never out of your sight
and chew on your dreams.
Their shadows mark the good things
that could have been yours
and spatter your life with the droppings
of what ifs and maybes.
Your past is inaudible over their constant chatter,
and when you lie still, fading,
with your family looking on,
they perch at the foot of your bed
and laugh
Categories:
christenings, life,
Form: Free verse
Energy is neither created, nor destroyed
but does transform
witness the log burning in the fireplace
cellulose and lignin combining with oxygen
yielding heat, water and CO2
and with you sitting so close beside me
another transformation's coming on.
Yet cracks appear as we age,
time and entropy take their toll,
and these days we go to more funerals
than weddings and christenings.
We've made arrangements to smooth
our affairs for those who remain and
laid up good whiskey and cognac
for our last remembrance.
I've chosen green burial
in a 500 year forest;
you cremation,
with your ashes
pressed into
a forever
diamond.
While we know our genes
carry on in our children
and our atoms will still cycle,
but there remains the question
of how the bit that makes us
us will merge with the cosmos.
Categories:
christenings, life,
Form: Free verse
Mum doesn't do
Family gatherings anymore,
Weddings,christenings and the like,
She's rather go for a walk
Or a ride on her bike.
They always seem
To bring out her worst,
Make her curse
About to burst.
She'd give her own funeral
A miss if she could,
A close call,
But then given a chance
Wouldn't we all.
Categories:
christenings, mother,
Form: Light Verse