Prayers

For the conclusion of the 2020 Stewardship Drive at East Congregational Church of Milton, Mass.

With thanks to Anne Lamott

The times they were painful, and frightening. We felt

as thousands fell ill, and then passed away,

that although church was closed, we still needed to pray

for this quiet and shuttered up world.  Help.

In long-ago times people would wonder how

all through a pandemic we still had been able

to hear the Lord’s word and break bread at God’s table,

joined in from near and from far. With Zoom.  Wow.

Now through this past month we have joined in the ranks

of the saints who gave of their own free will

to relieve the needy, and replenish God’s till,

and our prayers went from Help, to Wow, to Thanks.

Sonnet 20 - Let Us Now Give All Those Good Teachers Praise

For Mary C. Gormley

Let us now give all those good teachers praise

who challenged us as children to work harder,

and be productive citizens today

inspired by their passion and their ardor.

Let’s also praise the counselors and leaders,

who worked through summer, winter, spring and fall;

those dedicated, principled believers

in education being free for all.

And praise the voters and the volunteers

on whose support our schools have been dependent;

the same support that’s proven through the years

that this town trusts its school superintendent.

Now since our public schools are so well run,

this public must say “Thank you” and “Well done!”

Goodbye

In Memory of Bob Maholchic

Along the highway blossoms flower
while the sun, like a beneficent power,
shines on gardens, yards and fields,
promising someday fruitful yields.

There’re flowers printed on your dress
and on my tie, though I confess,
this sunny morning my mood clashes
with our surroundings. We bear the ashes
of an uncle we loved and respected
who sired, nurtured, and protected
a family when in his prime,
and in the winding course of time,
when first our aunt passed, then our father,
he cared the same way for our mother.

You could put upon his epitaph,
“He was slow to anger and quick to laugh”.
He was even-tempered but hated to lose,
he loved reading the paper and knowing the news.
A stalwart citizen of our nation,
one of its greatest generation,
he gave certainty in a world of doubt,
and he always paid when we ate out.

Now at this graveyard, we the living
recall his garden and him giving
food away that he had grown.
No one would have ever known
on his last day that he was ailing.
At ninety-four, his heart was failing.

So, by these graves this sun-splashed day
let’s bend down to the earth to say
goodbye to one with one last kiss,
whose sunny nature we will miss.

Sonnet 19 - There Comes a Time

For Jennie, Christmas 2018

There comes a time in the life of a car
when systems malfunction and trouble lights glow;
when it's dark and it's cold and you have to go far
over slippery roads through the ice and the snow.

Once you peel your white knuckles off of the wheel,
you find on the Internet just what to buy --
a practical all-wheel drive automobile
that can comfortably hold both you and your guy.

But suddenly fate knocks you flat on your ass
just when you thought things were going so well;
antler and fur, mixed in with steel and glass,
yield a total loss up, with a new car smell.

A strong woman finds the exact car that she seeks,
then buys the same car again in just two weeks.

Sonnet 18 - You Go Beat a Stick

For Betsy

You go beat a stick of softened butter
and sprinkle grains of pure white sugar on it,
while I think of a few sweet words to utter
and fit them into phrases for a sonnet.

Then go and add two eggs, one at a time,
so flour and the sweetened grease adhere,
while I think of a couple words that rhyme,
so lines from out of memory’s web appear.

But we’ll forget, and no one will recall
this poem or the things it meant to say.
It will prove to be as ephemeral
as birthday cake that’s eaten in a day.

That’s why our days of happy marriage take
A constant flow of poetry and cake.

Sonnet 17 -- The Effort

For Suzy, after buying a new house in Medford.

The effort that’s required to buy a house

is daunting -- first amass a pile of cash,

a bank loan, and the buy-in from your spouse,

then if the market’s tight, go madly dash

to open houses everywhere in town,

ignoring the sage and sound advice --

“Buy low” -- you bid high, but still get turned down

although you bid above the asking price!

But like a pinball bouncing from home to home

that strikes the bonus, you win a jewel

with kitchens and bathrooms of burnished chrome,

a landscaped yard, and an backyard pool,

and there you can float about in style

and make all the effort you’ve spent worthwhile.

Sanctuary

For the Annual Meeting of the East Congregational Church of Milton, June 4, 2017

Brothers and sisters, when we’re upstairs

Singing the hymns and saying our prayers;

have you noticed that there’s peeling

paint chips flaking on the ceiling?

The narthex rug is stained and faded,

the paraments are dull and jaded,

and the light within now has to pass

to us through yellowing Plexiglas.

Beside the altar cross the panels

are sooty now from all the candles

that burned to show God’s presence here

on Sunday mornings for sixty-six years.

Now a sanctuary should inspire

visions of a higher power,

both to those who like to ponder

sermons, and those whose minds wander,

turning their eyes to rise above

the pediment, where the holy dove

looks back down at us in our pews

as we experience God’s good news.

And all or this – the sermon, story,

candles, choir, and offertory – 

are outward signs of an inner grace

that we share together in this sacred space.

So brothers and sisters, let's turn the page
on the musty rugs and the dusty beige,
and join as one to do our duty,

and restore this house of God to beauty.