Poetry
Poetry
Moral Decline
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 05/16/2016 - 20:00She longed for the days when
June Cleaver delivered moral lessons
to Beaver
when she wasn’t doing her needlepoint.
She knew that shopping was good for the economy
even though she didn’t like
the way her husband
paid attention
to some of the new car
advertisements
with scantily dressed women.
She longed for the days when
the economy was strong
and the only threat
was the Godless Communists.
Now, it seemed, everything was Godless.
It was so much easier when
White boys in the suburbs would be boys
and
Black boys in the cities would be thugs,
and the girls who got in trouble
got what they deserved
and didn’t get abortions.
Now, it’s all mixed up
“Girls will be boys, and boys will be girls.”
and the President is black.
It was so much easier when
you could simply tell right from wrong.
Now, people are telling her
that she’s supposed to care
for people different from her.
What if someone
found her darkest secrets?
That’s not even safe,
is it?
Pentecost 2016
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 05/15/2016 - 07:36Spirit/Wind
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
from all
hatred, envy, fears, injustice
towards those we think
will take away
our God given
rights, privileges, and entitlements;
those that are like us
but different:
men who love men,
women transitioning into men,
immigrants who arrived
more recently than our ancestors
without the sort of documents
we think are required
to keep our property safe,
or young mothers
who we think
were given the same opportunities
in the ghettos of our cities
that we had
in our high performing
suburban school districts,
whose ancestors were captured
enslaved
and brought to this country
as property
to expand the wealth
of our ancestors.
Spirit/wind
forgive our lack of love
to those who were created
in God’s image
and not our own.
Stir up, o Spirit/Wind
like the winds of a tornado
or hurricane
to blow away our baggage
and all the things
that get in the way
of seeing and serving You.
The Digital Kaleidoscope
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 05/14/2016 - 09:31Always turning,
the social media snapshots
of people lives;
broken pieces of colored glass
with several likes
and a few comments.
For many, the glass is
all blue or all red.
For some, it is
rose colored or grey.
Some carefully pick out
any broken pieces
of colored glass
blocking
and unfriending them.
What do you see?
The Broken Biological Clock
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 05/12/2016 - 06:19When life was sweet and easy,
not unlike
beneath the apple boughs
of Fern Hill,
she went
from graduation parties
to bridal showers
without the least concern
until the blister appeared
on her foot.
She knew of
her family’s history
of poor circulation
as an abstract idea
that she might have to worry about
sometime later.
The doctor said
sometime is now
and her whole world
came crashing in.
It wasn’t the advice
to stop drinking
that hurt so much,
although she could sure could have
used a drink
after the sobering news.
It was the fact that her biological clock
was broken
and not showing the accurate time.
Childbirth would be a problem
becoming more difficult over time
and the decisions from five years hence
became
a little more
immediate.
All of these thoughts
raced through her mind
as she stood in line
at the drug store
contemplating Eliot’s fear
in a handful of dust
waiting to buy
a pill cutter
like her ninety year old
grandmother
had.
Because ...
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Wed, 05/11/2016 - 17:08Because there wasn’t a sign
that said Scenic Overlook
the drivers on the way home
from a rough day at the office
brooding over a boss,
coworker,
or difficult assignment
did not notice
the beauty
of the new leaves
bursting forth
on the distant hills.
Because the view
was not captured
in oil on canvas
with a nice frame
and hung in a
notable museum,
the pattern of clouds
before the sun began to set
escaped the notice
of the commuters
listening to politicians argue
on the evening news.
