Poetry

Lucifer

Excerpt from The Catcher of the Wise
“The voice of the Lord is power,
The voice of the Lord is majesty.”
Psalms

Lucifer
While other angels always rose
At five o’clock, a.m.
And eagerly performed the chores
That kept all heaven trim,
One angel would not stir till noon
For, goodness only knows,
Great Lucifer was very fond
Of watching late, late shows.
This very morn the angle lay,
Still huddled up in bed;
Dark rings encircled both his eyes –
The lids were flaming red.
And when the Lord dropped by at one,
To bellow out “Good day!”
The angel hid beneath the sheets,
And cried, “Oh, go away!”
Jehovah tossed the sheets aside
And pulled him by the hair;
“I’ve got a problem, Luce,” He said,
“Stop hiding under there!”
“I’m years behind in paperwork, and –
Devil take the thing!
I have to put my work aside,
And find the Jews a king.”
Now Luce was well acquainted
With this project of the Lord;
Last week they had discussed it
On the inner angel board.
And all the inner angels said,
“God’s got Himself a task!
A first king is so hard to pick –
Too bad it’s not the last!”
Yes, the first king sets up precedence –
They found a royal hall,
And if they are not champions,
Their royal halls will fall.
But poor Jehovah had scant time
To spend on pick and choose;
And yet He simply had to find
The first king of the Jews.
The angle pulled his covers up –
Then gave the sheets a tug,
“If I were God,” thought Lucifer,
“I’d simply pass the buck!”
And soon he ventured, “Lord –
Why not appoint a holy priest,
And let him pick the king, instead,
For you have always preached
“A priest discerns the wheat from chaff,
And sifts the truth from lies;
A priest will toss a thousand fools,
But always catch the wise!”
Now God picked up His derby hat,
and spun it on His thumb;
“I’m awfully glad,” Jehovah said,
“You angels are not dumb!
That’s just the thing to do, my boy.”
(And God began to rise),
“I’ll search the priestly files and pull
A catcher of the wise!”
When God had closed the bedroom door,
The angel whispered, “Gee!
I’m mighty glad He didn’t go
And pass the buck to me!”
And God soon rummaged through his files,
Until he found his man;
The file was labeled “Samuel”
The buck was labeled “Sam”.
…….

Noah

Excerpt from The Catcher of the Wise:
“There are many who say,
Oh, that we may see some good.”
Psalms

Noah
When God created Adam-One,
God said, “He’ll do me proud!”
And God gave Adam liberties no angel was allowed.
God classified his speciesThey were designated “men,”
And soon this designation proved
synonymous with “sin!”
Yes, early man was scandalous.
They made Jehovah cuss;
They robbed and cheated, murdered, raped.
They weren’t the least like us.
But when they base corruption spread
To holy angels, too.
God said, “The party’s over, boys,
I’ve had enough of you!”
God told an Inner Angel clerk
To ransack all the files
And see if he could find some men
Who had no wicked wiles.
Eleven years would pass
Before the clerk reported back.
“I only could fine one,” he said,
“but he’s a crackerjack!
This man is known as Noah, Lord –
The gentle, just and fine.
And Noah has but one small flaw;
He’s rather fond of wine.”
“I like a glass, myself!” said God,
And, taking up His pen,
God wrote a note to NoahWho was almost free from sin.
“Dear Noah,” read the letter,
“Tell your neighbors they are through!
I’m scheduling a bubble bath
That’s clearly overdue.
“Please build yourself a dandy ark
(The blueprints are enclosed).
And fill it with these animals
(do note the ones I chose).
For heaven’s sakes! Do not forget
To put your wife on board!
And also toilet tissue!”
Signed: “Sincerely Yours, the Lord.”
……….

Cain and Abel

Excerpt from The Catcher of the Wise
”The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately corrupt.
Who can understand it?”
Jeremiah

Cain and Abel
Cain lay upon the jungle ferns,
And sought to catch his wind.
The Panther Prince was gasping
As he lay beside his friend.
“I beat you, fair and square,” said Cain,
“You must admit I’m swift!”
“Belike it was the handicap,”
The Prince of Panthers sniffed.
Cain stroked the great cat tenderlyThen gave his ribs a prod.
“I have to run,” he told the prince,
“We’re having tea with God!”
And off he ran-a slender boy
As golden as the sun;
For no one loved the Lord like Cain,
Not even Adam-One.
He saw them from a long way off,
around the garden bench,
And bounded up to kiss the Lord,
And Abel got a pinch.
Though Abel did not make a cry,
His face turned crimson red;
And God, who doesn’t miss a trick,
took both their hands and said,
“You mustn’t fight each other, boys,
It doesn’t suit a brother.
What friends or playmates do you have,
Except for one another?
Oh, Abel, you’re a simple lad,
And Cain, your mind is deeper,
But love dissolves all differences
You are each other’s keeper!”
They had a very pleasant tea,
And as God rose to leave,
Cain pulled out the report card
That he’d hidden up his sleeve.
With proud and beaming face
The boy then passed it onto God,
Who looked it up and downThen gave a plain and simple nod,
“It’s fine,” He told the anxious boy,
“Just what I would expect.”
And then God picked wee Abel up,
And kissed him on the neck.
God left them in the twilightLittle Abel waved good-bye,
But Cain tore his report card up,
And ran away to cry.
………..