Little Joe Cartwright
Sure could whip
Some big guys’ asses.
He had a smile
That was half God
And half curly hair.
And when he walked
He never boot stepped
On the cracks.
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Thursday, January 8, 2026
Sunday, December 21, 2025
Revelation Pome
Revelation
Dad told us a story when
We were kids, about a classmate
When he was in seminary,
A Japanese-American,
Which added an extra dimension
Since this was just after THE WAR.
He would tell the tale when we
Were playing ping pong in the
Parsonage basement, with poles
On either side of the table and a huge
Oil furnace behind one lucky player.
His friend had fallen behind 20-0,
A remarkable thing in itself,
If you have ever played ping pong.
But he looked at Dad and said,
I will not give up,
And he scored the next point.
Again he said, I will not give up.
And one can only imagine
The determined look in his eyes,
The total concentration it took
To come all the way back
And then win the game,
Saying I will not give up.
It became the sermon in the basement.
The lesson we must somehow learn,
Till one night when I was eleven
Or twelve and Dad was making
A big comeback, saying I will not
Give up that I had an epiphany
And I blurted out, Dad, how could you
Ever let anybody come back from
20-0? And then I put him away.
Monday, December 8, 2025
Friday, December 5, 2025
Morning Poem
Trainer
The delicious forgetfulness
Of the ride, as if I am
Part of the blue sky, floating
Toward the mountain, a soul
Escaped from the wooden box,
Bird songs the only music,
As I spin the wheel, sweet light
Carries me above the pines,
Red tail hawk, dipping a wing.
Sunday, August 31, 2025
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