Fragments of Life and Literature 

Poetry, , 1 Comment

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall 

Runes Recently Discovered

We have mysterious runic messages still

Appearing this morning – there, on the road – see them?

Some say these irregular scrawls mark utilities

But you know, there are Wee Folk in these woods

An English Major Screaming at a Wall Clock 

(A French officer would be too well-mannered to do that)

Passing from one office to another in quest
Of some elusive official signature
I saw a woman screaming at a clock
And heard her, too, because screams are like that

“She’s an English major,” someone said in explanation
“She and her boy Wordsworth are at it again
And meddlesome Coleridge keeps putting his oar in”
I nodded in understanding; Milton had mentioned it

A scholar should never scream at institutional clocks;
He should discreetly disapprove of them

Driving Home After Work:

“Thus Spake Zarathustra” on the Radio

The first few bars must always remind us of
That space movie from the future long ago
With sophomores beating each other up
Or anyone trying to spell “Zarathustra “

Without looking it up; no spelling now
Driving into a drought-red setting sun
The vapours of chemicals, road tar, dust
Allergens drifting among the toxins

Poetry sorts meaning from chaos seeming –
Maybe not tonight (Sneeze!)

Marcus Aurelius Down at the Auto Repair 

Marcus Aurelius down at the auto repair –
Now there’s an image, him being an emperor and all
One of those philosophers who think about stuff
Who ask questions and read and write and stuff

If a man complains about the cost of new tires:
          Meditations V.9 – “Be not unhappy, or discouraged…”
And
          II.4 – “Remember how long you have been putting off these things…” 

If a warranty has expired:
          VI.53 – “Accustom yourself to listen carefully…”
And
          VII.24 – “A scowling look is quite unnatural.”

 If the engine is blown:
          X.33 – “Now it is not given to a cylinder to move everywhere…”
And
          VII.54 – “…it is in your power to accept…your present condition…”

 And with that, Marcus steps outside for a cigarette.

(Many quotations attributed to Marcus Aurelius are bogus; these have been verified.)

Kafka and the Self-Service Checkout Kiosk

With thanks to Rowan Pelling 

(Please don’t employ the adjective “Kafkaesque” if you have never suffered through Kafka)

When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning
from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed
in his bed into a monstrous self-service checkout kiosk.

Someone must have traduced Joseph K.,
for without doing anything wrong
he was arrested in the checkout line
one fine morning

It was late in the evening when
the supermarket supervisor arrived. 

References:

One thought on “Fragments of Life and Literature ”

What do you think?