A Ballerina was Arrested for High Treason

February 27, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … A ballerina was arrested for high treason
/ And no wonder – dance is a beautiful thing / Whether the thunderous tread of a country line / Or the ethereal flights of Russian ballet / Dance is a joy, and so must be suppressed

A Dusty Drum Kit

February 20, 2024.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Fronting for decaying videotapes / And clocks that will never again chime the time / Through tinny mechanical syncopation / A drum set reposes without percussion

Dragons for Your New Year

February 17, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … The dragons are a polite and ancient race / And very conscious of their dignity / It would not do to neglect their seasons and feasts / Lest they neglect to visit you this year

A Rotor-Tiller and the Feast of the Presentation

February 6, 2024.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Names have not been restored, as Aslan says / Some are pleased to call this Ground-Hog Day / Although there are no ground hogs here / But the Presentation is everywhere and forever

To Accept Israel

January 30, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … To deny Israel is to curse ourselves / For we are inheritors of the Covenant / That He should be our God, and we His people / He creates us, He calls us – this is so

Dentistry and Dogs

January 27, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … The frost was still upon the windowsill / As an hour passed for me and Mary’s dogs / Their adventures in the woods, their lonely times / Their happy glances into their human’s eyes

Methodist Pecans

January 23, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Connie-the-Haircut-Queen sells us pecans / Every Christmas, good Methodist pecans / A fundraiser sponsored by the women’s club / To be baked into cookies and pies for Christmas Day

Each Birthday is a Step in the Right Direction

January 16, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … A birthday is not the beginning of something new / But rather part of a continuing story / From its Prologue and its Chapter One / Through the dark leaves of Mirkwood and beyond

A Russian Christmas Card

January 9, 2024.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … I allowed the time, the year, the day to slip / And so I can only imagine a card for you / A Russian Christmas card in paper and paints / Of Christmas scenes from a happy golden time….

Silencing Rooster Cogburn

January 6, 2024.Reading time 5 minutes.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … True Grit appeared on the Orwellian telescreen the other night, and I found myself watching that wonderful film yet again. The climax comes when…

The Turning of the Year

January 2, 2024.Reading time 5 minutes.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Not minding my own business I urged a tree / Yes, their children are gone / Yes, their children are grown / But the Christ-Child / is here

The Stable is Wherever You Are

December 26, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” … My friend prays at the Stable each Christmas Eve / In statio at St. Michael’s, waiting for the Light / (But indolent half-pagan that I am / I want an early bed on any night)

Two Verses in the Eternal Hymn

December 19, 2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … A river flows out into all that is / And with it your music across the universe / To sing the happy beginnings of all things / To celebrate the holiness of being

A Gift of Omelettes

December 12, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … We leave the comfort of a little fire / And repair to the kitchen for a morning repast / Of bacon crisp, of toast from home-baked bread / And omelettes more golden than the morning sun

Like Children Dancing

December 5, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Like children dancing, leaves form up in rows / Then skitter across each corner and street / As shoals in rolling ranks overflowing other ranks / Or little tornadoes laughing through circles and swirls

A Good Enough Leaf-Time

November 28, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … No more the withered summer-browns of death / Crumbling and sere upon the dry and crackling ground / Beneath a Rime of the Ancient Mariner sky – / Leaves in autumn colours are falling now

First, Catch Your Cookbook

November 25, 2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … The arc from Thanksgiving to Christmas is when the thoughtful cook will seek out MeeMaw’s cookbook to verify seasonal specialties: Waldorf salad, corn casserole, turkey fried or baked or broiled, ham fried or baked or boiled, and those old traditional dishes special to each family.

Thanksgiving as a Singleton

November 22, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Memories of a drive-through just won’t do  / Set something on your table, if only for you / A turkey plate from the grocery store / Two side dishes from cans, or maybe more

Being a ‘Possum Must be Rough

November 14, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Being a ‘possum can only be rough / Dragged all over the yard by a dachshund / A furious dachshund half its size / Until it collapses into a faint

A Good Five-Cent Cigar

November 11, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … But about the nickel: last week I found a 1948 nickel in my pocket change. That I count pocket change at all dates me because almost no one else does so. This nickel and I both appeared in 1948 and both are a bit worn but still here.