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

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

The Squirrel Festival

November 8, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Squirrels! / They’re up the trees; they’re down the trees / They swarm each other just like bees / They’re up the oak; they’re down the pine / They really need a traffic fine

Alexander the Coppersmith

October 31, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … We don’t know much about the coppersmith / (Indeed, we don’t know much about each other) / The works of an artist’s hands may serve the Lord / Or else they serve Ephesian vanities

The Aeolian Harp and the Aeolian Tree-Stump

October 24, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Every tree is an Aeolian harp / Singing the Daily Office of the wind

Are You an Old Soul?

October 16, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas … Sometimes we march in step along the route / At other times we seem to fly in pairs / Or sometimes trudge a lonely path in the night / And hear the music of a thousand spheres

A Carrier of Bodies

October 10, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … I don’t know that anyone shouted, “Corpsman up!” / Like in the movies; I was already up

A Station Stop for the Hummingbird Express

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

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Hummingbirds buzz the sugar water buffet / At this junction for the connection to Mexico / I feel I should be wearing a white apron and cap / Refills for everyone – and will that be to go?

Another Funeral in Margaritaville

September 23, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Of course all our friends are dying away / Old age sneaks up on us, ghosting us in turn: / Yevgeny, Jimmy, Dusty, Judith, Rod, and we / Who blessed each other in our happy youth

Even the Oak Trees are Dying

September 18, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Poor drought-dead leaves in mockery of autumn / Wind-rustle across the lawn as the dried husks they are

A Cat is Stillness in Motion

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

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … There is no stillness like a cat / To the laws of physics a stillness unknown / When all is still he is stiller still / Even stiller than a stick or stone

August as a Yellow Flame

August 22, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … This August is indeed like a yellow flame / Death writhes among brown-burnt withering leaves / The grass is as sere as Macbeth’s acrid soul / And garden hoses drip in futility

A Prayer of Petition

August 19, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Joseph Tuttle … Give me Thine eyes / with which to see / those in dire trouble / who send You their plea.

The Fuel Pump Screen Queen

August 15, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … She’s fresh and lovely on the television screen / Promoting a recipe for a sugar-free treat / And fashion tips for being In The Scene – / Her face on the fuel pump is ever so sweet…

Half-Awake in Moonlight

August 8, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … No one is fully awake in this strange moonlight / The magic won’t work if we think of it / Pirate ships can’t fly if there’s logic about / And lovers would never touch hands

Everybody Writes a Poem About the Moon

August 1, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Everybody writes about the moon / Often trying to force a balky rhyme / Along the continuum of spoon and croon / Which just won’t fill the bill, the quill, or the time

In Nature We are Only a Menu Item

July 25, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Purporting to love nature is a commonplace / This does not mean that nature loves us back / We often look for nature’s smiling face / But nature looks for us as a tasty snack

Builders of Empires

July 18, 2023.Reading time 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall … Great men of thought, of character and strength / Have built from time to time empires of industry / Empires of soldiers and sailors forcing conquests / Of ancient lands and nations for their own purposes

An Amazon Driver with Skull Earrings

July 11, 2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

By Lawrence “Mack in Texas” Hall No, of course he’s not an Amazon; he’s a manNavigating a big ol’ delivery truck through lifeFerrying to addresses this side of the StyxBrown pasteboard boxes and white plastic envelopes I wanted to ask him about his goal in lifeBut he was in a hurry to turn aroundAnd continue […]