Skip to main content

Syrup on the Shoe

On Saturday, I dropped syrup on my shoe. The stains are still there, so I thought I would celebrate the event with a poem. It is called "Syrup on the Shoe."


Syrup on the Shoe
Pancake clouds in skies of blue
Dropped sugared glassy beads on cue
And rained their maple goodness goo

These drops of sticky sap fell through
Left shiny stains alit with hue
But, lo, the act was seen by few
Was seen by precious privileged few

Those who did found life anew
Intrigued by this what seemed askew
But all their wit and all they knew
And all the thought and high IQ
With all their intellect in view
Left learned men without a clue

Their guess, that it was formed from dew

A lamb, a simple village ewe
Could see that this would be untrue
But thinking men see red for blue
See red for green and gold and blue

Not the booming of a Jersey’s moo
Nor quiet of a kitten’s mew
Nor the scent of every mother’s stew
Could now distract this thoughtful crew

Was its source this human zoo?
Was it dropped from bottled glue?
Without end, thoughts grew and grew
‘Til a man whose thoughts they drew
Said, ‘Tis only syrup on my….”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Nice Guy Fallacy

I read part of a poem recently by one of my favorite poets. It reads: I envy not in any moods The captive void of noble rage The linnet born within the cage That never knew the summer woods. I envy not the beast that takes His license in the field of time Unfetter'd by the sense of crime To whom a conscience never wakes. Nor what may call itself as bles't The heart that never plighted troth But stagnates in the weeds of sloth Nor any want-begotten rest. I hold it true, whate'er befall I feel it, when I sorrow most 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all. At base, Tennyson contrasted a life of risk, and consequent pain, with one of security. He sides conclusively with the life of risk, and says he fails to envy those who have faced no hardship. I agree with him; and, for good or ill, his words are just as relevant today as they were in the nineteenth century. Like then, there are those today who choose to live their lives with as little risk as...

Heroes

Although we have several examples of heroes in our day, one of the best known is of a woman named Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu (“Gonja Bojaju”), who devoted her life to sustaining the “poor, sick, orphaned, and dying.” Her venue was Calcutta, India, where she served as a teacher until she began to take notice of the poverty there. Seeking to do something about it, she began an organization that consisted of just thirteen members at its inception. Called the “Missionaries of Charity,” the organization would eventually burgeon into well over 5,000 members worldwide, running approximately 600 missions, schools and shelters in 120 countries; and caring for the orphaned, blind, aged, disabled, and poor. As her personal work expanded, she traveled to countries like Lebanon, where she rescued 37 children from a hospital by pressing for peace between Israel and Palestine; to Ethiopia, where she traveled to help the hungry; to Chernobyl, Russia, to assist victims of the nuclear meltdown there; and to ...

Haiti 2012

In case anyone would like to help this trip, or would like to know what we will be doing, here is my support letter for our Haiti trip in June. February 11, 2012 Dear Friends, Family, and Fellow Believers: Last year, a group of eleven people traveled to an orphanage in southern Haiti called the Hands and Feet Project. During the week we were there, we witnessed poverty, disease, and overcrowding. We heard stories of abandoned children, natural disaster, and the uncertainties and isolation of missions work. We felt tangibly the confusion of a country wracked by hopelessness and overwhelming difficulty. In the midst of it all, however, we experienced something more. We witnessed the hope of future orphanages and clean water, heard stories of unity and compassion for children left behind, and felt tangibly the love of God for the people of Haiti through a group of unified people whose goal is to serve him. It was these experiences of hopefulness that left many of us change...