[Roger Slater]

FEELING SORRY FOR GOD

In heaven I believe that God
 and all the angels weep
when they look down on earth to find
 the good men fast asleep

and all the evil men awake,
 well rested, and alert.
Since God's so fond of peace and love,
 you know that's got to hurt.
 

[Wendy Sloan]

Clearly -- Bob's just competing against himself now, despite valiant efforts and new signs of deterioration on the part of Marion (really bad love song there, Marion) Janice (that King & Queen thing is certainly bad), RLC & Winaka, etc. ,and I still think "Suicide Sounds" is pretty awful, but --

Between "Say a Prayer for Grandma" and "Feeling Sorry for God" -- it's real close. Which to send in? They're both so truly horrible, I can't say. "Grandma" is more offensive -- but that's not the only consideration. "Feelilng Sorry for God" might be a bit subtle, but I love it too.

Checking out Bob's link of previous winners -- Tina Bivens' "Sonnets to Mayo" series -- did she get to send in a whole bunch of sonnets by casting them as part of a series? Anyway, they're kind of "fractured" sonnets, in a way, and definitely good (as well as bad).

[Roger Slater]

Thanks, Wendy. I was leaning toward submitting "Angel Song," but "Grandma" is in contention. Probably not this one, though, but I can't stop:


THE ANSWER

I went down to the valley
and I viewed the mountainside
as I floated in the river
with my two eyes open wide.

All at once, it thundered
on the dust the sun had dried.
I wondered, truly wondered,
if I'd find a place to hide,

and then I had my answer
as a bolt of lightning fried
the raft on which I floated
for, alas, I drowned and died.
 
 

[Terese Coe]

Really too good, Bob--a childlike version of the Songs of Experience! Are you sure this wasn't written by Jon Stewart when he was six? Only an innocent in the first flush of Experience could feel sorry for God.

Originally Posted by Roger Slater

FEELING SORRY FOR GOD

In heaven I believe that God
 and all the angels weep
when they look down on earth to find
 the good men fast asleep

and all the evil men awake,
 well rested, and alert.
Since God's so fond of peace and love,
 you know that's got to hurt.
 

[Janice D. Soderling]

I do think, Bob, all things considered (for better or verse), that you have gotten worse as you go along, not a huge improvement, but a perceptible one.

I would suggest using a pen name. Like Fernando Pessoa, you can have a multitude. But we know who you are and where you live.

Where is John W? I'm thinking he is in Agony.

[Jan Iwaszkiewicz]

Sorry John I must disagree "Ern Malley" did not write bad verse. The boys were too good for that, they sucked in Harris and the Yank, Shapiro inter many alia.

[Roger Slater]

FLOWERS

I think that I shall never smell
a perfume sweet as asphodel

or roses in their well-tilled bed
whose air-borne pollen fills my head

to overcome my soul's great shyness
while doing damage to my sinus.

But that's a price I gladly pay
for smelling flowers every day.

Fools like me can blow their noses,
but only God can give us roses.

[R. S. Gwynn]

The Pain in My Heart

I was looking for something in the garage
And I found your dusty golf-cart.
Your fishing rod leans in the corner
Like this lonely pain in my heart.

In the closet your shirts still hang
Like a memory that will not depart.
Some of them have long collars like
This longstanding pain in my heart.

In the drawer I found a metal bracket
That must be a spare part
To something. It reminded me
Of your loss, this pain in my heart.

Wherever I look in the house
I feel love's wounding dart
And it hurts me as sorely as
Angina, the pain in my heart.

[Roger Slater]

Sam, is it just my imagination, or do you keep on getting worse every day? Bravo!

HERO

My wife and daughter think I'm brave,
but no, I'm just an average Joe
with populations I must save.
And when I save them, I will go.

I'd like to take a bow, of course,
but that's not what I do it for.
I'm not John Wayne upon a horse.
I'm just an average Joe at war.

Let politicians fight their fight.
Democracy, you know,
makes all decisions come out right
in the life of an average Joe.

[Terese Coe]

If Sam is getting worse every day Bob, you're getting worse every hour. Congrats! Suggestion? Put S2 first, S1 second, and write a new S3 expounding upon your final destination...

Originally Posted by Roger Slater

Sam, is it just my imagination, or do you keep on getting worse every day? Bravo!

HERO

My wife and daughter think I'm brave,
but no, I'm just an average Joe
with populations I must save.
And when I save them, I will go.

I'd like to take a bow, of course,
but that's not what I do it for.
I'm not John Wayne upon a horse.
I'm just an average Joe at war.

Let politicians fight their fight.
Democracy, you know,
makes all decisions come out right
in the life of an average Joe.