First Things RSS Feed - Alfred Nicol

Talking All Night

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 -0500

I asked my friend, the poet,
how she was getting by.
“Work and tears,”
came her reply.

Addendum

Wed, 01 Mar 2017 00:00:00 -0500

Give to Caesar what is his,
namely, everything there is.

I see a lot of eyebrows raised.
Let’s check the books. You’ll be amazed.

An x. An o. A hug and kiss.
Render unto Caesar this.

Render unto Caesar that.
His the dog, his the cat.

Render up your reading time.
Render, too, your reverie.

Render up the uphill climb,
render what you hope to be.

If God is dead, does Caesar get
the flip side of the coin? You bet!

Render up. You’ll never win.
The croupier will rake it in.

Caesar’s arms are open wide;
your whole estate will fit inside.

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The Guitar Maker

Sat, 01 Feb 2014 00:00:00 -0500

for Herbert Clancey

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Animal Psalms

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The Skunk (Psalm 23)

I am anointed too,
brushed with his broad mark.
He leads me safely through
the alley in the dark. The Mockingbird (Psalm 98)

Hub of the whirligig,
he is my perch and poise.
I pour from a high twig
a round of joyful noise. The Sheep (Psalm 119)

Tepid, woolly, I stray,
leaving the path behind me.
It’s really the best way:
my shepherd’s glad to find me. The Bumblebee (Psalm 19)

I sense him everywhere,
like pollen far-flung,
heavy on the air
as sweetness on the tongue.

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