TO CRONIES - SAY NO

There will be 'friends' who will take advantage of your position
Only to push you later into depths of humiliation...

Consider what some public officials are doing today:-
Refusing to declare their true net worth as required by law,
Omitting to list all bank assets so as not to display
Numerous substantial and sudden monies-in and out-flow...
Is this cascade of monies due to the dollar exchange rate?
Exceedingly lucrative then for one could accumulate
Such huge sums of dollars! People now suspect and speculate...

Say 'Never' if your friend asks you to hide his ill-gotten gain;
An oath is sacred; From giving false testimony-- refrain!
You in public office are astute, of this I've no doubt.

Need you throw your lot (and crown) to a pit where you can't get out?
Oh, let not the glitter of gold blind you and make you a lout!

IDOLATRY

I shouldn't get too attached to anything corporeal,
Definitely, not to mere playthings material...
Out there on display to the worshippers of Baal--
Long tables of worldly treasures--all ephemeral;
A kingdom with a treasury of gold and silver,
Trunks of medals and prizes for the 'high achiever';
Regrettably, these Tempter's gifts pull you to his pit.
You go ahead, grab one...and you could go down with it!

EASY MONEY

Easy for Uncle Sam to pay back the trillions he borrowed;
All he has to do is to print more dollars by the truckload.
Some creditors, however, must be getting apprehensive;
Years of repeated borrowing has become too expensive.
Moans and groans from the taxpaying citizens, he does not heed;
Ominous warnings are drowned by cronies and corporate greed...
No need to worry, Uncle Sam will have more money next year,
Everyone will be taxed to his eyebrows, this route seems quite clear.
Your children and grandchildren will bear the burden too, I fear...

BLUE EAGLE

Bred to dissect. debate, and dissent,
Last to follow the herd and consent;
Utterly fixated in his views,
Every critic 'gainst him is bad news;
Even his friends avoid argument,
Ateneans like him--like cement.
Grin and bear it, if he can't believe.
Let Skep alone...For him please don't grieve.
Eagles fly high for Truth to perceive.

BADINAGE

Birthdays mean--food!
A happy dude
Def'nitely could
Influence mood.
Nix gloom, don't brood;
A hungry hood
Gifted good should--
Enjoy the food!

GAIETY IS OK

Gay people have soulmates too like you and I,
And souls, as you well know, never never die.
It could happen that true lovers formerly
Entwined 'Joe' and 'Jane' were parted forcibly,
Thus, they continue to yearn for unity:--
You shouldn't scoff at lovers thru eternity...
Is this perhaps Mother Nature's solution,
Since Earth is faced with over-population?
Oppressors who claim to know propriety
Know naught about civilized society.

MIRACLES HAPPEN

Miracles do not happen any more.
It is unwise to claim God talked to you;
Rouse not your neighbor to tell something new,
As messengers will be scorned as before...
Christ in his hometown could not be believed.
Like a coconut, He fell from God's tree;
Entombed, his disciples just fled and grieved.
Soon Christ took root, bore fruit to make men free...

However, He may yet be crestfallen
As more men from His Path have departed.
People on Life's road strayed or have fallen;
Pilgrims in search of Truth have been thwarted.
End-times this century is prophesied:--
Now, ere it is too late, be on Christ's side!

GOD'S SONG

Gluons, quarks, muons, and leptons
Osculate and become protons;
Due to apposite attraction
Swift electrons play rotation,
So atoms to embryos are formed.
One more task needs to be performed:-
(New soul--assign to the foetus;)
God did....Then why the quietus?

POINT OF VIEW

Perhaps, first off to you I must make clear:-
Of course, you may by all means disagree,
I'll not debate with you, please have no fear;
Nor shall I claim to any nth degree
That my acrostics are totally free
Of tarnish or fancy embellishments;
For you,dear reader,have your own outlook,
Views, prejudices, and accomplishments.
I merely hope that you will find my book
Enlightening, a bit enjoyable
With spice--to make you uncomfortable...

SUPERNOVAE

Some huge stars that go supernovae,
Using the death blow of gravity,
Put their rare elements into play.
Expelled 'dust' of massive quantity
Re-form to solidification;
New stars and planets are thusly born.
Old to new things thru star destruction...
Vern, there's no reason to be forlorn;
A recycled life--no one can scorn,
Every human is stardust reborn.

LONE TREE

Leaning slightly eastward toward the morning sun.
On top of a hill covered with sharp-leaved cogon,
(Not easy to reach)--there stood a lone guava tree.
Each time that I looked, it kept beckoning to me:-
"There is fruit here for you to gather, and it's free!"
Reach for free fruit hidden in books and you will see
Each branch of knowledge too has truths for you to pluck.
Each 'learning' day you miss means you are out of luck.

MIRACLES

Melodious symphonic themes keep streaming in my mind...
In truth, a concert evening may not let me unwind;
Rather than relax, I oftentimes critique instead,
As I drum my fingers in time or sometimes ahead.
Could a mere fiddler be another Toscanini?
Loud trumpets blare Tchaikovsky's theme:--His Fourth's finale,
Except that this April eve, we have Itzhak Perlman
Sedately conducting from his chair...Thank God, he can!

IDIOCY

If only one hundred forty-four thousand souls
Deserve to be called on Judgment Day to Heaven,
It seems to me such a dire prophecy is false.
Over six billion sinners won't be forgiven?
Could we not also plead diminished sanity?
Your Divine Mercy, grant us, O Lord Almighty!

ATTACHED

At my age, I have become attached to too many things:-
To my meager pension and the transient comfort it brings,
To this easy-going character I have learned to play,
And to our quite risky material world where now I stay...
Could I move on, Lord, and perhaps join your angelic choir?
"How can you leave? You still have that intense secret desire
"Enthralling you with dreams of untold wealth, power, and fame.
"Detach those chains and here find your place reserved in your name."

PERCIPIENCE

Put to good use your instinctive common sense;
Exclude from religious beliefs all nonsense.
Regard myths for what they are, also fables.
Can so many sects have different Bibles?
It would seem that it was Jesus Christ who tried
Practicing 'common sense' religion, but died
In His attempt to correct the Pharisees'
Extremely stringent and outdated decrees...
Not even God may stop work on Sabbath day;
Can you breathe if He goes on a holiday?
Egregious religious beliefs--cast away!

CATCH UP

Climb up to your place in modern society.
Archaic rituals like female circumcision
Today are deemed unnecessary cruelty.
Continue to spread your nation's education.
Here, hold on to our hand as we reach out in Peace.
Unchain yourselves from ancient misinformation;
Protect and respect God's temples (our bodies), please!