ection>On War, Whimsy, and The Way
Random Thoughts over the Years
Joseph Palen
ON WAR, WHIMSY, AND THE WAY
Random Thoughts over the Years
Copyright © 2013 Joseph Palen. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
Resource Publications
An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3
Eugene, OR 97401
www.wipfandstock.com
ISBN 13: 978–1-62032–843-9
EISBN 13: 978-1-62189-574-9
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
Plane Talk
They said the plane was still on time,
It was 30 minutes late.
Then they said “we’re boarding now,”
Another 20 minutes wait.
The plane we’re on should be gone,
We still are at the gate.
By now I don’t even really believe—
The “. . .bag will not inflate”!
Perspective
Billions of billions
Huge blazing balls of fire
Wildly careening at tremendous speed in all directions.
In a corner of this massive display
A tiny spinning speck of dirt
With brown and green organic matter.
What is the significance of this brown and green organic matter?
I don’t know
But the owner’s Son says
He cares about it.
Love your enemy?
For the fearless
A game of real danger
A skating on ice that is thin
They say you will lose
And you definitely will.
You may not try it again.
But I’ve heard it said
and I believe it is true;
I’ve seen it break through the pain.
If they don’t take away
your love for them,
you both are the ones
who will win.
About Time
Well now I’m retired
I thought not to happen,
But time flows like a river
downhill
I now wash my clothes
and find new time keepers;
The retirement check and
monthly bill
Today I was wondering
as life ticks away
and the dryer clock checks on its fill
How many more dryer loads
left in the account
Before all of the tickers
are still.
The Wouldn’t Be Disciple
“Sell all you have, give to the poor
Then come and follow me.”
A better offer never made
but did not come for free.
To join the band of twelve and heal,
maybe pen a Gospel too,
Was more offer than a diamond mine
but easy to misconstrue.
The guy thought first about his “car,
his boat and hunting gun.”
If sold the poor might benefit but
what about his fun?
He did not stop to think it through,
got stuck on the first part.
So left the Lord with only twelve
and a sadness in his heart.
Winners and Losers
Who are the winners, the losers today?
they said, as bombs rained down.
I thought we’d learned this lesson well
at least by the last time around.
Well, silly me, whose read history
and should finally dig the scene.
It goes on and on and ‘round and ‘round
and cold and cruel and mean.
And no one ever wins
not even he who sins by
making all many things that killing so requires.
The profit gained is so soon drained and
