Psalms of Gratitude and Prayer

Brugaletta

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781532602481
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Poetry
• Index: Literature

If part of the reason for half-empty pews in our churches is the white-knuckle grip we have on overused terminology, Psalms of Gratitude and Prayer almost always finds a fresh vocabulary for such terms. But that is only one element in its success. These poems also communicate with a healthy dash of images, usually the lifeblood of poetry that pleases. It is not an easy thing to accomplish, but the author has done it. This book also offers a majority of poems that both scan and rhyme, an added handicap for a poet, but one that he seems to delight in. Besides, as Robert Frost once said, writing poetry without rhyme "is like playing tennis without a net."

Wisdom

“I, Wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. . .. I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”

Proverbs 8 — 12–13

“The wise Christian is aware of God’s immeasurable power, will, and affection while simultaneously working effectively and intelligently in the world.”

Discovering the Way of Wisdom, Edward M. Curtis and John J. Brugaletta

Everything Is Otherwise

With all the things I’ve ever learned to do—

grout tile, teach literature, appreciate my wife—

I learned it just as health and age said, Stop.

And sometimes, maybe the most crucial times,

success was just beyond my fingertips,

something I’d have grasped if I hadn’t fallen dead.

But when I think of Socrates, told to commit suicide;

Lao-Tzu, his wisdom confiscated as he left China;

Da Vinci who hardly ever finished anything;

Lincoln’s lead payment for preserving the nation;

and Jeshua assassinated by the Jerusalem He loved;

I begin to see that nothing succeeds if it succeeds.

The Iliad is left to scholars who seek their own fame,

and Beowulf’s stern syllables survive as a flashy film.

Give us failure, and let it float away like a dead king.

Let me learn to respect my son’s unpromising plans,

my daughter’s disastrous choice of a husband,

and my neighbor’s hatred of the things I say.

Fox Sparrow

I was just about to say the freeze

had turned the deck to fallen stars, when trees

reflected in a window light beguiled

a songbird into thinking it more wild

and knocked itself headfirst upon the pane

which uttered something like a sparrow slain.

A sort of sparrow’s what it was, and so

there’d be enough on earth to let one go,

but this was mine. I’d been there when the sound

woke up the tom and brought that killer round

to see what windfall came to earth today,

an easy catch, and then the time of play.

He had within himself the urge to kill

that kept his ancestors alive, but still

enjoyed it even though he’d had his fill

that mornin...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Gratitude
• Grace
• Generosity
• Wisdom