To speak too much, to ramble on and on
To run one’s mouth from dawn to dawn
Such constant babble may get on your nerves
For words for words’ sake no good can serve
I find myself when at school
Trying to quiet classes without being cruel
“Please arrest the superfluous verbosity” I will say
But they will chatter anyway
I again to them will turn
“Stop, curtail the loquaciousness, so we can learn.”
Maybe it’s best to let them speak
Surely, they’ll be quiet when they sleep
Padre
When painting a picture with your words
Life is your palette and all that you’ve heard
Random conversations, TV adverts
Ridiculous anecdotes, innuendos, and flirts
For the language of expression takes many forms
And a true artist will capture them, not just the norms
So, let the soundscape of your experience run free
And let it colour every poem and story
Padre
Confined to my baby-cot
Thought to be asleep
I practice the word “Mommy”
And then I repeat
For in the morning when I wake
To my mother I shall speak
**
Racked with anticipation
As I sit there passive – meek
Listening to my viewpoints scorned
Week after week
But when discussion time next arrives
In English class, my opinions I shall speak
**
Demands on workers made
Management thinks us weak
Unreasonable conditions new
As more profits corporate seeks
But it shall not be at our expense
For as a united voice for all – to management I shall speak
**
When society has begun to shred
And corruption in high places is at its peak
When journalists are shut down
When it is only truth they speak
Then I will again make my stand
And for the public, I shall speak
Padre
Be it dictionary or lexicon
What English words mean
Depend on which side
Of the pond you’re on
American “quite” means “very”
While British “quite” falls short of “verily”
If that word’s meaning tends to vary
Check out “now,” but be wary
An American “now” means at this instant
While South African “now” might be a time quite distant
And there’s that word “quite” used again
So, I used the British meaning as to not offend
This English tongue can drive you round the bend
Padre
In a savage manner our words can hurt
And with cruel phrases – with violence we flirt
An insult here, and innuendo there
Can wound souls and cause dispair
While striking back – it too is wrong
Let us instead be kind – and get along
Padre
One employee garbed in Jane Austin’s best
Another in a vintage 1880’s cowboy vest
All titles arranged by the decade of first print
Some quite worn, while others are mint
What is it about this bookstore that defies time?
Is that why it’s named Vellichor on the sign?
Padre
I met a they the other day
They was labelled a “she” but wasn’t happy that way
“They was” isn’t correct, I hear you say
But if they is a singular – it must work that way
Don’t get me wrong – I’m happy to use
Whatever pronoun that you choose
It’s the grammar only that makes me wince
As our language suffers growing pains
As new views and agendas we evince
Padre
The lure of lore is enticing
There is magic that lies in a tale
Imagination it can capture
Especially when it’s told well
We seek answers from those who were before us
We learn lessons from what they have done
And if we harken to their stories
Our own victories surely will be won
So resist not the lure of a story
Ignore not the morals of myths
For they often contain more
Than the mere conceits of the wordsmiths
Padre
When a sentence says therefore,
Just what is it there for?
What conclusions and assumptions does it bring?
Is the syllogism valid?
Doe it mean what it says?
Or is just a rhetorical thing?
Padre
I chanced upon a library at night
Where the words come out to play
Stifled by the silence of the place
Bound to their pages in the day
But when the doors are locked
And the readers have all gone home
They let loose in eloquence
Usually started by a poem
Oh what tales are related then
Adventures great and small
Puns and wordplay do abound
As the newspapers listen – remembering all
But dawn shall soon return
And the words then will silent fall
As soon as they hear the key in the door
And the footsteps in the hall
Padre
Padre's Ramblings 