The Distraction

The Distraction

 It was on a Sunday,

The Fourth after Trinity,

When liturgy renewing its One way

Mocked Divinity.

 

Whether intentional,

(Perhaps egotistical),

Or a knowledge sophistical,

It nonetheless smacked of the atheistical.

 

While offering the Great Thanksgiving

The Prayers of the People were read

For those passed and for the living.

But so revised it was something dread.

 

The reader not a layman

But the ordinary leader,

Voicing like a shaman

To his own glory a feeder.

 

Indeed, a disastrous distraction

By one who knows better.

His free-form liturgical infraction

Chose himself and to God locked in fetter.

 

The local congregation

Astonished and not amused,

And knowing its place and station

To the ordinary reader should they accuse

 

And bring him before

The Body of Christ?

Perhaps this distraction they would ignore

And to the bins of history dice.

 

But this distraction should be addressed,

Observing repentance and forgiveness,

And not without acknowledging those distressed

Disciples observing the abuse of God’s liturgical business.

 

© 2023 Worth Earlwood Norman Jr

 

 

  

AWAITING THE COMING

 

AWAITING THE COMING

 

After the anarchy the turning continued

But the falconer was replaced

By a single spinner through some grace.

Anarchy’s reordering moved in painful pace

But killed in the old falconer a developing sinew.

There, innocence never was.

The adversary emerged again in strength.

The meek, mild, and the tolerant sat.

 

 The Revelation was always at hand.

The Second Coming is still at hand,

But the second cataclysm could not hold

And western social fabric began to tear.

The Spiritual Mundi or Zeitgeist of fear

Rendered the single spinner its strength.

The Orient and the Bear now intrude

On freedom the spinner spun.

It is now a darkness, no light, no shadow.

A darkness crushing Revelation,

The falcons turn upon themselves

Devouring, denying their own future.

Awaiting the Coming, the light on the hill dims.

 

 © 2021 Worth E. Norman, Jr.

June 29, 2021

My Bucket List

 

 Given that I will turn 77-years old next month, I think that now is the time to work on my bucket list.

 My assumptions are:

1.       I have three years remaining in this life.

2.      My cognitive faculties will remain steady or even improve.

3.     That  I break none of my extremities.

4.      That the COVID shutdown no longer exists.

 MY BUCKET LIST

 1.  Drum Major the Marine Corps Band, also known as The President’s Own, on the field at Marine Corps Barracks, 8^th & I SE in Washington, D.C.

a.      Caveat: my legs are not strong, therefore an alternative is

b.      Conducting TPO in concert

                                                              i.      National Emblem March

                                                           ii.      Semper Fidelis (Six Bits [17]75)

                                                         iii.      Marine Corps Hymn

c.      This No. #1 item will require some “politickin’.”

2.    2.  Compose an original march for band.

3.   3.   Write a history of the political and cultural transitions of the Commonwealth of Virginia from colonial times to present day.

a.      A subtitle might be “From Aristocracy to Social and Political Elitism.”

4.     4. Give a recital on a musical instrument in which I have not been trained.

a.      The music will be a technically difficult piece.

(c) 2021 Worth E Norman Jr

Ode to a Fractured Fibula

 The event described in this limerick occurred on the Monday following Christmas Day 2020

Ode to a Fractured Fibula

I took a brief journey one day.

Not a long trip, I would say.

Carrying the day’s trash

Down the staircase I dashed

And missed the last three steps on the way.

 

My fall made a very loud noise

From a tumble of amateur poise.

 When I fell on my back,

Unlike a skilled acrobat,

I yelled for the neighborhood boys.

 

No boys were near or around,

And for a moment I uttered little sound.

Then she made her descent

Seeing the floor of cement

With this old man permanently down.

 

“What happened to you? Are you hurt?

“No, I’m having dessert.”

She offered some help

Then I screamed with a yelp

And expressed an expletive blurt.

 

What broke, in particular?

Was my right leg’s fibula.

No surgery required

No steel to be wired.

I am glad it was the stairs and not vehicular.

 

© 2021 Worth E Norman Jr

 

 

 

A Litany for the United States of America

 

A Litany for the United States of America

Pray and fast between January 16 – 20, 2021

O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth,

Have mercy upon us.

 O God the Son, Redeemer of the world,

Have mercy upon us.

 O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful,

Have mercy upon us.

 O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, one God,

Have mercy upon us.

We, the people of the United States of America invoke your holy presence on this land, particularly during this time of transition from one national administration to another.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Calm our passions, clear our minds, and hold our tongues that we may not offend or injure our fellow citizens.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

We pray to you Lord God that you redirect our thoughts and actions toward a righteous recognition of our fellow citizens.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

We pray for consolation and for reconciliation among all of us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

We repent of our sins against you and our fellow men and women and ask for your forgiveness.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

We seek an orderly world and personal spiritual transformation by following you and your Word.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Do not abandon us in this time of national trial.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Give us your grace to seek understanding during this our struggle.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Lord overcome our anxiety with you Spirit and smother our fear with your Love.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Son of God, we beseech you to hear us.

Son of God, we beseech you to hear us.

O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;

Have mercy upon us.

O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;

Have mercy upon us.

O Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;

Grant us your peace.

O Christ, hear us.

O Christ, hear us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

 

America’s Faustian Bargain

America’s Faustian Bargain

 A little more than a decade ago

They made you an offer

Of unlimited communication possibilities

And channeled notoriety.

 

In the deal

You could talk to the world,

Express your thoughts

And be heard.

 

The package allowed

You to promote and advertise.

It allowed you to stigmatize

Anonymously.

 

Connect with friends,

Voyeur others

Made easy by new

Technology.

 

In return for this power

You gave them

Your soul

With personal information and location.

 

The ride was great

For many a year.

The progress you made

Was unbelievable.

 

“What could be better,

What could top this?"

You began

To think.

 

Unsuspecting the collection

Of all your activity,

The digital bargain

Began weighing heavily

 

On your sudden inability

To undo some

Misdirected viewings

And online sayings.

 

You were ridiculed,

A reputation damaged.

What’s wrong with

This formerly good bargain?

 

Once the hero

Of one million followers,

You are now the stooge

Of the same million.

 

The big boys,

The big tech guys

Effectively reduced you

To a little boy.

 

You don’t exist.

You never did.

There is no record

Of you.

 

Much worse,

Your mistakes linger

And float eternally

In cyberspace.

 

But now there is

A national malaise

Incumbent upon millions

Of national individuals 

Trapped in the bargain.

 

Censorship, cancellation

And freedom’s usurpation

Reside in Faust’s domain

Forever.

 

Grand power in private,

Business has gained

Dominion over the people

And national governance.

 

The bargain

Was no bargain at all.

It was to your succumbing

To a false deity.

 

Giving your soul

To big tech or the state

Ended your comfortable life

And you did not know it,

Until now.

 

“Sheep’s clothing,”

Ever heard that phrase?

It is freedom’s closing.

You gave the wrong God praise.

 

© 2021 Worth E Norman Jr

 

 

  

Thought Management

 Thought Management

A matter for the individual

Or the domain of the state?

A matter of the conscience

Or of engineered fate?

Not far removed from Lenin

Not alien to Marx.

Recall the once legitimate Nazis,

Who rendered Germany apart?

It has returned

But now in the US of A,

A conspiracy of state and business

Who together rule the day.

So never pronounce on your own

Or be placed into jail.

Your individualism, ironically,

Provides you no bail.

There was early warning

By Drucker on billionaires

Whose net worth exceeded wealthy nations.

A warning in which no one cared.

Whoever thought that

The ideologies of Bolsheviks and Nazis

Would ever emerge

Within freedom's paparazzi?

Who are to blame

For this national mess?

Higher Education, Hollywood, all Media platforms

Colluding with the Ass.

(c) 2021 Worth E Norman Jr