I Know What I Like
After my museum visit
My knowledge of art is less dim:
Renoir liked his women fat;
Modigliani liked his slim.

But Picasso broke his women up,
Disassembling from head to toe,
And if those girls were plump or thin,
Only God Himself could know.

Foreboding
On my spirit's aching back
I carry a special monkey:
For others, Death on a Pale Horse.
For me, a small dark donkey.

Eheu Fugaces...
The older women come into the bar
In all sizes, forms, and shapes.
I sip my beer and sigh and think
All raisins once were grapes.

Doubleday at The Point
Doubleday, at The Point, learned Physics.
He knew that the world works so,
Which is why few runners can beat
A good third baseman's throw.

Oh Abner, I know your knowledge.
I learned it to my harm.
When I played at that position,
I had a lousy arm.

Benedixit
"He stopped at Niagara Falls...stood silently
for a while....He made to leave; then turned back
once more. In a characteristic gesture, Cardinal
Pacelli blessed the falls."
--John Cornwell, Hitler's Pope
Of blessings Eugenio Pacelli
Was a veritable fountain.
When in Switzerland,
He made the Sign of the Cross
Over every Alpine mountain.

At the Armory Show
You gotta love Teddy Roosevelt.
Though an aristocrat, he put on no airs.
Shown Duchamp's painting, he called it,
"Somebody naked going down the stairs."

Ask My Wife
When it comes to color
I am totally without hope,
Unable to distinguish between
Beige, ecru, and taupe.

Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me...
Another sign that my senility
Is creeping ever near:
An inability to remember
If "The Hunting of the Snark"
Was by Carroll or by Lear.

Relative Uncertainty
When Albert Einstein bought a suit,
Its color was always black.
He didn't want to waste choice time
In front of his wardrobe's rack.

But Heisenberg? Poor Heisenberg--
Oh, Werner was never sure
What colors might come leaping out
When he opened his closet door.

Aggiornamento
I urge you to consider how the Second Vatican Council
Changed Catholic life. By how much? By how far?

When was the last time you saw a St. Christopher statue
Through the windshield of a passing car?