Pawns and Kings - Gilbert's Song

Inspired by Chesterton!

Pax et bonum

First Fibonacci Poems

Facts

can

have their

own beauty,

but of themselves lack

a sense of purpose or meaning:

diamonds waiting

to be cut

and set

in

rings.

One

of

Satan's

favorite

tricks is to convince

people that he does not exist,

so they'll then conclude

that therefore

nothing

is

sin.

Fibonacci poems are based on the mathematical Fibonacci sequence in which the next number is based on the previous two number added together. The poems count syllables. We start with one syllable, add that one and what came before, (0) to get a line with one syllable, then you combine that line's count with the one of the previous line (1 +1), so the third line has two syllables. Then the next line would be 1 +2 (three syllables), the next line would five syllables (2 + 3), and so on.So you get 

One

One

Two

Three

Five

Eight ....  

you can go on, but 13 syllable, then 21 syllable gets really hard, so many poems only go as far as the eight-syllable line.

Some poems end with the longest line, some go back in the reverse direction. So you get:

One

One

Two

Three

Five

Eight

Five

Three

Two
One 

One

My first attempts used this format for my first two attempts at Fibonacci poems..

Pax et bonum

Respect Women's Bodies

I was standing in front of Planned Parenthood this morning as part of the current 40 Days For Life campaign. I was saying a Rosary while hold a sign proclaiming LOVE WILL END ABORTION.

A young woman in a white car drove by. As she passed, she turned her head and looked at me.

She continued down the block, then I heard her yell back at me. "Respect women's bodies."

There was no chance for dialogue. But if there had been, I would have told her some of the following.

I do respect women's bodies. That's one of the reasons I'm standing here, praying for them and their babies.

Abortion harms women's bodies.

An abortion - and we are talking about legal abortions - can have immediate physical effects, including excessive bleeding, uterine perforation, cervical tears, even death.

Women who have had an abortion have increased chances of developing cancer, particularly breast 

cancer.

Women who have had an abortion suffer increased rates of infertility.

Women who have had an abortion have increased rates of sexual dysfunction.

There is even a recognized disorder known as Post-Abortion Syndrome. Symptoms of this syndrome can include eating disorders, depression, difficulty sleeping. abusive or overprotective parenting, panic disorders, compulsive tendencies, and more.

There are psychological effects associated with abortion as well. Those effects include major depression, suicidal tendencies, and anxiety disorders.

So yes, I do respect women's bodies.

And I will continue to pray for women - including that young woman in the white car.

Pax et bonum

Swedenborg 30 - in process (rough)

(This is as far as I got on the novel when I worked on it before. This chapter needs revising and completing. Then I need to add new chapters.) 

The apartment was clean – well, as clean as could be expected given the state it had been in and the limited time.

Frank just hoped no one would try to get into the roommate’s bedroom.

Joe was sitting on the edge of the couch, reading a book he’d uncovered from a pile that Frank was in the process of moving.

He laughed, looked up at Frank, and gave him a puzzled look, as if he was trying to recall who he was and why he was there. Then he looked around the room, and the puzzled look crossed his face again.

“I think we’re about as ready for your guests as we’re going to be,” Frank said.

“Guests? Oh, yes. What time is it?”

“Five thirty. I’m going to head home to change.” He pointed to his shirt. “Something spilled. I’ll be back at 7.”

Joe stood up, dropping the book on the floor. He looked around and smiled broadly.

“Thanks. I never would have gotten ready in time.”

Frank picked up the book and put it on the coffee table.

“You might want to stick to the kitchen or your room for a while so this room remains relatively uncluttered,” Frank said, grinning.

He hurried out of the apartment and climbed into his car. I wonder what Jack would say about me at a geekfest, he thought. Then it occurred to him that he just didn’t care.

Something about Joe made him feel more at ease than he had in a while.

He got back to the apartment. As he let himself in, Jack suddenly appeared out of the kitchen, phone in hand.

“Where have you been?” Jack asked with unusual fierceness.

“I was helping a friend get ready for a party,” Frank replied uncertainly.

“I’ll call you back later,” Jack barked into the phone and hung it up. He closed his eyes.

“Sorry,” Jack said softly. “I was, I don’t know.”

He sat on the couch. Frank sat on the chair opposite.

“What’s going on?” Frank asked.

“You’re going to think I’m crazy. 

"More that normal?" Frank said, trying to lighten the mood.

Jack gestured around the room. "I, it's weird, I feel like I’m being watched.”

“Sohner?”

“No. Don't think I'm nuts. Demons.” He added with a weak smile, “I guess that could include Sohner."

“Come on.”

“Told you. Sounds crazy. And no, I haven’t been drinking. I’m tempted, though.”

“So …”

 “It’s since last night at Lilly's. There’s been something .. some things … around here. Following me. Watching me. Spying on me. But I get the idea they’re really after you.”

“Me?” Frank felt a sudden chill. That night at Lilly's. The return through the woods - had something followed him. No, this was nuts.

“What makes you think you’re being watched?”

“Sounds, Things out of the corner of my eye. A feeling in the air, like something’s there. And then you didn’t come back. I was afraid that – whatever – had gotten you.”

Frank looked at the floor for a moment, then back at Jack.

“I wish I could say it’s nothing. But that stuff at Lilly’s. And, well, when I was coming back that night I felt like something was after me.”

 “And all the crap going on in town. It’s like the whole city’s possessed.” Jack paused, then added, “Are you going to see her again?”

 Frank thought of the feelings – the feelings of raw desire he’d had when with her. Like nothing he’d ever felt before. It frightened him.

 “I know you were mad that night. It was like you were jealous.”

Jack scowled.

“No, listen. Like there’s something she could offer to any man. Even one who’s gay.”

“I slept with her,” Jack said. “A couple of times. At first it was just sex, buddy sex, not love. Like we both had nothing better to do, we were in-between lovers, so we did it because we needed to do it.”

“At first?”

“Then it got, weird. I’d had sex with women before, sometimes just to prove that it wasn’t my thing.  I never felt anything. But with her, there was something. I …  We haven’t done anything in a while.”

“Nothing happened between us,” Frank said. “We just kissed. But I wanted to do more. It was like I had to do more.”

“Why didn’t you?”

"It scared me. The feelings were so strong. I’d never felt anything so powerful. So tempting. And something just seemed wrong. I can't explain it. Like if I did i'd be lost somehow. I left.”

“Are you going to see her again?”

Her face. The way she moved. Her scent. Frank felt uneasy.

“I don’t know.”

Jack looked around the room.

“Maybe we need to do an exorcism of something,” he said in an ironic tone.

“Maybe we should set up a tape recorder like on those fake ghost shows,” Frank said. “You could play it on the radio. See if anyone catches on it’s just the sound of your stomach after some spicy Indian food.”

There was a moment of uneasy silence. Jack broke it.

“You’re still going out?”

“I told you, there’s this guy. Kind of an off-beat sort. Like the old chess club people I used to hang out with.”

“Sounds like a wild night’s in store,” Jack said sarcastically. “Hot Scrabble?”

 “Really, he’s a decent guy. Being around him I felt ... comfortable. I guess that’s the word. Anyway, he was totally unprepared, so I helped him. Maybe you could come?”

 “The AV squad’s not my thing.”

 “It’d get you out of here. And around people.”

 “Besides,” Frank continued, “that writer, my teacher, Staples, is going to be there. Maybe you could hit him up for an interview story.”

 “I’ll catch him some other time. They say he’s sick.”

 “Sick? In what way?”

 “Like terminal. How else did he end up here? This ain’t exactly Oxford.”

 Frank thought about the way Staples looked. The sound of his voice. It was possible.

 “Yeah. You’re might be right. But why here? Even if he is sick, he could have gone anywhere.”

 “If I ever get him on my show I’ll ask him.”

 “Tonight’s your chance to ask.”

 “Truth is, I tried already. He turned me down. But tell you what. You get on his good side. Soften him up, Then maybe that’ll give me an in.”

“But if you show up with me he might get suspicious?”

"Something like that.”

 "If I get a chance to talk to him I'll feel him out."

Thanks." Jack paused, then added, "And be careful.

"Careful?"

Just a feeling. Please, don't stay too late."

"Who knows, we might get caught up in some cut-throat Scrabble."

I'm serious. Keep your eyes open. And watch your back."

Pax et bonum

It's a Mystery

When I was younger, I liked horror and science fiction stories. I read a lot of books and even subscribed to a few magazines. There are still traces of that in that I subscribe to a science fiction poetry magazine (Scifaikuest). I wrote a few stories in that vein, and some poetry - some of those poems have and are still getting published.

But in terms of reading, I gradually got turned off. The contemporary works tend to be too dark and/or sex-obsessed. . 

I have always been a fan of mystery/suspense stories. Chesterton's Father Brown stories. Sherlock Holmes adventures. The Spenser novels. The Father Cadfael novels. Ralph McInerny's Father Dowling and Sister Mary Teresa stories. Tony Hillerman's Navaho novels. Steven Havill's Western mysteries. 

I even created a religiously-oriented detective - though, as is typical of me, I haven't done anything with him yet. 

I need to finish my Swedenborg novel - a leftover from my horror days. Then, who knows, a mystery?

Pax et bonum

Vegetarian Haggis

My Scottish explorations continued with a "Scottish" meal. After learning there is such a thing as a vegetarian version - or several - of the Scottish stereotypical staple, haggis. 

So tonight I prepared one of those versions - along with mashed potatoes, and mashed turnips. 

Instead of the internal organs cooked with oats, vegetables, and spices inside the stomach of a sheep, the recipe I used was a mix of red lentils, kidney beans, and ground nuts cooked with oats, vegetables, and spices in a baking pan.

It was a hit. 

It was also quite filling - and so we have leftovers for tomorrow. 

 Pax et bonum

Joe Biden is a devout Catholic (?)

I've seen a number of people claiming that Joe Biden is a devout Catholic. They use this to help market him to Catholic voters.

Biden says he is a practicing Catholic, and that his faith guides him in many ways. I don't claim to know his soul - that's between him and God. 

But I and others can look at his words and actions, and deem whether those are in keeping with being a devout Catholic.

Biden now supports abortion on demand for the full nine months of pregnancy.

He says he will reverse the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the government from financially supporting abortion.

He says he will revoke the Mexico City policy, thereby restoring U.S. international support for abortion.

He said he will reverse the decision protecting the Little Sisters of the Poor (and others) from having to provide employees with contraceptive coverage.

He pushed for the legalization of homosexual marriage - and even officiated at one.

All of these actions and words go against Church teachings. 

The Church is very clear on the issue of abortion: It is strictly forbidden. A Catholic cannot be involved in it, and Catholic politicians can't support or promote it. And if they do, they are often told not to receive Communion. 

In a 2013 letter, Pope Francis said, “[people] cannot receive Holy Communion and at the same time act with deeds or words against the commandments, particularly when abortion, euthanasia, and other grave crimes against life and family are encouraged. This responsibility weighs particularly over legislators, heads of governments, and health professionals.”

Back in 2007, according to an article in Reuters, Pope Benedict warned Catholic politicians they risked excommunication from the Church and should not receive communion if they support abortion.

When it comes to Biden himself, some have taken action.

Back in 2012, Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs declared  that then-Vice President Joe Biden "... should know, and I would do everything I could do to make sure that he knows, he ought not to be receiving Communion.". 

Last year, Biden was indeed denied Communion in a South Carolina church.

The National Catholic Register covered some other instances where Biden was warned. 

More recently, Bishop Paprocki warned that Biden will force Americans to fund abortions.

As for voters considering voting for Biden, former New York Archbishop John O'Connor offered some guidance: “I do not see how a Catholic, in good conscience, can vote for an individual expressing himself or herself as favoring abortion.” 

Pax et bonum