April 6: Love and Joy, Psalm 29, Curse of Change

Well, I changed the poem from yesterday.  If you read my post yesterday, "Psalm 28" is now different.  Haiku is not a form I've worked with very much.  I understand compression and simplicity.  However, haiku is also about sound and rhythm.  All those things are supposed to congeal into this one moment of breathlessness.  I love haiku.  Admire haiku.  I'm just not very confident in my ability to compose haiku.  Of course, you're going to have to be the judge.

Tonight, my wife is working the afternoon shift at her new job for the first time.  She was hired to work afternoons, so it's something to which we're going to have to adjust.  It really complicates evenings.  For example, tonight, we had to hire a babysitter so that I could go to choir and band practice at church.  My wife works until 11:30 p.m. or so.  We're not even sure at the moment that this new job is even worth it.  We're definitely having to pay out a lot more money in daycare.  Now don't get me wrong.  I'm not some kind of male pig who wants his wife to stay barefoot and pregnant, cooking the cow I bring home at night.  That's not me.  It's just a matter of the job paying for itself and some of our bills, as well.  The jury is still out.  It's what I call the curse of change.  Change happens, and sometimes it works out.  Often times it doesn't, in my experience.

Today's psalm continues down the path I started yesterday.  Psalm 28 was based on the Mysteries of Joy from the Catholic rosary.  Psalm 29 is based on the Mysteries of Light.  The Mysteries of Light deal with the life of Christ.  They are:
1)  The Baptism of Our Lord by John the Baptist
2)  The First Miracle of Jesus at the Wedding of Cana
3)  The Proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven
4)  The Transfiguration
5)  The Institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
I chose to make all of the haiku based on these mysteries into love poems.  I think they hold together well.  There's just something about connecting light and love and joy that really works for me.  I'm enjoying this test of my poetic abilities.  It's making me stretch and think a little more.

Tomorrow's mysteries are the Mysteries of Sorrow.  Obviously, there will be a drastic change in mood from the previous poems.

Speaking of moods, in my Good Books class today, I found myself talking about hope.  We've just finished reading The Road, and the question I posed to my students was about the conclusion of the novel.  I asked them if they thought the ending was ultimately hopeful or hopeless.  This question led into a discussion of hope in the abstract.  I told them that we all live for hope.  College students go to class in the hope of passing.  They go to college in the hope of getting a degree.  They get a degree in the hope of getting a job.  They get a job in the hope of making some money.  They make some money in the hope of having a nice life.  You get the idea.  Each and every day of a person's life is an exercise in hope.  I left class in a really good mood.

Saint Marty is full of hope today, and he hopes everyone has some joy and love in their lives tonight.

Psalm 29:  Mysteries of Light

1.  Baptism
She bathes
With cherry blossom soap
Pure, white milk

2.  First Miracle
I eat strawberries
Their tender flesh, their seeds
Wedding night

3.  Proclamation
Neruda at dusk
Whispers in his wife's ear
Holy sin

4.  Transfiguration
Kiss her fingers
Feel her breath
Transforming touch

5.  Eucharist
Her body
Given up for me
Sweet, sweet sacrifice

Mystery of Love