THE LORD OF THE PITCHER'S MOUND by Joe Castorino

A Variation of “The Lord of the Baseball Diamond”  (with a revised conclusion)

Seven-foot Sauron stands imperiously

  like a goliath on the mound,

Wearing his glistening, gleaming armor,

  he longs to be crowned;

His wind-up is Smaug-like

  and slithering and serpentine,

As if he’s been guzzling and gulping

  hot Mordor turpentine;

Brimming with poison pride,

  he frantically fires a fastball of power,

That rings through the air

  as it aims to devour.

 

But Gandalf hits a flaming line drive

  that decapitates Sauron’s poor head,

This fire-eyed fool paid for his arrogance,

  and that’s why he’s doornail dead;

Sauron was buried on the pitcher’s mound,

  where it came to be known as Mount Doom,

That night there were post-game fireworks

  that erupted from his fiery tomb.

THE LORD OF THE BASEBALL DIAMOND by Joe Castorino

Seven-foot Sauron stands imperiously

   like a goliath on the mound,

Wearing his glistening, gleaming armor,

   he longs to be crowned;

His wind-up is Smaug-like and

   slithering and serpentine

As if he’s been guzzling and gulping

   hot Mordor turpentine;

Brimming with poison pride, he

   frantically fires a fastball of power,

That rings through the air

   as it aims to devour.

 

Recognizing the temptation,

   Mr. Baggins the most honorable,

Surrenders to the Spirit and humbly

   lays down a bunt phenomenal;

The baseball sneaks softly

   down the third-base line,

And Mr. Baggins thinks to himself,

   First-base is all mine!

Then, like a slingshot, off to

   first base he invisibly darts,

And the burglar makes it safely

   because he’s so smarts.

WHO WAS JUDAS ISCARIOT? by Joe Castorino

Was he actually

humble?

Or did his pride

puff

like swollen eyelids and make him

stumble?

 

Was he possibly

kind?

Or did silent envy

creep

like a serpent into his

mind?

 

Did he patiently

wait?

Or did his simmering anger

boil

as he smelled that costly nard with

hate?

 

Did he have

zeal?

Or was his faith

sluggish

like at his last supper

meal?

 

Did he perchance

share?

Or did his fingers

clutch

the silver coins to keep in his

lair?

 

Did his temperance avoid every

snag?

Or was he a glutton who

gobbled

all the leftover loaves from the

bag?

 

Did he have self-

control?

Or did he pant and burn for

power

since killing the Romans was his

goal?

 

Did he ultimately

repent?

Or did his faithless soul

fall

through the noose like

cement?

THE GARDEN OF EDEN by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Thomas Cole’s masterpiece

Adam and Eve gratefully gaze

in awe and wonder at the

beauty of God’s holy creation;

beyond the sublime peace

of the verdant meadow and

the fresh tropical fruit trees

that lovingly embrace it,

a whispering waterfall sparkles

like aquamarine crystal in

the warm welcoming sun

and gracefully pours into

the pristine lake below;

rising majestically behind it

is a towering mountain of rock

that stands in stately grandeur,

piercing the serene blue sky,

joyfully pointing to the realm

of the Heavenly Homeland.

THE CREATION OF ADAM by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Michelangelo’s masterpiece

The Father of Freedom reaches

across the atmosphere,

accompanied by His angels

which are clustered closely

in the blessed bouquet

of His bountiful love;

Adam marvels at the amazing

generosity of the good God,

grateful for the gift of life,

and his eyes fill with tears

as he beholds the beauty of

the Compassionate Creator.

PRAYING HEAVENLY CHESS by Joe Castorino

Spiraling through Little Pearls of Prayer



Guided by the Spirit,

I strategically move

The little chess pieces

Across the chessboard

Of my daily prayer life.

I awaken to Our Lady’s advice,

I spiral slowly through the Rosary,

I surrender to sweet Divine Mercy,

I whirl through the holy Word,

I praise God through poetry,

I magnify Him in holy mass,

I delight in delicious devotion,

I confide totally in the Christ,

I listen intently to the Light,

I wonder at the wisdom of the saints,

I honor the Hour of Mercy,

I feast on spiritual communion,

I examine my conscience in humility,

I sleep in my guardian angel’s arms.

The evil one has no moves left,

He fearfully wrings his hands and

Grinds his teeth in eternal despair --

Jesus is the King of the Universe,

He is the Unconquerable One:

Checkmate.

SATURN by Joe Castorino

As the stunning jewel of our solar system,

  the planet Saturn reigns in regal splendor,

Ringed by its exquisite, elegant crown,

  its yellow-gold complexion is unparalleled;

Angels casually coast around the rainbow rings

  as Saturn swiftly spins in ecstatic glee,

Twirling atop God’s invisible index finger, this

  planet humbly reflects the beauty of the good God.

TO OUR LADY OF LOURDES by Joe Castorino

Your merciful and majestic eyes

   are dazzlingly modest,

Sparkling like radiant jewels

   of kindness and compassion;

Your serene smile swiftly

   steals my humble heart,

As you point me towards the

   path that leads to Jesus;

Your majestic mantle and sky-blue

   sash dance joyfully in the breeze,

Reflecting the mildness and the

   gentleness of the good God;

Your ladylike lips whisper    

   words of wisdom

That split the air like

   loving lightning;

Your sweet, saintly actions

   ripple through the universe,

Like warm, welcoming waves

   of heavenly peace.

SILKEN CORDS by Joe Castorino

Blowing in the Spirit’s breeze,

Millions upon millions of

Beautiful blessings

Dangle from Heaven’s

Clustered clouds on

Silken cords.

A little freckle-faced boy

Raises his innocent prayer to God,

Hoping one day to become

A professional baseball player.

With great agility,

His guardian angel

Does a somersault in the air

And, like an all-star,

Catches the boy’s

Wild pitch.

He faithfully flies up to Heaven

And finds a large, palatial cloud

That is lined with the most

Glimmering gold, and under it

Is a professional baseball contract

Hanging quietly on its

Silken cord.

He gets ready to cut it,

But kneeling on a cloud nearby,

Our Lady ever so sweetly smiles

As she shakes her head at him,

Slowly, knowingly.

Then she playfully runs

Toward another cloud,

A little cloud,

Pointing at a poet’s pen

Filled with the creative ink of

Imagery and alliteration,

And it is dancing in the wind

On its silken cord.

Brimming with joy,

She eagerly looks back

Towards the throne and sees

A twinkle in the eyes of our

Heavenly Father as He happily

Nods yes to her.

So the guardian angel delicately

Snips that silken cord,

Like a cluster of grapes

Taken from The Vine.

TEMPORAL POVERTY by Joe Castorino

Problems weigh me down,

Much like Jacob Marley’s

Prodigious iron chains;

And being temporally poor,

I am nearly bankrupt of the

Precious gift of time;

So what am I to do?

Is there any hope of escape?

Can I ever really be free?

Yes, but I must fix my gaze on

The Passion — with patience! —

For in this way I will be victorious;

I must surrender my time to Him,

I must lay the gift of my time

At the feet of Baby Jesus, and

Wait -- wait for the resurrection!

For with God all things are possible.

THE DIVINE SENSE OF HUMOR by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

The divine

   sense of humor

      makes us laugh,

Without it,

   life is just

      lived to the half;

We are happy,

   and we smile

      with good cheer,

For the Lord’s

   perfect love

      casts out all fear.

LIFE IS WORTH LIVING by Joe Castorino

Inspired by the writings of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

“Is life worth living?”

You wonder out loud;

For much of the time,

You’re lost in a crowd.

Life is worth living,

The bishop was right;

We find our mission,

And walk in the Light.

DISGUISES IN THE DARK NIGHT by Joe Castorino

Gentle St. Mother Teresa

Said that Jesus came to her

In the distressing disguise

Of the poorest of the poor,

And, of course, she was right;

However, is it possible that

Jesus also comes to us

in the distressing disguise

Of the inconvenient,

Of the unexpected, 

Of the cross?

OLD FAITHFUL by Joe Castorino

I’m nothing more than

a hole in the ground,

and nobody notices me,

and I’m okay with that.

But when I receive the

Body of Christ, an invisible

spring of living water leaps

up out of my peaceful soul.

These crystal clear waters

of pure love surge upwards,

with unbounded freedom and joy,

praising the King of Heaven.

A HOMELESS MAN by Joe Castorino

I am weary,

my eyes bleary;

I drag around,

without a sound;

I have no home,

so off I roam;

I beg for food,

my shoes are glued;

on the mend,

I seek a friend.

A CONVERSATION WITH ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI by Joe Castorino

“I just don’t get

Why Catholics

Even bother with

Talking to the saints:

I always speak directly

To Jesus when I pray.”

“But, my dear friend,

Although He doesn’t 

Need to go through others,

Oftentimes He does,

And it delights Him to do so:

We saints know better than

Anyone that we are merely

Ambassadors of Christ --

Yes, Jesus is truly the

Great God of Generosity,

But, even more, He is

The Great Lord of Humility.”

PRAYER + SURRENDER = LOVE + MERCY by Joe Castorino

This equation is like a golden key,

That will certainly set our spirits free;

Prayer prepares the soul for God’s holy gifts,

While surrender cleanses and also sifts;

These open the door to true heartfelt love,

Which only comes from the good God above;

When love is tested in the deep dark night,

In the morn it shines as mercy so bright.

LOVE CONQUERS ALL FEAR by Joe Castorino

in fear.

we shudder.

thinking we may offend.

someone.

by speaking.

the wrong words.

because political correctness.

ties a knot.

in our throats.

and makes us mute

But in Love,

When the opportunity

Presents itself,

My heart smiles,

And my soul soars,

As the Morning Star

Rises in my heart,

And I shout out,

Bursting with joy,

“Merry Christmas!”

THE LIGHT OF GOD by Joe Castorino

The Babe of Divine Mercy

Is born of the Sweet Virgin,

And as He lay in the manger,

The Light, a very bright Light,

Shines most powerfully,

Kindling the fire of love

In the hearts of the magi,

In the souls of the shepherds,

In every nation of the world,

Throughout all generations,

Stirring into a strong flame

The embers of eternity.