MADAME LA GUILLOTINE /  by Joe Castorino

Her mouth opens wide

  from a nasty frown,

Then as the rope flies up,

  her teeth speed down;

Through bloody gossip

  she lops off man’s head,

Thus his reputation is now

   totally dead.

A LITTLE CHILD /  by Joe Castorino

Being humbled

Cuts me down

To my true height,

The height of

A little child,

A child of God,

Who looks up

To His Daddy;

I am lifted high,

In His gentle

And powerful

Holy hands --

For nothing

Will be impossible

For Abba!

THE GOLFER /  by Joe Castorino

Every single day he’s at the first tee,

Swinging madly, the ball hits a big tree;

For five long hours he rips up the turf,

He treats his caddie as if he’s a serf;

Hooking and slicing all over the place,

A swinging corkscrew without any grace;

He wastes yet another day with his clubs,

Nothing but frustration with all his flubs;

All of this wouldn’t really be so bad,

But his son needs quality time with his dad.

TRAVELING AT THE SPEED OF FEAR /  by Joe Castorino

the-godless-fear-

the-dangerous-and-

dreadful-death-spiral,-

the-dantean-inferno-

of-chilling-chain-reactions,-

of-technological-terrors,-

of-atomic-annihilation,-

plunging-us-deeper-

and-deeper-and-deeper-

down-down-down-into-

the-turbulent-tornado-

of-tomorrow.

THE GOLDEN KEY /  by Joe Castorino

Fear shackles us

In the dark night

Of unknowing;

But wholehearted trust

In the Divine Mercy

Is the golden key that

Unlocks Heaven’s door;

Then our hearts are

Overflowing with Love,

And with the magnificent

Fruit of the Spirit.

FALLOUT FRED /  by Joe Castorino

Fred is a linguistic

  connoissewer,

And his foul words stink

  like black manure;

His expletives are

  nuclear missiles,

More irksome than

  teeth-shattering whistles;

His vile phrases

  detonate in our ears,

And our clean thoughts

  the toxic fallout smears;

Of his weapon he is

  extremely proud,

His soul is poisoned

  in the mushroom cloud.

MOODINESS /  by Joe Castorino

It is a passiveness

That brings no peace;

It is an aggressiveness

That silently implodes;

It is blind to the kind,

It destroys all joys,

It chills; for it kills.

THE DARK WEB /  by Joe Castorino

We excitedly rocket through

cyberspace at supersonic speeds,

obsessively and compulsively

ricocheting back and forth,

from website to website,

magnetically mesmerised

by the alluring amusements of

the information superhighway;

but we are oblivious to the

hideous horrors that lurk

right underneath us as the

black spirit of Sauron stirs

in the giant spider-demons

that track our every move,

creeping and crawling

stealthily through the

slime and stench of

the dark web,

insidiously seeking

to exploit our weaknesses

and drag us deep down

into the infernal abyss.

THE INCARNATION /  by Joe Castorino

Whispered sweetly, Maria’s

“Yes” ripples and reverberates

Through the Halls of Heaven,

And the Spirit speeds through the

Atmosphere in a powerful pulse

Of gleaming, virginal white light

Into the humble House of Gold:

And, behold, The Divine Mercy is

Incarnate.

SMART PHONES /  by Joe Castorino

These little electronic

beasts

have insatiable

app-etites.

 

Like possessive pets,

they feast on my

attention --

they demand that I

stroke them and pet them,

constantly,

more and more and more,

until I’m dazed and confused and

technologically schmoozed.

 

And then,

when I least expect it,

their sleek semiconductors

swallow my sleepy

soul.

TRAVELING AT THE SPEED OF DESIRE /  by Joe Castorino

We start with small

roller coasters in our small

lives, seeking a little excitement.

But-it’s-not-enough-and-so-we-

want-to-go-even-faster-and-so-we

search-and-hunt-for-even-more-thrills.

ButIt’sNeverEnoughAndFasterAndFaster

WeGoUntilFinallyWeDerailFromThe

TracksOfTruthAndMoralityAnd

TRAVELING AT THE SPEED OF RELATIONSHIPS /  by Joe Castorino

In centuries past, courtships took more time,

Holding hands was special and a little kiss sublime,

The merging of two hearts: as one they would rhyme.

 

ButNowIt’sHookUpsWithStrangersAndLotsOfAbuse,

APrettierGirlWalksByAndThenIt’sTimeToVamoose,

JustMeaninglessSexTillThey’reDeadInANooseAnd

TO ST. JOSEPH /  by Joe Castorino

Your thick, wavy brown hair happily

  Blows in the breeze of God’s will;

Your warm brown eyes twinkle with

  Contentment, crinkling as you smile.

 

You protect the holy Babe from Herod’s

  Hellish hands, which are dripping with blood;

In obedience, you help the Holy Family

  Evade him and elusively escape to Egypt.

 

As a worker, you handle the wood of

  God’s creation with gentle strength;

With industrious ingenuity, you use

  God’s good gifts to serve others.

 

You shatter lustful temptation with your

  Carpenter’s mallet of holy purity;

Then, as God’s valiant soldier, you slay

  Selfishness with the sword of surrender.

 

In your loving example, you show little Jesus

  how to be a good son to His mother;

With your humble heart, you teach Love

  How to love, and the angels are amazed.

SANTIAGO THE SKEPTIC /  by Joe Castorino

A veritable Doubting Thomas,

Santiago is perennially sad,

If it can’t be scientifically proven,

It just makes him very mad.


He loves Nietzsche’s philosophy,

And hates all religious belief,

For him life is a filthy rat race,

Where people die in bloody grief.


Santiago goes over to Fatima,

To mock the supposed seers,

Being intellectually superior,

He will shower them with jeers.


But seeing the miracle of the sun,

His heart of ice begins to thaw,

For the sun dances in the sky,

Breaking many a scientific law.


The finger of God shakes his world,

Leaving him totally stunned and dazed,

The finger of God shakes his world,

And he looks up truly, truly amazed.

TRAVELING AT THE SPEED OF STUDENTS /  by Joe Castorino

In years past, students could focus more on learning,

Reading was something for which they were yearning,

Page after glorious page of the classics they were turning.

 

ButNowIt’sGradesGradesGradesNothingButGrades,

WithMoreReadingMoreWritingMoreResearchAndNoParades,

There’sMoreFrustrationMoreFearAndTheirEnergyFadesAnd

TO ST. PATRICK /  by Joe Castorino

You’re a stout lad from the big Scottish isle,

A future bishop without any guile;

Kidnappers took you away from your home,

Across a sea that rippled with white foam;

In Ireland you were made a poor slave,

Life was rough, though you tried hard to be brave;

You drew close to God and He set you free,

At last with your eyes your homeland you see;

You return to Ireland so smart, so wise,

And clearly reveal all the devil’s lies;

You pray “Christ on my left, Christ on my right,”

And you help the Irish find the true Light.

TRAVELING AT THE SPEED OF THE ENVIRONMENT /  by Joe Castorino

Francis, the Poverello of Assisi, really cared for Mother Earth,

The clear starry skies and sparkling waters filled with mirth,

Happy, healthy buds burst forth brightly in glorious new birth.

 

NowWeWatchWithDeepDreadForOurWoundedWorldBleeds,

SheSilentlyReachesOutToUsAndEverSoDesperatelyPleads,

WhatCanWeDoInOrderToCureHerAndSupplyAllHerNeeds?

TRAVELING AT THE SPEED OF PROGRESS /  by Joe Castorino

Before modern technology, time moved very slow,

Life was about life, not just earning some dough,

It was nice to stop and feel the whispering wind blow.

 

ButNowProgressPushesAndPushesToDizzyingHeights,

AndIt’sNothingButFastFoodAndThenWorkingLateNights,

GluttonousTechnologyEatsFatherTimeWithMegaBitesAnd

TRAVELING AT THE SPEED OF SOUND /  by Joe Castorino

Back in the day, people would quietly chat by the fire,

Or maybe silently read and learn, like a monastic friar,

Of tranquility's beauteous bliss we would never tire.

 

ButNowThereIsNoiseNoiseNoiseBombardingOurEars,

HonkingHornsScreamingSirensAndSnaggletoothedJeers,

TalkingHeadsBoisterouslyBabbleAndTrebleOurFearsAnd