"I Just Washed My Hands"

I just washed my hands—
It doesn’t matter the reason;
I sang about a twinkling star
To ensure I had done my best

I wave at the "eye"
That triggers mechanical dance,
Then wait a whole, entire season
While the paper rolls way too far

End now drags the floor:
It’s gross, and I refuse to dry;
I step across and wave again—
Will it also try such treason?

It whirs—just a tick,
Produces one that’s way too short—
Water’d blot if I could e’en try;
I give up and just use my pants

Putting this to rest,
But I’ve a few more thoughts on it:
I have one more stanza before—
Grr… there is still damp on my thighs!

A one-inch bookmark,
And more sheets for my king-size bed;
I do not need or want these things:
All I want’s a towel…or four.

"Minimum Wage"

Earn a paycheck,
Not God’s grace;
Earn your pillow,
Not salvation

The check we strive for is
Six feet long and six feet deep;
But it was already done,
Already finished

The gift we get,
The love of God
Wrapped in flesh, was
Twelve feet up
And millennia foretold

Learn your Savior,
Who brought God’s grace;
Learn your Lord,
Who gives you rest

"Semiquincentennial"

Go-karts
Pizza
Pizza
Waiting for ice cream
Live music
Waiting for ice cream
Live music
Waiting with i
                      c
                         e

Anyone have a napkin?

Fireworks—
right overhead! 

                              c
                                r
                                  e America!

"Pledge"

I pledge obeisance to the Lord
of the universe and all it contains,
and to the cross on which He hung,
one Kingdom of our God
Who, without partiality,
offers freedom and salvation to all

---

adapted from “The Pledge of Allegiance”
Francis Bellamy, 1892
Public domain

"Where My Heart Is"

I dig for treasure—
It’s hidden
And beyond my grasp.

I don't really want it,
Don’t want the responsibility,
Or the ache in my back.

I know that,
According to the law in this place,
It will end up in a museum.
I’d get my name in the paper,
But what good is that?

It’s not mine to mine,
And not mine to dole out,
And not mine at all.

I quit the search
And surrender my shovel