“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever…” – Thomas Jefferson
—Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.
“It may sound trite, but using the weapons of the enemy, no matter how good one’s intentions, makes one the enemy.” – Charles de Lint, writer and folk musician (b. 22 Dec 1951
When High Brow Meets Low Brow
by Michael Doyle
Boundaries of jazz smashed into neoclassical rock
And the people who listened began with the talk
Trying to be impressive though they couldn't define it
Listening harder, the intellectuals began to refine it
There it was in the sonic bursts that became an intensity
Forging forward labeled as progressive rock as its identity
Complicated in its threshold that was implausible to know
Suddenly the highbrow was twisted into meeting the lowbrow
It has been an embrace of odd instruments and extravagance
Constantly revealed in fantastic lyrics whispering of eloquence
Searching for the sacred chord strummed into an higher art
Seemingly the goal was to become closer to the soul and heart
Pictured at an exhibition of the intellectually unadorned
When the art form was believed to have died, nobody mourned
Pretension kept alive the ballast of this ship of fools
The music was floating on patterns created by the least cool
Lonely in each other's company we sought for substance to nurture
As we dredged the notes we felt were reaching toward the future
The tomorrow came only to become lost on its way to yesterday
In desperation we grabbed up our kazoos and began to play
(c) December 21, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“The more humble and obedient to God a man is, the more wise and at peace he will be in all that he does.” – Thomas A. Kempis
“No man can well doubt the propriety of placing a president of the United States under the most solemn obligations to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution. It is a suitable pledge of his fidelity and responsibility to his country.” – Joseph Story (1833)
Rewarming Miracles On the Street
by Michael Doyle
I don't want to seem to be too contrary
Or an old-fashioned grump who is ornery
But does it seem creativity is stuck on repeat
Is anyone questioning the miracle of any street
Hollywood's latest contributions seem derivative
Or is this observation the angst of a conservative
It seems past the formulas repeated today
That more than lingers on the crumbs of yesterday
Somehow, we ended up with a contest between streets
When the truth is that either is a nice treat
From this world that seems abusive and out to harm
There is a story that has never lost its charm
The remake of Miracle brought an unbeatable parade
That has made for a sometimes incomparable trade
And there is something Jurassic in this warmed-up festival
The scenes that warm the heart prove more than capable
This leaves us then at some sort of acceptance
The kind of acceptance that doesn't require repentance
But does leave us wondering what lessons to discern
Is there anything much we were meant to learn?
The heartbreaks of this world do not destroy the good
But does teach the paths of teaching that are understood
That care must be taken in believing in the fairy tales
But the intangibles like kindness, love, and joy swell
Into a story that reveals the human heart cannot be limited
From daring to dream the things that cannot be prohibited
Life, it seems, is often a matter of the focus of our eyes
And our minds create unreasonable expectations in the skies
In which Santa's sled may yet be spied somewhere flying across
Without being counted a loss, when goodness calms our thoughts
And we find our way into tomorrow from the hurts of yesterday
There are blessings yet to be perceived that are complementary
Things like daring to believe the more of what it is we conceive
When we look past the attempts by others to wickedly deceive
The first of these being that people mean much more than money
Caring for others is the special sauce that creates loyalty
It is a hallmark of the season that we need our creativity
Pretending our fantasies might become real brings possibility
In a time just past an epidemic of masks we must not forget
That we cannot be stuffed away in our pessimism and regrets
It is the dream of Kris Kringle and Christmas's special magic
That makes us able to crawl past the dissatisfaction so tragic
Bursting into the season that knows its way to bring us joy
It comes in our music, our pleasures, our treasures, and toys
But most of all it comes in our learning that we must share
And in doing so it is with the greatest magic that we care
There in Kringle we learn a secret in his many traces and faces
Life is immense with layers of complexity that we must embrace
.. But never forget the love behind Christmas
(c) December 20, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” – Saint Augustine
“The general principles on which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity.” – John Adams
For All the Dickens...
by Michael Doyle
It's on all these places and pages of the past
That we look back on the things that didn't last
When we do it is a surety that we will find
All those chains that constantly come to bind
Us so completely to our ghosts and shadows
Just short of our lives' disappointing shallows
In the depths, as it were, on the tenement walls
Like flickers from the flames that we recall
This then twists itself into a ghostly Christmas tale
One in which humanity's better nature prevails
As hope shines its light across this ancient earth
And true love is given for all that it is worth
Its worth, dear listeners, is just about everything
Love known and shown is the joy behind why we sing
It warms the hearts on even the most chilling of nights
And is the sum of what makes this season so bright
In this world, there are doubts enough and reasons to fear
It's the wrap-up of the pessimism that fills much of the year
But tonight, if only one night, we feel a Christmas cheer
Looking on that star, living our dreams as we travel as far
As the beat of our hearts as we look up into the skies
With a hallelujah, Noel, with a smile in our excited eyes
We finally know the truth behind the birth that holy morning
When God came to walk among us bringing us love and warming
On this one day, we pull fire from the chains of our strife
Sharing the sacred spark as we warm our souls in this life
This is a dream turned to joy that we find on Christmas Day
When even an older man turns into a boy lost up in play
While others struggle to find just one sort of right ending
The writer's soul knows the certainty of a new beginning
Felt until the nod of love brings him an enchanted sleep
Escaping to an unintentional smile that he feels too deep
Two selves, too often, struggle deep and dark within
He prays toward holiness while wretched in his sin
On his shoulders are two voices struggling to win
The shadows in his heart cause him to write yet again
It is ever his hope to lighten the burden of others
Through the words he writes, one after another
Finding his utility in pursuing a sense of frivolity
That perhaps brings some pleasure in its joviality
Yet still he stumble onward toward his nameless grave
Knowing only that love and Jesus are able to save
Confronting the mirror's solitary craven reflection
He whispers mantras to honor Christmas with right intention
When those having ability hold a hand out to fellow man
They hold the Christmas spirit as only those able can
And in so doing, they heed the universe's greatest call
Restoring a little bit of the heaven lost within the fall
(c) December 19, 2023 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of patriot it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.” – George Washington, The Writings of Washington, pp. 342-343
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