Monday, October 18, 2010

Seven New Deadly Sins



SEVEN NEW DEADLY SINS


The sins in red are the old ones; the sins in blue are the modern ones recently decided upon by the Vatican.
 
The old ones were quite easy; take ' Coveting my neighbour's wife';
I've never 'coveted' a single one in my long and fruitful life!
Husbands, yes, I've coveted out of the corner of my eye,
But, since they didn't covet me, temptation passed me by.
'Sloth' I've been guilty of now and again, but my sloth was not sustained;
Having an afternoon 'ziz' for sure doesn't mean that sloth's ingrained.
'Lust'? Well, tell me, without it, how do babies ever arrive?
As a temporary urge I think it's part of being alive.
'Gluttony'.....in moderation? Can there be any such thing?
I've licked my lips quite a few times....... in between dieting.
'Greed' has been something to battle, but I haven't gone overboard;
But I have got clothes in my cupboard which are merely something to hoard.
'Wrath' sounds rather dramatic for the way I lose my rag!
And 'Pride' is, I think, a virtue; lack of it is a drag.
*
Yes, the Biblical Sins were quite easy; a minefield that could be traversed;
While the new list is so very different; there are new ways to be cursed!
In my case forget about Drug deals, Pedophilia, being too Wealthy;
My life-style is far removed from them and the first two are most unhealthy.
Abortion I do not find sinful; Genetic Engineering the same.
Social Injustice I'm part of though I don't accept much of the blame.
The one that hits home is Pollution for I know that I'm guilty, and yet
My personal life's not polluted; the thing that is making me fret
Is the fact that I live in a coal town, exporting black gold here and there.
I know that it's doing great damage, but, most of the time, I don't care. 
*
Well, now I have made my confession; not much of a story to tell!
It's up to the people who read this to decide if I'm going to Hell!
*
--------------------------------------------------------------
 

RACERS IN RETIREMENT.


I've never kept a greyhound;
I'm not a 'doggie' soul.
And I've never watched them racing
In their 'raison d'etre' role.
But today I read about a girl
Who raises funds to save
The gentle canine creatures
Who may find an early grave.
Oh they're cosseted and tended
Like the athletes that they are,
When they still may catch that rabbit
And may prove to be a star.
But once those days are over
And they're growing slightly slow
They're thrown out on the scrap-heap;
Not a pleasant place to go.
They're the gentlest of creatures;
You can see that in their eyes.
And if you have one as a pet
You've surely got a prize.
I've only known one greyhound;
He was elegant and tame;
His lovely legs were graceful
And Ollie was his name.
So, in memory of Ollie,
A dog I wont forget,
I pen these lines suggesting
A greyhound as a pet.
*

22 comments:

Lois Evensen said...

Your first piece so well describes the US political scene today, possibly by design. The red sins are of the Bible, the blue sins of the Progressives.

The Progressives have surely moved to the Vatican. Funny, I didn't notice them when I visited, but it seems they have arrived and are quietly moving through the hallways there.

Is it any wonder that the colors of the States of the US political parties are divided into red States and blue States? That, too, fits. Perhaps the colors of some of the States will change on November 2. We'll see.

Although I don't always comment, I enjoy your writings tremendously.

Best,
Lois

Anonymous said...

I found this quite thought-provoking actually. You really went through 'em all. I didn't realise there where all those new ones but they do make sense; the old ones are for the most part ridiculous, as you seem to agree.

Enjoyed this first visit to yr blog

Regards

Luke @ Word-Salad

(mine are here-

http://lukepraterswordsalad.wordpress.com/2010/10/14/abscond/
http://lukepraterswordsalad.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/communication/
http://lukepraterswordsalad.wordpress.com/2010/06/26/257/

Anonymous said...

wow! learnt alot from you!

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed your take on this very much....very much indeed;)

Kathe W. said...

your modern take on the Sins is terrific! and your piece on the greyhound Ollie...oh my how loving a poem.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

thoughtful poem,
you have covered many details and touchy topics, which is very cool and helpful for us to see hidden sin related stuff...

stunning imagery.

Anonymous said...

I think it's so important to be aware of the undercurrents of "sin" in today's world. It's so easy to hide behind black and white when there is so much to be aware of in the realm of gray.
Thought-provoking.
Victoria

Lyn said...

Well, there's a place for you, won't call it heaven or hell..it's the place where good poets and thinkers go..Hope to see you there!!!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic!
The first one especially blew me away.
I enjoy your style of writing; it's very tongue in cheek at points!
Well done!

Peace to you,

http://notjeffery1.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/acedia/
http://notjeffery1.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/your-name-is-ira/
http://notjeffery1.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/greed/
(my posts for potluck)

A Word In My Head said...

its very nice....sattire is indeed amusing..i loved the one which has modern and old sins..its really quite informative also

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/thursday-poets-rally-week-31-october-21-27/
I invite you to attend Thursday Poets Rally week 31 hosted by Jingle!
sign in, link in a poem, poetry awards are assigned upon meeting the requirement.
let me know when you are ready.
Thanks a lot.

La said...

As always, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

Honey at 2805 said...

Really enjoyed this post and your style (S is for style). I agree with Lois's comments above, although it might be impolitically correct to say so.

Cheryl said...

I'm usually a lurker too. I love your greyhound poem. These dogs make the best pets. Our next dog will definitely be a small rescue.

As for sins, I just don't buy into any of it. I see the red sins as character flaws; behaviors run amok. The blue sins? Some of them could be characterized as mental illnesses while others are just the red sins gone wild.

Unknown said...

The greyhound is such a pretty dog.

Judie said...

A very thought-provoking post indeed.
I love your greyhound poem. They are really very sweet and gentle dogs, and when they retire from running, they become couch potatoes!

Cheryl D. said...

I wish I had the sin of being too wealthy!

Susan Anderson said...

Both poems are wonderful.

=)

Jo said...

I enjoyed both poems ... and hey, you are not going to hell ... and boy do i ever want a greyhound ... however living in a tiny dwelling that i do just wouldn't be fair to one of them.

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

If you are going to hell, then I suppose I am also since I'm certainly guilty of some of the old and the new...

All the cool people will be there anyway!

Amanda Lee said...

I had no idea the rules were changing! I guess I am kind of a red letter girl -- the words written in red in the New Testament. I find them to be great words to live by, though I usually fall far short.

Greyhounds are such beautiful creatures. We looked into adopting a rescue years ago, but did not meet the adoption criteria, as we had a cat. Apparently, that rabbit chasing instinct can apply to kitty cats, too, and the rescue org did not want to chance it.

Jenny said...

I'd like to send this link to my Mom...and very old school Catholic...but I suspect she would write me out of the will (if I'm even in there to begin with - ha!)

I know a lady who has three adopted greyhounds. I think she would agree wholeheartedly with your bottom poem.

Thanks for a super link for Alphabe-Thursday's letter "S".

I enjoyed visiting you here today.

A+