Dream Poem

On November 8 at 5:30 AM, I awakened with the following complete poem in my dream/sleep.  I quickly went to  my desk and wrote it down before forgetting any of the poem's stanzas.  This poem reflects my fond desire to retire aboard and cruise until the Triune Admiralty pipes me aboard His own
flagship.


                                                      A MARINER'S  PRAYER

     

                              Teach to me of Thy pebbles, rocks and sea washed stones
                              Teach to me of Thy wind and waves of my watery home

                              Teach to me of my ocean bark o'er spewing foam
                              Teach to me of Thy boiling depths and watery dome

                              Teach to me of Thy thundering tides to which I roam
                              Teach to me the sound of the luff and sheeting drones

                              Teach to me the length between knots and the sharpening hones
                              Teach to me the height of the sun at the noon-day zone

                              TEACH TO ME THY HAND IN ALL THY CREATION
                              THEN, DEAR FATHER,
                              TEACH TO ME THY WILL IN ALL MY EVERY DESTINATION

The Knight and the Jew

P.J. Hereford at 1:50 May 18, 2014
The final aria in Act ll scene 2 by Rudolph, the knight and page to Frederick Barbarossa while on the Third Crusade, in the exchange between the Jew and the knight, from the opera "DIE EHRE EIN" (The Honor of One) 

As he bound himself he secured his end
Where is freedom under your law?
You killed Him who came to fulfill and amend 
That magnified code you call law

Were I to believe in your hide-bound state
Surly I too would die.
For as you believe so will be your fate;
Unrepentant sin is death to deny

I grasp this vessel and yet I live.
For me there is no curse.
For me there is no sin to forgive;
As meat to idols you still stand accursed

Go back to your trials and self imposed burdens.
But mark me, you're toiling alone.
What debt was incurred by God toward man,
For which you expect Him to humbly atone?

You are sadly lost in your lexicon of law
As evidenced here today.
His death, my life, challenges me with awe
That the ultimate price be paid.

This cup will be taken regardless of use
And rendered for Christ's faithful.
I can vouchsafe; there will be no abuse,
Upon my life most awful.

The chasm between us is bridged by grace.
We are divided by your law and its works,
Which will never suffice nor ever replace
The freely bestowed bounty of Heaven's Divine Clerk!!

A Jewish Lullaby from Act I Scene 2 of the Grand Opera "Leibe Macht Frei"

The lullaby taught by Aaron (14) to Lucia (8) from the libretto in Act I Scene 2 of Liebe Macht Frei a Grand Opera in three acts and nine scenes as he overhears her coaxing her baby dolly to sleep:

You cannot command a baby to sleep
But lull her with quiet and song
She will close her eyes in slumber so deep
Held fast by arms made strong
Carrying the weight of God's Scriptures
night and day
In practice as well as in thought
By mothers and fathers obedient to say
"I'll teach you what I was taught."

This is the lullaby sung to me
I'll remember it until I die.
Some day I'll sing it to my own baby
With my true love standing by
And share the secrets of a mothers prayer
In keeping with Jewish tradition
Forever faithful, always there
Behind me in quiet petition

"When your eyes are open
True light is dim,
But slumber brings clarity
And quiet within.

Busyness worries and cares
Of the day
All hinder God's message
So now let us pray.

Oh God of our fathers
To this child bring sleep
And into Thy bosom
Forever to keep.

So, close your lids gently
With peace from above
And wake from your rest
And walk in God's love.

Tell me now, tell me true
Did that song work for you?
Did you sleep every time?
I wish I knew such a rhyme

If you teach me what those
pretty words say,
It will be a secret I will
never betray.
We can be friends, you can
use my bat.
Why do you wear that little hat?

P.J. Hereford -1999

Editorial

Oh it's only a _______________!!!!



I hear the fearful hum of over four thousand ultrasound machines in one country alone heralding the wanton murder of over half the children conceived and thus investigated. I lay crying on the hillside exposed, unkempt and undressed---now silent. I grow among families who deceive my trusting eyes and countenance subjecting me to such abuse that even the Sovereign Creator noted the unspeakable offense and His awesome detailed punishment. I must wait patiently among my peers to be chosen-- hopeful for an endearing, even committed love, unconditional consideration, peace, safety and protection, hope, joy, even comfort; all of which are requested if not demanded of me, and many times rarely received or returned.

I toil night and day as expected, rearing, teaching, and tolerating infantile, immature, and inappropriate behavior from children as well as adults in societies that have never heard of, nor understood the concept of "headship in the family," let alone the passe qualities of discipline, leadership, accountability, character, and integrity, to name only a few. Soon after, I am left in fear to forage alone forcing me to compromise for life itself and that of my children.

Regrettably, I have had to equally accomplish every position of employment in the world, though woefully foreign to both my call and choice. My name is even destined by convention to be lonely by divorce, the so-called empty nest, or death of my spouse. If I am allowed to live, I die yet alone unfortunately possessing that which I despise and others desire, exclusive of myself. Yet, I am greatly desired and maintained throughout my entire existence by my gracious Saviour, Jesus Christ, who snatched me up out of the morass of evil to which his beloved are exposed. I am an infant girl, a virgin, a young maiden, a lover, a wife, a mother. I am a woman, chosen and created by my Creator for His perfect will.

Twilight

August 5th 1:30 AM 2000 After finishing Seamus Haney's new translation, "BEOWULF"-----P.J. Hereford

TWILIGHT

When the sky-day fire
slips into earth's toothy mouth,
momentary untrue colours surround.

Day-mind work slows and
bends back to me,
threshing my thoughts.

Worry's wild wind races away
with the chaff, burnishing
the boulders of truth as they fall,
God, family, self.

The dim rays of day's end
give forgetful man a fleeting chance
to tally the time gift.

This hour's quiet stillness shouts
to all men, but few hear its whisper
above the tumult.
Seek Me, with them, for you.