The basketball is round and orange,
Which makes this poem rather storange. 

My eyes are rotting.
Where does a guy file for a
Chapter 42? 

Some coders out there
In Cupertino CA
Got it right this time 

For your secret sin you watched your brothers die,
Anxious to protect a hidden treasure.
See what folly leads to such a silent lie:
Where could you enjoy its stolen pleasure?

Buried in your tent is gold you could not spend,
Gold that is the blood price of your neighbors--
Crying out against you for the matter's end,
Public payment for your private labors.

Mercifully God has brought your deeds to light,
Graciously He strips you of your cover.
Come, my son, confessing that the Lord is right;
Own today your failing as a lover.

Give to God these petty things you cheated for,
Praising Him for treasures disregarded.
By His grace become again the blessed poor,
Scheming and all selfish hopes discarded.

Then behold the mercy of a righteous God,
Treating ev'ry ill that wants addressing.
Praise Him that He is too good to spare the rod:
Even this will prove to you a blessing.

Joshua 7 

O Lord, let me like Abel bring the fattest of the first,
Lest lapsing into apathy I make the blessing cursed:
For Cain saw only duty, not the Source of duty's joy
And shamed by Abel's fervor, sought all fervor to destroy.

But Cain is rightly called a fool by those who know Your grace,
Who wonder at a man rebuked who would not seek Your face:
For there alone his pardon lay, and there he would not turn,
But blamed his brother's innocence and let his envy burn.

Let me not scorn the righteous for the favor they obtain,
But seek through faith in Your salvation faithful to remain:
For Abel saw what Cain could not, the offering supreme
Of God to God for man, our feeblest off'rings to redeem. 

Please please leave comments
I will pay you twelve dollars
I am serious 

Matthew's wish is my command.
(Don't tell him I had this planned.) 

I once told a joke
That looking back was not the
Least bit amusing.

There is such a bloke
As tries to share a thought but
Leaves it confusing.

Sometimes when a point
Is blunted by poor rhyme, you
Learn to ignore it,

Else, as when a joint
Is creaking all the time, you
Come to deplore it. 

Think I've got the comments working,
But there may be glitches lurking. 

The tortoise walks about aflame;
The hare dares not to snuff him,
For fear that it should prove a game
And make a loser of him. 

The software is installing now and soon to be installed.
I sit and watch the progress bar, enchanted and enthralled.
As steadily it moves along, a unit at a time
I revel in the bliss of user interface sublime.
Or something. 

maybe if I post,
the new template will be used,
fixing broken links 

Now if an ox should gore a man, his owner unaware,
That ox you stone without remorse, and nothing shall you spare.

But if that ox was known to gore before the man was killed,
The ox and owner both are guilty for the blood they spilled.

A neighbor for the negligent a ransom may provide,
But any way you cut it, folks, that ox's goose is fried.

Exodus 21:28-31 

The Bean Man comes hawking his beans,
His limas and pintos and greens.
He says, "Come and see
What fun beans can be,"
And everyone knows what he means.

The children all gather around
To look at the beans that he's found.
And just for a time,
They're twelve for a dime
Or twenty-two dollars a pound.

A little boy orders a sack,
And tossing it over his back
He gleefully leaves
With what he believes
Will make a delectable snack.

A girl chooses twelve of the best
With singular savor and zest
To fashion a pin
That flatters her skin
To wear with her favorite vest.

The grown-ups get in on the fun,
And everyone buys at least one
To wear or to eat
Or to roll down the street
Or fire from a bean-blasting gun.

And everyone leaves with a smile
All thanks to the old beanophile
Who knows that a bean
Is more than is seen
To those who account it worthwhile. 

the comments feature will appear
sometime before the end of year 

The Enemy thought himself grand--
But war did not go as he planned;
And flung from the sky like a bolt,
On Earth he renewed his revolt.

Ah, let me not be his recruit,
And let me not taste of his fruit!
For ever his line is the same:
"Take, eat, and establish your name!"

He says, "Such a self as your own
Is made to be seen, to be known!
The world is confused and distraught
For want of your radiant thought!"

"Shine forth and become who you are,
O bright and benevolent star!
Give light to the simple below;
Let common men bask in your glow!"

O lie from the garden unchanged,
Which man from his Maker estranged,
How still you would vie for my soul,
To shrink it and swallow it whole!

But Lord, with what wit you appear,
The clouds of temptation to clear,
To show me the shape of my pride
From each scurvy pitiful side.

For blessed with my sight once again,
I witness the greatness of men
And reckon a glimmer so slight
To new eyes unbearably bright.

And this, but the glory of men--
The thought of divinity then!
How vast are the thoughts of a King
Who knows and sustains everything.

How naked I suddenly stand,
Before a Creator so grand!
And flung from the sky like a bolt,
I humbly renounce my revolt.

Now herein may folly be known:
It fancies itself on the throne.
I am of necessity small,
Else there is no greatness at all. 

andrew gets a blog
but takes measures to prevent
a long stream of rants

for now, just one rule:
all posts and comments must be
in poetic verse

free verse excluded
because it exists to mock
all things good and right