‘Cracked Liberty Bell’ and Other Poetry by Peter Venable

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Cracked Liberty Bell

July the 4th—Independence.
Many bands play.
Parades pass by—
Fireworks fly.
__Rocket’s red glare . . .

1900. A song was sung
From old to young:
Lift every voice—
They sang, rejoiced!
__And shunned despair.

Stoney we trod. Bitter our rod.
True to our God,
Who by His might
Led us to light.
__The flag still there . . .

Through many years and floods of tears,
Faced hate and sneers . . .
Thank God we pray—
Faith shows the way
__The cross we bear.

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Dante Reprise

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Inferno

I heard a law of life has this refrain:
Whatever we free; whatever we chain,
Defines our fate in our final domain.

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Purgatorio

As I walk through the gate in earth’s terrain,
I fight the venom flowing through each vein.
My Guide’s embrace lets me endure life’s pain.

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Paradiso

He took my hand and said “I must explain.
My love for you, the cosmos can’t contain.
Come follow me and see where Light does reign.”

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Lunar Halved

The moon
at noon
is pale
and frail.
Its gut
is cut:
jet’s trail.
Sky scale!

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Peter Venable has been writing poetry for 50 years. He has been published in Windhover, Third Wednesday, Time of Singing, The Merton Seasonal, American Vendantist, The Anglican Theological Review, and others. He is a member of the Winston Salem Writers. On the whimsical side, he has been published in Bluepepper, Parody, Laughing Dog, The Asses of Parnassus, Lighten Up Online (e. g. # 48) and the Society of Classical Poets.

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