.

Perchance to Dream

__The sky is wide,
__The sea is deep,
And when we’ve woken into sleep
__A place to hide
__Cannot be found,
For probing eyes are all around.

__The day is bright
__And notes are sharp
When chubby cherubs play the harp.
__Much like the night,
__The day is meant
For business straight from heaven sent.

__Though dreams occur
__Both night and day
If somnolence exerts its sway,
__I’d much prefer
__That lights be dim
When I am drawing near to Him.

The starry heavens are a gilt facade
For inner workings of the mind of God.

.

.

Messengers

Though limited in what it is they do,
They’re here to counsel me, and likewise you.
They seem like skeins of light or breaths of air
To ordinary persons unaware,
But messages they bring are always heard,
Just like the morning lectures of a bird,
So clear that they can’t be misunderstood.
The news they bear is often something good;
If not, then surely they have come to warn—
They’ve known us since the day that we were born.

To written signed confessions they are blind,
For they already know what’s on our mind.
If we do not attend to their advice,
Then they may come around and tell us twice.

Put on your rugged boots, roll up your sleeves,
And try to act like someone who believes
That Authorized instructions and suggestions
Will answer all the necessary questions
Before the special session is adjourned.
Go home and think about what you have learned.

.

.

Judgment

__No wares will I be let to bear
__When in the future I set sail
To tell my sorry story to the King—
__No advocates, no coats of mail,
__No ribbons from the county fair:
A universal ban on everything

__Except myself on full display.
__I cannot mount a good defense
For what I’ve perpetrated in my life.
__The load I bear is now immense,
__And I would like to get away.
Remorse is all I’ve got.  Just ask my wife.

__I haven’t come to buy or sell
__Because I’m broke and have no wares,
And I am like a feather in the wind.
__I’m destitute, and no one cares,
__But I would rather go to hell
Than be the only stiff who never sinned.

.

.

C.B. Anderson was the longtime gardener for the PBS television series, The Victory Garden.  Hundreds of his poems have appeared in scores of print and electronic journals out of North America, Great Britain, Ireland, Austria, Australia and India.  His collection, Mortal Soup and the Blue Yonder was published in 2013 by White Violet Press.

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24 Responses

  1. Joseph S. Salemi

    Kip’s poems always make one think. I think that “Messengers” is about angels, either guardian angels or ministering angels, that warn, advise, and protect. The word “angel” is from the Greek “angelos,”which in fact means “messenger.” The idea seems to be that, whatever message they bring, it ought to be heeded.

    In the same vein, “Judgment” is clearly about the personal judgment of a human soul after death. What I like is the sense of helplessness in the face of an examination of one’s deeds and misdeed, but one that is conjoined with precisely the kind of tough-talking, stubborn contrarianism that is a part of C.B. Anderson’s character and personality. Those last two lines are a surprise, and they made me smile with recognition.

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      You are spot on, Joseph. But when we speak of “angelos” we must never think of the unspeakable Los Angeles. You and I might have a lot to answer for when the end comes, but I think that we both will come up with the correct answers. And yes, since most of my old friends will be there, Hell looks like the better destination. May God help us, whether we like it or not.

      Reply
  2. Adam Sedia

    All three of these are excellent, finely crafted works that all serve as a “memento mori” with a touch of good humor. I knew “Perchance to Dream” would be good solely based upon its title coming from Hamlet, and it didn’t disappoint. It offers a sort of credo about what the poetic voice would like the afterlife to be, and evokes the wondrous immensity of the universe.

    “Messengers” reminds us of the angelic presences always speaking to us if we only listen, as Prof. Salemi observes.

    “Judgment” is particularly touching, and evokes a passage from the prayer of St. Ambrose: “I long for thee as my savior, whom I cannot withstand as my judge.”

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      Thank you, Adam. Having long respected your verse and your opinion, I am gratified that you thought these poems were worth a comment. St. Ambrose hit the nail on the head.

      Reply
  3. Roy Eugene Peterson

    All three poems end with the self-consciousness of the author feeling exposed, as though mentally naked in the presence of the divine essence. The first poem has a neat phrase: “That lights be dim When I am drawing near to Him,” that demonstrates this feeling. Certainly, angels of some sort come to mind in the second poem, especially with “Authorized” capitalized. The is no mistaking of feeling completely naked in “Judgment,” yet there is an unexpected note of defiance with the ending, “But I would rather go to hell
    Than be the only stiff who never sinned.” Great twist!

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      Certes, Roy, these poems are just one author’s attempt to come to terms with divine Omnipresence.

      Reply
  4. Margaret Coats

    Complicated yet easy to appreciate, C. B., for those who wish to think about such things. I find you say more than Joe and Adam allow you credit for. Joe says angelic messages ought to be heeded, and Adam says they are always present “if only we listen.” But you say those messages are “always heard . . . so clear that they can’t be misunderstood.”

    Capitalization of “Authorized” must refer to the Authorized Version (aka King James Version) of the Bible, but someone who believes the Authorized instructions and suggestions will answer all the necessary question has not heeded II Peter 3:16, where the Bible itself says that it contains “certain things hard to be understood.” Your statement that angelic messages are always heard and clear enough to be understood means they are clearer than the Bible. With your angels around, you support the doctrine that everyone receives sufficient grace to be saved, and natives of desert islands cannot plead ignorant sincerity as a substitute for real responsibility. Tough teaching!

    Reply
    • Joseph S. Salemi

      Well, I sure as hell hope that angelic messengers coming directly from God with information or commands from Him are a lot clearer in their communications than some things in the Bible.

      Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      Actually, Margaret, what I was thinking when I capitalized “Authorized” was the term “Author.” which is sometimes used in reference to the godhead, as in, say, “Author of liberty.” I do not know what goes on with “natives of desert islands,” but I think that such folk may sometimes be in closer touch with such things than are we benighted denizens of modern civilization.

      Reply
  6. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    C.B., I love each one of these poems for their craft, their intrigue, and their entertainment. They make me smile as I think. In fact, I am still laughing at the closing lines of ‘Judgment’… I think that says more about me than it does about your fine poem… more than I care to ponder on.

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      I’m sure, Susan, that your sins are mostly peccadilloes, not to be confused with armadillos crushed under the tires of your vehicle. Laughter, I’ve heard, is good for a person, so I’m glad to have done you some good.

      Reply
  7. Mia

    All three poems are extremely interesting and I have enjoyed reading them. I am surprised by the messages but I have learned from Dr Salemi to look at poems as poetry first. In that respect the first is my favourite. But then I am afraid I go straight to what I think the poem is all about. Just can’t help it.
    Interestingly the last two lines,
    The starry heavens are a gilt facade, for the inner workings of the mind of God, made me pause . I immediately thought that man rhymes with facade. The starry heavens are a gilt facade, for the inner workings of the mind of man! And of course I felt silly attributing such importance to man. But then is God found only outside of us or within us. And on and on . So that’s why I am commenting. Thank you for the train of thinking that these poems have entailed. Perhaps amongst all the messengers there will be a still small voice of calm. thank you and apologies if have got it wrong. I find the comments help a great deal too.

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      To some extent, Mia, I’m not sure what that first poem is all about, either. The concluding couplet doesn’t really fit with the preceding narrative and simply means that the visible, physical heavens are but a dim (gilt) reflection of the Mind behind it all.

      Reply
      • Mia

        No, the final couplet in Perchance to Dream does fit very well. I am sorry if you thought I meant otherwise. I think it very beautiful. It is only because of perchance rhyming with man that I went off on a tangent. It actually works that there’s no rhyme there because it surprises the reader.

  8. Brian A. Yapko

    What I most admire about your poetry, C.B., is the way you are able to explore deep subjects and difficult truths in an accessible, conversation style. I have attempted to write in such a style and it is exceedingly difficult to make it sound natural. That you are able to do so is an enviable skill.

    Your poem “Messengers” conveys an urgency to me — our guardian angels do not offer mere suggestions. They give fateful warning and we ignore them at our peril.

    My favorite of the three is your “Judgment” poem which has an incredible universality to it because you very subtly embed references to a County fair which could be Medieval (the chain mail) or modern. Because you refer to God as King and “set sail” and refer to “wares” — a slightly obsolete term — I’m going for a universal setting which hearkens as far back as one may conceive. This is perfect for the subject matter of being stripped of all earthly trappings when one meets one’s Maker — as true today as in the Garden of Eden. In other words, your poem has echoes of the old but is as fresh and modern as this morning’s news.

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      As usual, Brian, you make some good points, and you have helped me understand my poems a bit better than I did before I read your comments. Regarding my style, I feel that I am a blind man groping his way through a forest of words. “The sea is deep,” for instance, is a rather bland truism that had to be saved by linking it to an important rhyme and letting the subsequent ideas to make the statement seem more profound than it actually is. Exploring deep ideas is sometimes simply a matter of letting simple statements pile up and interact with one another.

      Reply
  9. Alena Casey

    Judgment is so compelling I feel it myself. But my favorite bit in these poems is the final couplet of Perchance to Dream. It’s a lovely thought in itself, and provides a nice meditation on the rest of the poem.

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      I’m glad you liked those two, Alena, and if I keep getting comments like yours, then I just might keep on writing poems in a similar vein.

      Reply
  10. BDW

    What have you Done? You’ve broken in…faint echoes of…ba-roque…
    and met a physical, unmystical, yet quizzical, yoked Goat.

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      Don’t choke, BDW, on a joke, and don’t blow smoke on what luck might fructify.

      Reply
  11. Monika Cooper

    Reading these poems and others, from your book, your poems seem to be in a constant playful but serious, uneasily unorthodox, joust with the Scriptures. It reminds me of Milosz in spirit but your genre is completely different.

    The language is a delight. I was thinking some of these earlier poets (Marvell, Herrick) wrote tiny witty rhymes that were not *just* clever but had this spice of je ne sais quoi about them: and yours do too.

    (I also thought “Authorized” was an allusion to a version of the Bible at first.)

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      You’ve got me pegged, Monika, and it’s just who I am. But I wonder how you came across my book(s). I owe nothing to the other metaphysical poets you mentioned except the proclivity to say what wants to be said.

      Reply

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