Pinocchio movie still‘Natural-Born’ and Other Poetry by T.M. Moore The Society February 21, 2020 Culture, Poetry 16 Comments Natural-Born Jeremiah 17.19 I am a liar, natural-born. I find it more convenient to equivocate or stretch the truth, than to accept the fate truth might impose. What’s more, I am the kind of person who will take the credit due to others, tarnish your good name, or steal as much as I desire. I’m being real here, friend; it is my nature to pursue whatever I decide is best for me. I get these feelings, deep inside my soul, and they’re authentic; they exert control, and therefore must be what is right, you see. __You’ll say, “Such feelings will dismantle you.” __But what’s a liar, natural-born, to do? When Snow Falls Psalm 147.15-18; Hebrews 1.3 When snow falls, as it is just now, then I become transfixed somehow. I stare in wonder and delight as everything outside turns white. Amid the falling flakes I seem to part the veil of some bright dream, as silence, like a welcome guest, arrives, and with him, peace and rest. I try to lock on to one flake as it descends. What does it take to craft a thing of such unique and delicate design? Don’t speak to me of science here; I know the science of each flake of snow, and how it forms, and why snow storms occur. I understand the norms and laws. What gives me pause and cause to wonder, and what frankly awes me—as that one flake disappears into the tapestry that cheers my soul—is pondering the start of each flake’s journey, and its part in this great work of art which grows before my eyes, and what it shows me of the beauty and the power of Him Whose Word commands this shower and crafts each crystal masterpiece, then sets it firmly in the slot or crease for which it was intended, to present to my admiring view this winter wonder. And I see, in this luxurious gallery, unseen realities, and all the cosmos, all things vast and small, held in their place, fulfilling their appointed purpose everywhere according to the One Whose love snows down upon us from above incessantly, though typically ignored. How callous we can be. T.M. Moore’s poetry has appeared in numerous journals, and he has published five volumes of verse through his ministry’s imprint, Waxed Tablet Publications. He is Principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, he and his wife, Susie, reside in Essex Junction, VT. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Trending now: 16 Responses Joe Tessitore February 21, 2020 There’s something about the first line of your second poem, but it easily could be me: snow falls; snow does fall; snow is falling. I’m not exactly sure how yours should read, but I think you might have mixed tenses. Hopefully, one of our grammarians will ring in. Reply James A. Tweedie February 21, 2020 Joe, I noticed the same thing. I believe the proper prose line would be, “When snow falls, as it is falling just now, . . .” T.M. simply left the word “falling” out: or, in other words, an ellipsis (“the omission of one or more words that are obviously understood but that must be supplied to make a construction grammatically complete.”). T.M. I admire the ease in which you insert a phrase like this into a sonnet: I’m being real here, friend; it is my nature to pursue whatever I decide is best for me. I get these feelings, deep inside my soul, and they’re authentic; they exert control, and therefore must be what is right, you see. I also appreciated the flow of the second poem and the unexpected twist of the blade in the closing couplet. Ouch! Reply T. M. February 21, 2020 James and Joe: James has it. It’s an intended ellipsis. I wrote the poem in the middle of a recent snowfall. Thanks, James for the encouraging words. C.B. Anderson February 21, 2020 Or, T.M. & James, “When snow falls, as it’s doing now,” Another blessing relating to snow is that it provides exercise that I sorely need in the winter when there is no gardening to do. But I don’t expect everyone to feel that way about shoveling the stuff. Mark F. Stone February 21, 2020 Another option is: When snow falls, as it did just now, Amy Foreman February 21, 2020 More wonderful stuff from T.M. Moore, which I think, at least for me, stands for Tell. Me. More! Thanks for these excellent, truth-filled poems, T.M. Reply Joe Tessitore February 22, 2020 An intended ellipsis sounds like something invented by a liberal. Reply T. M. February 22, 2020 Joe: Well, I’m no liberal, but I use this device in normal conversation all the time: “Hurry up.” “I am (hurrying up).” “You should read this.” “I have (read it).” And so on. Reply Joe Tessitore February 22, 2020 I didn’t mean to imply that you were. This is just another example of grammar going beyond me, like the subjunctive. Susan Jarvis Bryant February 23, 2020 Two thoroughly engaging and inspirational poems. I especially admire the internal rhymes and sheer mastery of words in When Snow Falls, which is a delight to read aloud. Reply T.M. February 24, 2020 All y’all: Thanks for the interaction and the kind remarks. T. M. Reply Monty February 27, 2020 I’ve made it quite clear in the past how highly I rate your poetry, TM, it’s always beautiful to read; but given the subject-matter of many of your poems (religion), it’s sometimes the case that I have no interest in reading any further than the first few lines, or the first stanza. Although the above two pieces have got very slight religious connotations, they can both be read independent of religion. I found the first piece to be a brilliant observation of an everyday human characteristic, and of one who’s afflicted with such a characteristic; and the very purpose of the poem was neatly encapsulated in the question asked in the last line: ‘If one’s born to be a natural liar, what choice does one have?’ The second piece achieves something I’ve always held dear about poetry; the act of the poet taking a seemingly-mundane thing (in this case, a snowflake) and expanding upon it in a way which may afford the reader to see a deeper meaning in an everyday thing which they’d normally take for granted (in this sense, it reminds me of one of your poems from last year concerning a piece of cheese sat on the snow, surrounded by the claw-prints of a bird which had tried, and failed, to consume it). I’ve always considered this to be a basic duty of a poet: to offer a potentially deeper meaning in things to which we normally pay no attention. You do so with ease. As is normal with you, TM, both pieces are immaculately written in every poetic sense: they have a lovely flow about them. If I may remark upon what seems to’ve aroused a minor debate in the above comments: “as it is just now” in L1 of ‘Snow’ . . . when I first read it, I also sensed something potentially awkward in the tenses; but after looking more intently, I now see nothing at all wrong with the line. As James pointed-out, you’ve simply omitted the word ‘falling’.. which is not needed anyway, ‘coz the word ‘falls’ is already in the line. I think the potential stumble for British readers is in the words ‘just now’; in British-English, ‘just now’ is used to mean ‘a short time ago’, thus is said in the past tense – ‘I saw her just now: she told me to give you her regards’. Hence the ambiguity: ‘..as it is just now’ . . present tense ‘..just now’ . . past tense. I suppose in British-English, a writer would eliminate any potential ambiguity by simply rendering the line in one of two ways: ‘When snow falls, as it was just now’.. past ‘When snow falls, as it is right now’.. present Hence, maybe if you swapped the word ‘just’ for ‘right’, that would eliminate any ambiguity on either side of the pond. Reply T.M. February 27, 2020 Monty: Thanks for the kind words of encouragement and the helpful suggestions. The phrase “just now” is very interesting. When I was in South Africa to do some teaching, we were having tea, and my friend said that we should leave just now for the meeting. I immediately stood up as he sat down. He meant “in a little while” but I thought he meant “at this very moment.” Neither of us took it as a thing already accomplished! As for the religion in my poems: well, I’m twice-born to it, you see, and I can’t help myself. Back from Asia yet? Blessings. T. M. Reply T.M. February 27, 2020 just now At this moment: it’s pretty hectic just now (OED). Thanks all. Reply Monty February 27, 2020 Well, that’s a revelation, TM. So, ‘just now’ has got three completely different meanings in three different countries: U.K. It happened a short while ago U.S. It’s happening at this moment S.A. It’ll be happening shortly That’s fascinating stuff. In Britain, ‘just now’ is always used in the past tense, usually to relate to something which happened, say, less than an hour ago: ‘You’ve just missed him; he was here just now’. If we’re gonna use ‘just now’ in the present tense, we always insert the word ‘about’, and we only use it as an approximation: ‘My friend’s flying in today; in fact, she should be landing just about now’ (in the same sense, we also say ‘round about now’). Thus, how alien it’d be for a Brit in South Africa to be told: ‘He’s just gone to the 7-eleven; he’ll be back just now. D’you wanna wait?’ That sounds really weird! Regarding your religious poems: you don’t have to defend them, TM. One should always write for one’s self, and write what one feels. It’s just that I’m a bit fussy about what subject-matters I read in poetry. Hence, being anti-religion, it naturally follows that I don’t read any religious poetry.. no matter who the author. I also find a lot of landscape-poems monotonous, and rarely read one to the end (there’s only so many times one can read about the way the sun reflects upon the lake, etc). I don’t read a whole poem simply because it’s there in front of me. I start reading, and if I lose interest.. I’ll stop! As well as being well-written, a poem must also interest me, or enlighten me, or educate me, or amuse me, or stimulate thought in me, or make me think more deeply about something to which I’d never before paid much attention . . that’s why I can’t get involved with all the mythical nonsense from a thousand years ago which often appears on these pages. So, don’t pay any attention to me, TM. You’re religious; you live in a religious country; SCP is based in that same country . . so it’s only natural that you offer a lot of religious poems to these pages; and it’s only natural that a lot of other religious poetry appears on these pages. I understand that . . and it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Yeah, I’m still in Asia; I’ll be back in France in early April. Take it easy . . Reply T.M. February 28, 2020 I will take it easy, Monty, but I also take you seriously, and I cannot not pay attention to you. Thank you for taking an interest in my verse. T. M. Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Joe Tessitore February 21, 2020 There’s something about the first line of your second poem, but it easily could be me: snow falls; snow does fall; snow is falling. I’m not exactly sure how yours should read, but I think you might have mixed tenses. Hopefully, one of our grammarians will ring in. Reply
James A. Tweedie February 21, 2020 Joe, I noticed the same thing. I believe the proper prose line would be, “When snow falls, as it is falling just now, . . .” T.M. simply left the word “falling” out: or, in other words, an ellipsis (“the omission of one or more words that are obviously understood but that must be supplied to make a construction grammatically complete.”). T.M. I admire the ease in which you insert a phrase like this into a sonnet: I’m being real here, friend; it is my nature to pursue whatever I decide is best for me. I get these feelings, deep inside my soul, and they’re authentic; they exert control, and therefore must be what is right, you see. I also appreciated the flow of the second poem and the unexpected twist of the blade in the closing couplet. Ouch! Reply
T. M. February 21, 2020 James and Joe: James has it. It’s an intended ellipsis. I wrote the poem in the middle of a recent snowfall. Thanks, James for the encouraging words.
C.B. Anderson February 21, 2020 Or, T.M. & James, “When snow falls, as it’s doing now,” Another blessing relating to snow is that it provides exercise that I sorely need in the winter when there is no gardening to do. But I don’t expect everyone to feel that way about shoveling the stuff.
Amy Foreman February 21, 2020 More wonderful stuff from T.M. Moore, which I think, at least for me, stands for Tell. Me. More! Thanks for these excellent, truth-filled poems, T.M. Reply
Joe Tessitore February 22, 2020 An intended ellipsis sounds like something invented by a liberal. Reply
T. M. February 22, 2020 Joe: Well, I’m no liberal, but I use this device in normal conversation all the time: “Hurry up.” “I am (hurrying up).” “You should read this.” “I have (read it).” And so on. Reply
Joe Tessitore February 22, 2020 I didn’t mean to imply that you were. This is just another example of grammar going beyond me, like the subjunctive.
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 23, 2020 Two thoroughly engaging and inspirational poems. I especially admire the internal rhymes and sheer mastery of words in When Snow Falls, which is a delight to read aloud. Reply
Monty February 27, 2020 I’ve made it quite clear in the past how highly I rate your poetry, TM, it’s always beautiful to read; but given the subject-matter of many of your poems (religion), it’s sometimes the case that I have no interest in reading any further than the first few lines, or the first stanza. Although the above two pieces have got very slight religious connotations, they can both be read independent of religion. I found the first piece to be a brilliant observation of an everyday human characteristic, and of one who’s afflicted with such a characteristic; and the very purpose of the poem was neatly encapsulated in the question asked in the last line: ‘If one’s born to be a natural liar, what choice does one have?’ The second piece achieves something I’ve always held dear about poetry; the act of the poet taking a seemingly-mundane thing (in this case, a snowflake) and expanding upon it in a way which may afford the reader to see a deeper meaning in an everyday thing which they’d normally take for granted (in this sense, it reminds me of one of your poems from last year concerning a piece of cheese sat on the snow, surrounded by the claw-prints of a bird which had tried, and failed, to consume it). I’ve always considered this to be a basic duty of a poet: to offer a potentially deeper meaning in things to which we normally pay no attention. You do so with ease. As is normal with you, TM, both pieces are immaculately written in every poetic sense: they have a lovely flow about them. If I may remark upon what seems to’ve aroused a minor debate in the above comments: “as it is just now” in L1 of ‘Snow’ . . . when I first read it, I also sensed something potentially awkward in the tenses; but after looking more intently, I now see nothing at all wrong with the line. As James pointed-out, you’ve simply omitted the word ‘falling’.. which is not needed anyway, ‘coz the word ‘falls’ is already in the line. I think the potential stumble for British readers is in the words ‘just now’; in British-English, ‘just now’ is used to mean ‘a short time ago’, thus is said in the past tense – ‘I saw her just now: she told me to give you her regards’. Hence the ambiguity: ‘..as it is just now’ . . present tense ‘..just now’ . . past tense. I suppose in British-English, a writer would eliminate any potential ambiguity by simply rendering the line in one of two ways: ‘When snow falls, as it was just now’.. past ‘When snow falls, as it is right now’.. present Hence, maybe if you swapped the word ‘just’ for ‘right’, that would eliminate any ambiguity on either side of the pond. Reply
T.M. February 27, 2020 Monty: Thanks for the kind words of encouragement and the helpful suggestions. The phrase “just now” is very interesting. When I was in South Africa to do some teaching, we were having tea, and my friend said that we should leave just now for the meeting. I immediately stood up as he sat down. He meant “in a little while” but I thought he meant “at this very moment.” Neither of us took it as a thing already accomplished! As for the religion in my poems: well, I’m twice-born to it, you see, and I can’t help myself. Back from Asia yet? Blessings. T. M. Reply
Monty February 27, 2020 Well, that’s a revelation, TM. So, ‘just now’ has got three completely different meanings in three different countries: U.K. It happened a short while ago U.S. It’s happening at this moment S.A. It’ll be happening shortly That’s fascinating stuff. In Britain, ‘just now’ is always used in the past tense, usually to relate to something which happened, say, less than an hour ago: ‘You’ve just missed him; he was here just now’. If we’re gonna use ‘just now’ in the present tense, we always insert the word ‘about’, and we only use it as an approximation: ‘My friend’s flying in today; in fact, she should be landing just about now’ (in the same sense, we also say ‘round about now’). Thus, how alien it’d be for a Brit in South Africa to be told: ‘He’s just gone to the 7-eleven; he’ll be back just now. D’you wanna wait?’ That sounds really weird! Regarding your religious poems: you don’t have to defend them, TM. One should always write for one’s self, and write what one feels. It’s just that I’m a bit fussy about what subject-matters I read in poetry. Hence, being anti-religion, it naturally follows that I don’t read any religious poetry.. no matter who the author. I also find a lot of landscape-poems monotonous, and rarely read one to the end (there’s only so many times one can read about the way the sun reflects upon the lake, etc). I don’t read a whole poem simply because it’s there in front of me. I start reading, and if I lose interest.. I’ll stop! As well as being well-written, a poem must also interest me, or enlighten me, or educate me, or amuse me, or stimulate thought in me, or make me think more deeply about something to which I’d never before paid much attention . . that’s why I can’t get involved with all the mythical nonsense from a thousand years ago which often appears on these pages. So, don’t pay any attention to me, TM. You’re religious; you live in a religious country; SCP is based in that same country . . so it’s only natural that you offer a lot of religious poems to these pages; and it’s only natural that a lot of other religious poetry appears on these pages. I understand that . . and it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Yeah, I’m still in Asia; I’ll be back in France in early April. Take it easy . . Reply
T.M. February 28, 2020 I will take it easy, Monty, but I also take you seriously, and I cannot not pay attention to you. Thank you for taking an interest in my verse. T. M.
