an old writer and his words

  • DATED

    The history books tell methat Gaius Julius Caesarthe great emperor of Romedied on March 15, 44 B.C.E.In my dream last nightI ran into Caesar and hesaid he was not happy thatthe month named afterhis nephew, the one he choseto succeed him had as manydays as did his, it should,he complained, have hadat least one if…

    Lou Faber

  • NAMING

    We save the height of absurdity for the naming of countries, although we do practice the absurd in naming cities and places. Except in the zoo no one has seen a Buffalo in Western New York. And there is nothing at all humorous about Yeehaw Junction Florida. But we save the best for countries. Why…

    Lou Faber

  • ID, NON EST

    What is surprising is its fragility,the cold hard but oh so thin veneerthat is willingly exposed, but alwaysat a nominal distance so that itsshallowness can hide behind the illusion.Even when among its peers, it wantsto inflate for the bigger it appearsthe less frail it seems to thosecasting the passing glance at it.You would not imagine…

    Lou Faber

  • LOOKOUT

    The osprey sits atopthe light pole on the streetalongside the small lake.His morning songis enchanting, but as weapproach, he pauses itand stares down.Is he staring at the lakeseeing the motionof a fish soon to becomehis next meal?That would makesense, but he seemsinstead to be staringat me as I walk byand I have to wonderif he…

    Lou Faber

  • WHICH

    Tomorrow it will beFriday again, so we knowthe decision is looming, one wehave grown used to, one that weagonize over although in any schemeof things it is trivial at best.But here we are trying to decidewhich of two coffee shops weshould visit tomorrow morning,a bagel and cortado at either,one close, nice and pedestrianbut with the…

    Lou Faber

  • IT WILL WAIT

    I’ve finally given up the internal debateabout whether to turn the phone offduring the night, no longer worryingthat I would miss a critical call.I have lived more than long enoughto know that the only calls that comein the heart of the night are thoseannouncing a disaster, a crisis ormost often, recently, another death.I know now…

    Lou Faber

  • STOP WORRYING

    Last month a snakecrawled up our downspouttrying to find shade orjust a place for an afternoon nap.I took his picture, askedan app what he wasand the app answered.The snake said “youcould have asked me,and I would have told youmy name is Hector,but all you cared aboutwas what species I was.It is always that waywith your…

    Lou Faber

  • A FOOL’S BUSINESS

    At the end of a long day spenton the business end of poetry, andyes there is a business end but do notconfuse that with money for thathas nothing at all to do with poetry,I stare at the page knowing the wordsare going to be stubborn this day,will refuse to exit the pen, hidingin the darkness…

    Lou Faber

  • WITH PEN AND PRAYER

    It all came crashing down. That was the ending he had written, so that was how it would end. And this time he actually liked the ending which was not often the case. He could not remember a time when the ending came to him so naturally. And the ending was always the hardest part.…

    Lou Faber

  • WHERE AM I?

    Wandering aimlessly throughthe park, along a well trodden,now well rutted trail, uncertainwhere I was at that moment ormost any moment lately,I came across a weathered signwith what once might have beena map but was now a dot withthe legend “You Are Here” whichsettled one existential question.I realized in that moment Imost likely wanted to be…

    Lou Faber