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LITERARY NOOK
May Runes: Numbers and Nods to Tunes
Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life
Herz und Mund und Tat un Leben (Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life) is a famous cantata written by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) in 1723. J.S. Bach wrote the music, others wrote the text. From it comes the song Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.
Heart and mouth and deed and life
Put together in the words of a musical poem
Cutting through the music like a knife
Hits the nail on the head and drives it home.
Our heart gets worn out near our death
When good and bad deeds have had their run
Our literate lungs seem to lose their breath
As life stumbles between tragedy and fun.
Put together in a basket covered with skin
Bach gave us ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’
Tissues of trouble, desire, and joy worn thin
Our corpus callosum connects the wiring.
Joys, sorrows, happiness meet together in sin
If you answer this rune you will never begin.
Mother’s Love: A Complex Googolplex
Billions of galaxies in the universe we know
Billions of stars in those galaxies galore
Billions of planets where things might grow
Billions of grains of sand on the shore.
Millions of birds fly all around the world
Millions of worms, bugs, and flying insects
Millions of flowers with petals unfurled
Millions of creatures reproduce by sex.
Billions of mothers in the history of Earth
Billions of mothers give all they can give
Millions of mothers annually give birth
Millions of mothers die so that we can live.
Mothers teach us all with love and mirth
Pouring out their hearts for all it is worth.
Joey ‘Pepe Batbon’ Connolly (Special to the Saipan Tribune)
Joey aka Pepe Batbon is a retired educator who taught in the CNMI, NOLA, and LVNV. He is a sonnet practitioner who enjoys stargazing.
