On the loss of Decorum-A Poem

How to look cool at the C.S. Lewis Writer's Conference

Glen Eyrie Castle, Colorado Spring s, Colorado

May 1st thru the 5th last week I had the wonderful chance to attend the C.S. Lewis Writer’s Conference in Colorado Springs. The entire experience and environment were new to me and at times left me feeling like a fish out of water. My gaffes in public and private were many and even followed me home. This poetic reflection is a response to the occasions.

Airport Recollections On Decorum (or lack thereof)

Rehearsing  the weekend writer’s conference of 

People Much Smarter Than Me (than I?)

Ever aware to keep up appearances 

As a Serious Poet, I scan the schedule

And embark.

Unmoored from my own comforts,

Unfamiliar with the terrain at my feet

And beyond my eyes, unacquainted with

Furnishings not my own, their placement,

Make up and size, gaps in the schedule

Offer a small respite from my ungroundedness.

The unfamiliarity catches me. 

Lunch or breakfast, coffee time and more offer 

Surfaces from which my various drinks

Become projectiles, upended from the

Tables where they reside, cascading as they

Tip and pour and spill. I drench shoes with a 

Wayward glass of tea, drown the contents

Of my book bag with dregs sufficient

To soak the flotsam and jetsam therein,

Bookend the weekend by thwapping my

Triple shot latte with my wayward bag, 

(safely. not.) ensconced on the airport 

table and landing splat! on the carpet.

…

Here, in front of God and everybody,

My humanity is confirmed, incarnation

Of holy hope in a fallible container,

Created to bring God glory here on Earth.