Trifle for an Anniversary

Since the days when decadence
put the Puritans on defense
since the time when whaling grease
stole away religious peace
and New Englanders found God
incarnate in the Sacred Cod
we’ve established a tradition
that is leading toward perdition,
that is, giving lots of horse-lip
to pious ancestor worship.
 
But the crux of this mistake
follows from the choice we make
for we try to pin the godhead
on those forbears who are DEAD.
When the corpse is stowed away,
where the faults unseen decay,
reputation is decomposed
and diaries are recomposed,
Magna Opera of Puritan hypocrisy,
foundations of American democracy.
 
 But this tradition can make sense
if used with seemly reverence
by using you as proof alive
to show the world we don’t contrive
So today we congregate
to honor two who’re truly great
bringing offerings of our love
which make Heaven smile above
 
                                                            (early 1960s)