The Bachelors’ Debate
When I am put before my friends, around the dying flame,
And we have burnt through all our songs that we consider tame,
We all decide to sing a song before we go to bed
A song about the secret thoughts that swim within your head.
‘What makes the fair girl fair?’ we ask. ‘What makes her fair to you?
Blonde hair or brown? Red hair or black? Pink hair or maybe blue?
Perhaps a tall girl makes you tick? Or maybe short’s your style?
Is it her eyes that guide your barque? Or do you like her smile?’
This is the narrow chance men have, to air these thoughts aloud:
‘Do you prefer a skinny girl, or like them well endowed?’
‘But what do you prefer?’ they ask in voices filled with glee.
And I must make my case for what’s the perfect girl to me,
“I do not want a pretty girl who knows my earthly needs.
Of all the girls who walk this earth, I’d love a girl who reads.”
St. Wilfrid’s Church on a Winter’s Morning
The playful dawn-light danced along the sky
But once the dance was spent — it made its way
to rest among the pews, and close its eyes
in solemn prayer to bless the coming day.
The wisps of cold air fled the starving sun
who sought to take and eat the fretful cold,
that leapt and squirmed, to hide within the dun
and sleeping lines of stone, that tried to hold
the wandering chill within its Christian heart.
The church bell taunted me with loving call.
“Oh worthy sinner, come and play your part.
This little hearth has love enough for all!”
How does a house as small as this contain
a wealth above the sum of man’s domain?
Christian Muller is a high school teacher in South Africa. He is currently working on his MA in English Literature at the University of Pretoria.
That’s an interesting debate. Thanks for the read, Christian.