How Words Work / Fr. Gabriel Rochelle
“I’d as lief not go today”
My mother may, might mutter
Quietly quenching dad’s quest
To ramble the rural roads
On a quickening Sunday
While the afternoon gold light
Brightened the edges of town
“I’d as lief not go,” she said
And my youngish mind would wind
Around that ancient turn of phrase
Nobody used any more
Perhaps even knew for sure
A word weird from olden days
Bold and clear as a Saxon horn
Hauling up hook and helmet
Drilling down deep in soil whence
My soul draws its earthly source
That word spanning centuries
I’d as lief remember it forever
How Words Work: Copyright 2021 by Fr Gabriel Rochelle. All rights reserved.
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