Year: 2006

Gas-aholics Anonymous

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Acknowledging our dependence is the first of many steps

Okay let’s admit it.
We’re gas-aholics.
We crave Saudi oil.
Without it, we’re sick.

We guzzle at gas pumps.
We can’t get enough.
But feeding our habit
is costly. It’s rough.

Our Arab bartender
keeps raising the price.
He knows our addiction,
yet still aids our vice.

With devilish glee
he keeps urging us on
to get fully tanked
till our sanity’s gone.

We need to get sober.
We know it. We must.
But who’s there to help us.
Just who can we trust?

We drunks need each other.
We can’t quit alone.
We don’t have the energy
left to our own.

Recovery’s essential
through solar or corn.
We must find new sources.
We must be reborn.

So let’s take 12 steps
toward the goal to be free
from the bondage of oil.
We must find the key.

The Price Tag of Olympic Glory

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

A reminder of what it takes to succeed in life

The shroud of Turin once brought fame
to this Italian town.
But now Torino boasts The Games
with bobsleds racing down.

There’s ecstasy in downhill runs,
in slalom and in jumps.
But don’t forget the agony
as some fall on their rumps.

There’s skating, hockey, curling too.
Those alpine nights are cold.
But nothing warms these athletes
like striving for the gold.

With practiced skill they show their stuff.
in hopes that they will place.
And though their bodies push and strain,
they move on wings of grace.

What seems so easy is quite tough
requiring discipline.
These hearty souls have paid the price
and now they’re cashing in.

In winter sports or daily life,
the bottom line’s the same.
You can’t stand on the podium
unless you’ve stood the pain.

So as you watch The Games tonight,
take stock in what you see.
Success requires working hard.
The payoff’s never free.

Not Your Ordinary Day

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

What’s really at the heart of St. Valentine’s Day

It’s a day for a card,
maybe roses and candy,
an upscale-ish dinner
with candles and brandy.

It’s a day for conveying
what’s deep in your heart
while holding hands walking
alone in the park.

It’s a day for renewing
those wedding day vows
when, asking God?s blessing,
before Him you bowed.

It’s a day to remember
a Saint from the past
whose selfless devotion
beyond daily mass

resulted in prison
and scars on his back
as children who loved him
slipped notes through the slats.

It’s a day you can ponder
you’re God’s valentine.
Both chosen and cherished,
He thinks you’re divine.

Worshiping the Pigskin God

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Exploring the spirituality of Super Bowl Sunday

The seats are filled with worshipers.
Their voices chant and cheer.
It’s really almost spiritual.
You’d think that God was here.

They raise their hands and close their eyes.
They bow their heads and pray.
What happens next? They genuflect
and then they start to sway.

A wave of praise moves through the crowd.
They stand up to confess
allegiance to the pigskin god
while clad in their team’s dress.

Like Romans back in Caesar’s time
they watch the sacrifice.
Atonements made on grassy turf
with blood and pain and ice.

And so on this blest holiday
true followers abound.
But church is not the sacred place.
Ford Field is holy ground.

But what of that which matters more
than touchdowns, pads and rings?
Must God be sidelined, sacked or snubbed
for such less noble things?

Can true devotion that we see
this Sunday every year
be matched by what we see in church?
This day’s a somber mirror.

Remembering a Valiant Queen

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

A eulogy to Coretta Scott King

The King’s grand wife has left her throne.
Queen Coretta has gone home.
And in her passing North and South
with reverence grieve as one.

With quiet grace young Martin’s mate
survived a heartache birthed by hate.
And we her subjects weep for one
who valiantly kept on.

I have a dream (and so do you)
that what she longed for will come true.
When prejudice and power plays
are exiled, judged and damned.

But until then “God save the Queen”
who kept alive her husband’s dream
and taught us how to turn a cheek
while letting justice roll.