AMERICANS

Americans all, by choice, or by birth—

Working side by side for shelter,

For food, for peace or the love of life

The gold that glistens from the wheat

Also reflects in the hands on the hoes,

Strong backs pitching hay, worn hands of wives

Working to raise the future in kitchens,

The candlelit rooms, training the leaders

Of tomorrow on their laps as twilight fails.

All across this land of America

The fabled story unfurls, out of sight

Away from the mind of a world

That rushes madly on, chasing gold.

 

 

#independenceday

 

#fourthofjuly

/0 Comments/by

YOUR FAVORED POLITICO

 

Vote for me this time.

I will listen to your rhyme,

Forgive any of your mistakes,

Send you a birthday cake,

Collect all the taxes,

Send you some cloth sacks

To cover your nakedness.

 

unpublicserviceday

/0 Comments/by

DUST BOWL REFUGEE

Is it almost my time, Lord?

For me to come home again?

There are very few tears left.

 

My children’s eyes tear me apart.

And Joe, my husband, he cries

When he thinks I’m not looking.

 

The flour is almost gone—bad, too.

Only ten potatoes left.  No money.

The car broke down again, here.

Can Joe fix it one more time?

 

Where will we get gas money now?

Can’t even find any greens to pick

In this land so arid and dry.

 

How much longer, Lord, how much?

Will you help my children, my Joe

To make it to Californey way?

 

Give them a chance, Lord. They need it.

It’s been a long, tiring dreary trip.

 

Whatever you say, Lord, but please

Could you ease my children’s way?

 

I feel so terribly tired now.

Ohh…Joe, please don’t cry again.

 

#worldrefugeeday

/0 Comments/by

MIRACLE OF CHILDHOOD

What so attracts all small children

To worms, pansies and puppy dog tails,

Mud puddles, toilet bowls and snails?

Why crawl under beds, chairs and tables,

Into flower beds, cupboards and drawers,

After cats, dogs and almost anyone

Going anyplace away from home?

What makes candy tastes better with dirt

To almost any small child anywhere?

Cannot any of them eat their food

Without getting it into their hair, on their clothes,

Their faces, the table, floor and everywhere?

But, should I protest so much

When that sleeping face looks so angelic,

When two small hands hug my neck,

Or one small body falls asleep

While I am reading a bedtime story?

What is that magic spell that all

Small children cast on all of us

Who are no longer young?

 

/0 Comments/by

THE LITTLE WOMEN

And they were there, too,

Mothers, sisters and daughters,

Stoking the fires of chill winter morns,

Baking bread, frying the potatoes

Hugging you safely close

When thunder clouds rolled in,

Kissing away the tears of tragedy.

Mom, healing the cuts and bruises,

Cleaning, sweeping, dusting, too…

Typing, shorthand and filing cards,

Never a thought of equal pay,

Just glad to be able to say,

“I can buy my own clothes now.”

/0 Comments/by

ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER

There has been an angel on my shoulder

All the days of my life this far.

When I was five, she saved my life by

Slowing my descent as I fell from

A one story platform onto some rocks.

When I was seven, she helped me swim

Out of the quarry pond I had fallen into.

The next time she showed up

Was in fifth grade, when three boys

Decided to trash me. She came as a young girl

Who went after those boys, scratching,

Pulling hair, poking her fingers so fast

Those boys couldn’t run fast enough to get away.

Then when I slipped on that small cliff,

She made sure I landed softly enough

That only a large bruise spot showed up.

I heard her whisper into my ear,

Don’t skate on that ice-covered pond.

Good thing I listened because

My best friend, Bill, fell through.

Luckily, we rescued him using

An old tree branch lying nearby.

 

 

 

#worldinternationalchilderensday

/0 Comments/by

AWAKE, IT’S SPRING

Yellow daffodils dance to the musical winds.

A blanket of violets offer a message of love.

Flowering Indian paints don the red of valor.

The bluebells are just for you and me,

The rest to renew the world for all.

Lightning strikes the ink-black sky.

A thunderclap opens the clouds to rain,

Teardrops trickle down across the face.

March winds sprinkle the fresh green grass

With blossoms from dogwood, apple and peach.

The air is filled by sweet singing trills

From robin, lark and bluebirds nesting near.

All the world seems now awake with love

As springtime comes to fill hill and dale.

 

 

#Internationaldawnchorus

/0 Comments/by

DRAGON

Eight times daily, four at night,

A dragon roared and snorted

And rattled by on its way somewhere.

Each time, our floors all bounced.

Every window frame would rattle.

The ceiling seemed to sway to and fro.

Our house would grumble wearily

And almost everyone would sleep fitfully.

No one dared challenge this dragon

With steel grated prow, iron skin body.

Smoke and fire poured out of its fiery inside

As it snorted steam and clanked along

Daring the unwary to cross its path.

Now and then, it seemed to run amok,

Rushing madly on its way to where

We lived beside the dragon’s tracks

As I’m still alive to testify.

 

 

#NationalTrainDay

/0 Comments/by

LADY ON THE ISLAND

On an island that is very small

Stands a lady straight and tall

With hand far outstretched to hold

A torch that lights a way boldly

To a freedom for all or one.

Her right clasps a written bond

To guarantee such rights for everyone

Plus a chance to catch dreams

And enjoy a life secured from harm.

 

 

 

 

#loyalty

/0 Comments/by

WARM BREAD

“You smell just like warm bread,” I said.

And she seemed hurt by my thought.

Of course, she hadn’t known my mother,

And how my love of her

Was defined by my love of fresh bread

Which my mom allowed me to eat

While it was still oven-warm.

Whenever she handed me that bread

I was wrapped in her love.

How do I explain to this woman

That I felt so wrapped in her love

That she smelled to me of warm bread?

 

 

 

#senseofsmell

/0 Comments/by