Mid December 2006 Poems

Come All Ye Faithful
By Alfred Mueller
Explosions in Iraq.
Violent death for thousands.
Red river of murder flows on and on.
Darkness has descended on our world.

Lights glitter in America's
hamlets, malls and homes.
"Joy to the world the Lord has come ..."
"O, come all ye faithful..."
solemnly sung in sanctuaries.
Brightly-wrapped gifts honor
the non-violent Prince of Peace.
Not just feel-good aesthetics.
Also a call to witness against
the American warlord.



'Twas the month after Christmas”
Submitted by M. Houde

'Twas the month after Christmas,and all through the houseNothing would fit me,not even a blouse.The cookies I'd nibbled,the eggnog I'd tasteAt the holiday partieshad gone to my waist.When I got on the scalesthere arose such a number!When I walked to the store(less a walk than a lumber).
I'd remember the marvelous mealsI'd prepared;The gravies and saucesand beef nicely rare,The wine and the rum balls,the bread and the cheeseAnd the way I'd never said,"No thank you, please." As I dressed myselfin my husband's old shirt
And prepared once againto do battle with dirt---I said to myself,as I only can"You can't spend a winterdisguised as a man!"
So--away with the lastof the sour cream dip,Get rid of the fruit cake,every cracker and chipEvery last bit of foodthat I like must be banished"Till all the additional ounceshave vanished. I won't have a cookie--not even a lick.I'll want only to chewon a long celery stick.I won't have hot biscuits,or corn bread, or pie,I'll munch on a carrotand quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome,and life is a bore---But isn't that whatJanuary is for?Unable to giggle,no longer a riot.Happy New Year to alland to all a good diet!

YesteryearHot summer days of years gone byLong before free agents, lawyers and lies Higher mounds and pitchers with batsJoyous fans with wool felt hats Yogi, Dizzy and PeeweePlayers many a fan dreamed to be Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds and Sportsman ParkWin a free suit! Just hit it off Abe Stark Oh, how we miss those dog days of yesteryearThose memories are our only souvenir
KnucklerIt’s erratic and spinless in flightBouncing and dipping to the pitchers delightThe batter swings mighty and boldLooking like he is wearing a blindfoldStrike three - the ump yellsAnother hitter makes his farewellThat wacky Knuckler is a thing of beautyand brings new meaning to hazardous duty


Broadcast
He embarked on his journey to the mound
Disappointment lurked beneath his frown

A couple of pointers and he was gone
Back to the dugout with plans redrawn

The hurler had fired his pitch
You could clearly see the manager twitch

The batter had belted a blast
That was the end of the broadcast

Chin Music
Digging in with a sinister grin
The pivotal duel was about to begin

Each pitch thrown with forceful might
Exploding into the mitt like dynamite

Armed with lumber and a menacing stare
Hitting pieces and parts, but nothing fair

The next one sailed high and tight
Knocked to the ground on a midsummer night

Another victim of a dirty old trick
They call it - old fashioned chin music

Keith Collins - 2006 - Saugus, MA


Birding during migration days!

The Loon is the special bird of Ontario,
which I missed on my visit to Belleville, Ont. recently.
However, there were geese with their goslings in tow,
testing the waters of Lake Ontario.
It's a place where I've never been before.

Birding makes me relax and know happiness.
I saw a one-year-old green Scarlet Tanager, and
was told that it would turn Scarlet as it grew older.
A beautiful bird.
Other birders were putting tags on migrating birds.

Now that I'm aging, what are the things that make me happy?
Playing my oboe with friends makes me happy.
Making my own pots makes me happy!
(There are two new serving dishes that are drying,
ready to be fired in a friend's kiln).

Sending and receiving messages from friends
make me happy.
Retirement is lovely time of life.
Phyllis


Get this message to your head.
Animals are just the same as us.
They have the right to live in this world as we do.
Do not ask if this true, because it is.

Ginger Ciabaurri, age 9

I once had a friend
By Valerie Hettrich For: K

I once had a friend............
I once had a friend who said: I have never had a friend like you~you listen, you are kind, and you are genuine.
I once had a friend who said: you bring joy and light into my life.
I once had a friend who said: I love you and I would do anything for you.
I once had a friend who said: I am your friend until one of us says "I quit" or one of us dies.
I once had a friend who: took me from the darkness and brought me into the light.
I once had a friend who: could make me laugh at any time of the day or night.
I once had a friend who: I could tell every confidence to.
I once had a friend who: never let me feel alone or blue.
I once had a friend: with whom I had a big fight.
I once had a friend: with whom I tried to make everything right.
I once had a friend: who I only miss in the space between morning and night.
I once had a friend: who I will miss for the rest of my life.


Patience: by Ava Paquin, age 11
I would like to learn patience from a cloud,
waiting for the wind to blow and change its shape;
waiting for the sun to go down and change its colors;
waiting for the water to rise up again so it can rain; and
waiting for the wind to blow it to a new place


Rain

A lovely shade of gray, today,
The clouds begin to cry
On a quiet rainy day,
You might hear angels sigh.

My happiness is with the clouds
And thunder way up high,
I’ll gladly bid farewell to sun
And to the deep, blue sky.

Rain brings blossoms in the spring
And cools the summer’s air,
Until the rain in autumn turns
To snow in winter’s bare.

~By Laura Montgomery

To Ride Across the Dusky Sky

In moments of dreams, and reams of thought,
One might contemplate a bicycle ride across the sky.
Not unlike the popular alien and his amazed pals,
Seeing the gradual fading of day and sun, on the run,
Patchworks of land, crops, and edifices lay out below,
A view of common respect of wry hawks and eagles,
Who contemplate the quarry and plunge in dives.
Flight in all its forms and variety is lusted after,
By all that would defy the prison of gravity, embrace air,
In the spiritual envelopment of all the Angels, now and to come,
Beyond the effervescent, ever-eternal oases of free.