Poems

I need a little structure

To hold my words.

I need these lines

And punctuation

To keep them in check.

A little rhyme or simile

Provides a glimpse

Beneath the surface.

But with out poetry

My words

Would run wild.

From The Help by Kathryn Stockett;

"We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought."

From my experience;

We are all connected.

The blood in our veins

Like an underground river

Courses through us all.

Tributaries branching off

Winding through

Other experiences

Other cultures

Other moments in history.

But the same recycled atoms

Flow between us.

Connect the dots.

Lake Hiawatha

We're drawn to water

Our baptism into nature

Seeing our best selves reflected

In the clean calm surface.

Constantly changing scene

Gliding across our vision-

A TV screen of life.

Happy Independence Day!

4th of July Eve

Patriotic-Loyally supporting one's country

see loyally

see allegiance

see how words can be twisted

I love my country

Its hopes, its dreams, its people.

We are so much more

Than boundaries on a map

Or words in a pledge.

We are the offspring

Of our ancestral homes

Taking what's best

From our parent countries.

We are young,

Growing and changing

And learning from our mistakes.

Like a child

Full of wonder and potential

We emerge.

I love America

For its possibilities.

Phone Home

I know I can't stop by the house

Like I use to.

I don't think the new owner

Would let me sit in his living room

And watch Jeopardy.

But I think of all the times

I'd head home tired after school

And pause at the corner

Heart winning out over head

And taking the turn to mom and dad's

Dad would solve the world's problems

From his chair in the corner

And ask about my students.

Mom would sit cross legged

With a book in her lap

And we'd watch TV.

As dad said after mom died,

It was nothing

But it was everything.

Jazzercise

Music comes in through the ear

Agitates the brain

Flows down to the belly

Till it undulates

Like a washing machine.

Pouring out to the knees

Kicking the ankles

To send the toes tapping

In the rhythm of the dance.