THE FACTS

(Inspired and edited by Tom Russo)
A fact is a fact
No matter what act
Though the details were thin
And content it lacked
I hesitated to shake
And seal the contract.

For 5 baseball cards
And two packs of gum
I'd get in return
A guitar and a drum,
A pebble that's painted,
With thin stripes of red,
A shoe lace,
A watch case,
A toe brace,
And sled.

A fact is a fact
No matter what act
But this deal seemed shady
And not quite exact.

So I followed my gut
Politely said nay
I'd rather keep my stuff
And go on my way.

SISTER TWINE

The doctor's say that she’ll be fine.
My sister that is all tied in twine.
I asked her nicely but she continued to whine.
My sister that is all tied in twine.

:::dcb

TOM THE CONQUEROR #2 (For Tom Russo)

Tom the Conqueror
Tom the great
Stood bravely by
And defended the gate.

This gate is the entrance
To all that is true
But now past his helmet
A sharp arrow flew

Oh help us
Tom, help us
What ever to do?



Tom was the last and best
Hope for us all
The great Tom stood strong
And was there for the call.

His eyes held no fear

His hand steady for aim
His chest pushed out proud
He honored his name.

While Mormats were marching
Through fields and over fences
The Borcats were prowling
Through leaves and through trenches

Flying and screeching
Swooping down from the sky
The Veldins with talons
Tried to scratch out Tom’s eye.

The Weretungs appeared

From the mist and the rain
They slithered while moaning
And calling Tom’s name

“We’ll get you,” they shouted
Again and again.

But Tom, way too smart
Never left from the gate
He knew not to listen
And take evil's bait.

The Krebbles kept crawling
And pushing along
Their weapons held brashly
Showed clear what was wrong

Our gate was attacked
From every which side
By air and by land
Though I must confide
That everyone but Tom
Ran for shelter to hide

The Conqueror Tom
With coolness and calm
Lifted high the green amulet
With a fierce tight gripped palm

He battled with magic
He battled with might
He struck down attackers
As the amulet shown bright

With one last blast
The amulet held overhead
Wielded by Tom
With greatness and dread
Had left all the foes
In the fields
Still and dead.







:::dcb

AN EASTER SUNDAY

Today I saw
A flower sprout
A bird that sang
And the sun come out

Today the sky
Was deep dark blue
I combed the sand
With a barefoot shoe

Today
As all the people strolled by
I lifted my hand
And shaded my eye

The sun Today
Was bright and warm
On a day like Today
Happiness is born

Today


::dcb

POP QUIZ

You can't be serious
But serious she was
While the gathering gathered
And the buildings did buzz.

You can't be serious
But to no one's delight
She was as serious as serious
With no laugh in sight.

You can't be serious
But this was no bluff
She actually expected us
To remember this stuff.

You can't be serious
Oh no, what a mess
The tension was mounting
And we were sweating from stress

Well she was dead serious
And laid that to rest
As a smile filled her face
She passed out the test.

::dcb

FROG KING'S TUMMY ACHE

Amidst the slime of boggy bogs
The slim and trim barked loggy logs
Slithery sloths and grimy grogs
There lives the majestic green king of frogs, who eats jellybeans for fun.
He always keeps a bucket full right next to his royal side.
Rears back his head,
Slings out his tongue and eats them all with pride.
First the green ones,
Then the blue,
All for him,
None for you.
He never shares.
We know that’s true,
But he’s the king, what can we do?

The frog king eats every last yellow and every last red,
Then lays down to rest on his lily pad bed.

THEN…

Sure enough as cakes do bake,
The king’s royal tummy begins to ache.
And as he thought with thoughtful care
He proclaimed to his kingdom
"Next time I’ll share!”

:::dcb

THE FRIENDSHIP HUG

Hello my friend
Hello my friend
I'm waiting here
Around the bend.

Your heart was clear
It needs to mend
Perhaps a hug
Without an end

Please allow me
To recommend
That our friendship here
Will never end.

:::dcb

GO TO YOUR ROOM

I would not eat
What was green on my plate
So I sat at the table
By myself 'til past eight
I still would not do it
So "Go to your room"
Is what my mom said
Passing by on her broom
So I went to my room
With my face turning red
Not doing my homework
Just lying in bed
pɐǝɥ ʎɯ uo ƃuıpuɐʇs ǝןıɥʍ ɯǝod sıɥʇ ƃuıʇıɹʍ

:::dcb

JUST ADD WATER

Just add water
To dirt to get mud
To flour to get glue
Or soap to get suds.

If you add water to a rose
It will blossom and grow
If you add water to cold
It can freeze up and snow

Water in a hole
Makes a puddle
To splish in and splash in
and fuddle and duddle

Just add water to a cloud
To get it to rain
Just keep adding water
Again and again

From out of the faucet
And into the sink
Add water to a cup
And call it a drink

Water is fun
Hour after hour
But don't waste the water
Because it gives Earth her power.

:::dcb

GARAGE DOOR OPENER

Push the button once
"Open says me"
And Clank Clank Clank
It goes up.

Wave your wand
Push the button once more
And Clank Clank Clonk
It goes down.

Push again it opens wide
To reveal the wondrous treasures inside
Push once more
And this magic door
Is fun while your folks are at the store

Open and close this garage of joy
To dad its a door to you a toy.

:::dcb

I LIKE YOU

I can’t keep it in
It’s gotta come out
But it might come as a
Whisper
A Yell
Or a shout

It started at my toes
Then went to my knees
I don’t want to say it
Oh, don’t make me, PLEASE!!!

I’ve pushed it and stomped it
But it reached my belly
And to think it all began
With my heart that's swelling

Quickly,
Fast,
Runaway if you can
I don’t think I can stop it
It’s reached my left hand.
It’s creeping and seeping
Its way up my arm
Oh, I hope that it fades
Before it does any harm.

I’ve heard it’s contagious but nobody knows
Where this thing ends when it starts at your toes.

Oh man
I can’t take it
I don’t want to make it
So I’m trying and trying and trying to shake it

I wish I were far away,
somewhere remote
Cause now it’s just waiting there
Stuck in my throat.

I have one last chance
To push it aside
Crawl under a rock
Or use magic to hide

I’m terribly fearful of what it might do
I could lock my lips but my face would turn blue.

I guess what they say about this feeling is true

I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I like you too!


:::dcb

KID GLOVES

You, my kids are the dearest thing
You’re the reason that we are
Our love for you transcending true
Shoots farther than a star

Our aged thought stems deep from youth
The things each one of us loves
And because it’s true
I’ll write to you
This poem with kid gloves

::dcb

MOON FULL?

I heard a tale that the moon is packed full with cheese,
Which would explain the cheese smell
That floats on the breeze.

Maybe it’s full of sticks and mud
Or pumpkin pie or gooey crud.

Perhaps it’s a massive pile of socks
Or maybe it’s stones and pebbles and rocks.

Drew thinks that the moon is full of jelly
which is why it’s round like Santa’s belly.

Emiley says the moon is full
Of silky yarn from a big round spool.

Kaley thinks, then shouts, then shrieks
Because rain comes from the moon when it’s full and leaks.

Kegan thinks Kaley’s ideas are not right
Cause the moon is full of goblins and fright.
Which of course only come out on Halloween night
And only when the moon is big and bright.

What’s the moon full of?
Who really knows?
Who’s to say it’s not full of marbles and toads?

I personally think that the moon is flat.
Full of nothing and that is that!!!

:::dcb

NOT MY WORDS

These are somebody else's words
I guess I'll use them for today
I have been handed a dictionary
And told that there's no other way.

I suppose it makes sense
That for you to understand
These thoughts that come from the air
And exit through my hand
I'll use the same old common words
Used through out the land.

But let's just say
We got it wrong
And the words we got
Just don't belong.

Don't freak out
It's not so scary
We'll simply need
A new dictionary.

I LISTENED TO

I listened to a Billy Goat
He told me what to do
So I can't really say with much surprise
"I'm chewing on a shoe".

I listened to a monkey
And as you can plainly see
Now instead of sitting
I'm swinging from a tree.

I listened to a frog
And hopped from bank to bank
I listened to a rock
And in water, sank and sank

I listened to the class clown
It's embarrassing to mention
But during his instruction
He said nothing about detention.

FORT

This is my fort
Secure like Fort Knox
It’s made with heavy wood
And jagged brown rocks
A rusted green street sign
I recovered from the field
And the lid of a trash can
I’ll use as a shield.

My companions are heroes
Each one a true friend
Our powers of good
Will be put forth to defend
All day since this morning
All afternoon 'till tonight
We'll save the worried world
Until the porch dinner light.

Off to clean up
For dinner and then sleep
Hoping that while we dream
The bad guys won't peep
At day break tomorrow
March back to the fort
Because every kid knows
That summer is too short.


:::dcb

KATHY'S COMMENT

ILLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CEILING WAX

While staring at the ceiling wax a simple thought arose.
“What if all the ribbons in the world were all tied up in bows?”

Would then we need a special gift for each and every one?
And if indeed we had that many, would they pile to the sun?

“The sun!”, I thought. That’s pretty high.
Why, that would stack into the sky;
These packages we would need for all the bows.
Still as of now, no one knows.

“Nose!”, I thought that’s a funny word.
But then again so is bird.
Or house
Or horse
Or movie plot
Or Zanzibar and melting pot.
Did somebody plan this?
My thought is not.
When will they ask me?

Probably never, but I’m not concerned
Because clearly by then all the bows will have burned.
For stacking gifts up to the sun may seem OK and a lot of fun,
But as common sense goes,
Not a practical one.

:::dcb