They are,
Still in touch with reality
They Value logistics over statistics,
They ask the right questions.
They don't believe in a totally cashless society,
Their vision for the future includes a roadmap,
That leads to prosperity for more than 10.
They see People, Water and the environment,
As assets that should never be auctioned off to the highest bidder,
They see benefit in strong communities.
They never make cuts across the board,
They understand that some services should never be contracted out.
That due diligence in this day and age is a heavy responsibility,
And put extra time and resources into it.
They understand that most white collar crime increases when,
Staffing levels drop to a point where,
The temptation to borrow and pay back,
Without anyone being the wiser,
Seems risk free to more people than you think.
They don't believe in overtaxing children,
But see value in afterschool jobs.
They refuse to hire spin doctors.
Categories:
afterschool, care, character, city, community,
Form: Burlesque
three thirty, exact
the bell
jangled
gathered my coat
foregoing
the afterschool
match
tuesday
my weekly treat
awaited on gran's
baking tray
I opened
the back door
a spicy aroma
fiiled the air
there
it was freshly baked
my
weekly share
pipng hot
drizzled with honey
moreish&
yummy
a moist
mouthwatering
confection
succulent
sultana delectation
home -baked
by she
especially
for
me
Categories:
afterschool, food, nostalgia,
Form: Bio
three thirty, exact
foregoing
the afterschool
match
tuesday
my weekly treat
awaits on gran's
baking tray
arriving there
a spicy aroma
fiiled the air
it was freshly baked
my
weekly share
bread pudding
pipng hot
drizzled with honey
moreish&
yummy
a moist
mouth watering
confection
this
sultana delectation
home -baked
in her pinny
especially& just
for
me
Categories:
afterschool, food, memory,
Form: Bio
*Image of The Farmhouse by UNS.
Hint of Autumn
Sunstar wakes, Aurora reacts,
As light skews her southernmost sky,
A roost rouses, a rooster crows,
Henhouse's wood handle lifts up.
A replete farm inclined to rouse,
Sunstar wakes, Aurora reacts,
Four-year-old farmhand gets busy,
Baskets of fresh eggs walked with care.
A kitchen's stove burners light up,
A toaster plugged, and cooked bread sliced,
Sunstar wakes, Aurora reacts,
Pasteurized cow's milk fills glasses.
Patterned shirts and blue-jean jumpsuits,
Waits for the bus, two school returnees,
A leaf falls, "Guess afterschool rake?"
Sunstar wakes Aurora reacts.
2022 August 12
*5th Place*
Hint of Autumn
~~Regina McIntosh: Judged 2022 September 03
*HMS; 8 syllables per 16 lines
Categories:
afterschool, autumn,
Form: Quatern
three thirty, exact
the bell
jangled
gathered my coat
foregoing
the afterschool
match
tuesday
my weekly treat
awaited on gran's
baking tray
I opened
the back door
a spicy aroma
fiiled the air
there
it was freshly baked
my
weekly share
pipng hot
drizzled with honey
moreish&
yummy
a moist
mouthwatering
confection
succulent
sultana delectation
home -baked
by she
especially
for
me
Categories:
afterschool, food, grandmother,
Form: Verse
When I was young what child is this
My memory of my childhood, I can go back to when I was four
Mostly walking but yet crawling on the floor, I was mostly good
When I was young I had fun, Sitting on the kitchen floor
Me and my brother beating pots and pans, as my father comes in the door
Believe it or not he could have been another Stevie Wonder
When I was young what child is this
When I was young I would watch my brother
Even though I was the youngest, we had no other
Person to watch him see, he had a condition he didn't deserve it
When I was young there was a lot of cartoons
Cowboys and westerns weekends and afterschool
We had a small house with plenty of room, three bedroom house one bathroom
When I was young my parents worked daily
I went to school some in the early years, in fear
I mainly stayed and watched my brother
For you see we had a slight problem
He was birth blind and retarded
This is how my delinquency started
When I was young what child is this
10/14/2017
Categories:
afterschool, brother, caregiving, character, courage,
Form: Dramatic Verse
ABC Afterschool Special
was my favorite program as kid
when it was on I never hid
at that young age I was gentle
after high school heavy metal
television has been my life
enjoy watching it with the wife
we have even watched a rental
In navy wasn’t much TV
I was keeping busy else where
today I write as much I watch
most of the good programs aren’t free
only thing free is the fresh air
and now I have given up scotch
Categories:
afterschool, life, high school,
Form: Italian Sonnet
While I lie on this stone wall
hand almost too weary to write
I can see tiny ants scurrying about on the pavement
curious mobile sesame seeds exploring an empty bottle
and the last few of the lonely afterschool crowd
shuffle into cars and drive away
here I sit, alone in my pondering
the wind and rustle in the trees
speaking to me and me only.
Upon this ground I have tread many times
many times have I, too, shuffled past nature with nary a thought
but today my senses are sharpened somehow through exhaustion and lack of
sleep
and the grounds speak to me with a voice and a soul
that no man could possess.
Weakness has made me aware of nature’s
awesome power. Sugar ants
crawl all over my leg and I pay no mind. For
the air smells and tastes green as the spider grass,
and the forest canopy shields my
fair skin from the sun.
Some people spend their whole lives looking for peace.
I have found peace here
no siren can rival the chirping of the birds
no bitter taste can wash away this sweetness
and all my pain is but a leaf carried away on the breeze.
Categories:
afterschool, happiness, imagination, introspection, nature,
Form: Free verse