Best 1964 Poems
There was talk about the nuclear bomb
There was a war going on in Vietnam
It was on the news, the drummers were drumming
Look out America, the British are coming
We couldn't wait to turn our radios on
To hear Paul and Ringo, George and John
What could make you feel more alive
Than to rise in the morning to the Dave Clark Five
To be part of it was so much fun
With Eric and "The House of the Rising Sun"
Music sent from heaven above
Peter and Gordon "A World Without Love"
There was Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits sound
While Petula Clark took us all "Downtown"
The country went wild when Donovan hit the stage
Tom Jones and Dusty Springfield were part of the rage
Oh Lord one day please take me back
To hear Marianne Faithful and Cilla Black
The Rolling Stones conquered every city
And Manfred Mann sang "Do Wah Diddy"
The Kinks and Troggs took us for a whirl
The New Seekers sang about "Georgy Girl"
British fashion was everywhere
And the Zombies told us "She's Not There"
Now James bond was doing some super spying
Gerry said, "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying"
Freddie and the Dreamers sang "I'm Telling You Now"
The British had conquered America somehow
The Searchers, The Hollies, meaningful words
Chad and Jeremy, don't forget the Yardbirds
If there was a way we could do it again
We'd have another invasion like we did back then.
If you weren't there, it might be hard to understand. The music had meaning
with political statements and social statements written between the lines. the
young were actively involved and the apathy that exists now was hard to find. The
fun music was fun music and the message music set a tone for a generation. It
was a great time to be growing up in spite of the turmoil in the world, a world we
thought we all could change. Times change, sometimes not for the better.
People have learned it is okay to be themselves
They no longer have to follow their parents or any dogma
They can make up their own religion, and no one cares.
People watch television twenty-four hours a day now.
Children can be disrespectful to their parents,
And it is normal. No one says anything until they get
So out of hand they have to be jailed, usually about age eighteen
When their mamas cannot “save” them from their bad choices any more.
We have computers in our houses, and we have something called Internet
Which means dictionaries, Thesaurus and world books are out-of-date, not used.
No one knows what RSVP means any more. Teachers call in sick now on Mondays.
No one keeps a job for twenty-five years; twenty-five months is the norm.
We have been to the moon, and we have mooned each other at football games.
Women are tattooing their arms, legs, backs, and piercing their navels.
Lots of people can work out of their houses and never have to socialize with others.
Electronic devices keep us entertained, so we never have to speak to each other.
Most people do not cook anymore because we run out to a restaurant all the time.
Some families do not even keep food in cupboards; we could eliminate kitchens.
We fell into the Twilight Zone in 2020 with a virus called the Corona 19.
Schools, restaurants and bars were closed by Marshal law. More on that later.
See you later mom
meeting him at "Mass" tonight
bar code used to be.
Kathy Collins
Saturday Morning November 1964
My twin and I have a TV Guide in front of us
We are thrilled because we got a colored TV set yesterday.
In the TV Guide there is a peacock by the shows that are in color.
This will be the first time we have ever seen Under Dog in color!
We watch the clock.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Under Dog music starts.
A flying underdog flashes across the sky.
He is wearing mostly red; his cape is blue.
My twin and I stare at each other.
“I thought his outfit was blue!” we both say.
We have only seen him in grayscale up until now.
Polly Purebred was a complete surprise too.
I had pictured her in green, and my sister thought she would be in pink.
She was dressed in blue.
We ate our soggy cornflakes in silence.
I felt betrayed. I am not sure how my sister felt.
It is like seeing a movie after you have read the book
and have pictured the characters completely different.
"I carry your heart with me(I carry it in my heart)I am never without it"
Quote _ by E.E. Cummings
in my thoughts today
mister of montgomery-
a pure-bred collie
with our three young kids
he seemed like a fourth with fur-
just one of the gang
he played beside them
retrieved twigs and rubber balls-
wrestled on the lawn
at each school day's end
on time, top of the driveway-
met them at the bus
he protected us;
strangers beware, yet always-
our gentle giant
one sad day he laid
outside the back shed, lifeless-
our hearts were broken
at this favored place
where he loved to rest, we shared-
forever goodbyes
September 2, 2022
Contest: Writing Challenge: In My Heart- S Forms - Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Constance La France
Theme: Lost To Heaven - Mister Dog
Abraham Lincoln; a copper penny....
I found a penny from heaven, just now?!
Have not picked one them up in quite awhile
A lucky penny I have always said ~
Although like most, this I have never truly believed
1964, Was the date that it read
I was there; I had to stop and think....
Rubbed it as I paused *
Laid down my pen and pad ~
Stuck it in my watch pocket and took a break
Three o'clock and a tad bit overcast right now
Sitting here at the pavilion, people passing by
Birds singing, the sounds of conversations oblivious
To my mind; 1964, I was there but, only five ~
The Beatles, Martin Luther King, Vietnam, JFK
He, had just died; Martin and Robert, soon to follow....
Yet innocence was still alive!?
Forty years, 1964, make a wish, open up a door
Mom and Dad, young, brothers, children, at the warf
Hopes and dreams still in store....
My lucky penny, what does it mean, what could it mean???
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
....“A Penny, From 1964” ~
Note: Smile ~ “A Repo, Winter 2006 ~ `Love, Always,`” John!:) ~
Turn that radio off. I don’t want to hear anymore.
All they play is music from that Liverpool Fab Four.
Those four English guys are polluting the airwaves.
Somehow, their music is what my girlfriend craves.
These bums look strange with that disgusting long hair.
They drive the girls batty, but I don’t seem to care.
Anyway, let’s get going. It’s starting to get late.
If the Phillies win both games today, won't that be great?
Going to Connie Mack Stadium would be good.
However, I don’t like walking through that neighborhood.
Up there is where some trouble is going on.
Park your car, and you will find your hubcaps gone.
Perhaps they won’t bother us if I stay close to you.
There are some troublemakers up on Lehigh Avenue.
We have to walk west after leaving the subway.
The place is at twenty-first street, not too far way.
Just a few years ago, the Phillies were the worst.
This summer, it is a surprise to see them in first.
They seem to be pulling away at a torrid pace.
That Richie Allen looks good playing third base.
They brought over Jim Bunning from Detroit.
He looks like a winner, as he appears quite adroit.
Back on Father’s Day, we saw him pitch that perfect game.
If he keeps going like that, he is on his way to fame.
Johnny Callison hit the homer that won the All Star Game.
He is another player making himself a name.
It looks as if this team has it together.
What did they say on the news about today’s weather?
Turn that radio off. I don’t want to hear anymore.
All they play is music from that Liverpool Fab Four.
Those four English guys are polluting the airwaves.
Somehow, their music is what my girlfriend craves.
These bums look strange with that disgusting long hair.
They drive the girls batty, but I don’t seem to care.
Anyway, let’s get going. It’s starting to get late.
If the Phillies win both games today, won't that be great?
I was seven years old during the summer of 1964.
Between performers we did know
(Remember Topo Gigio?)
Ed Sullivan would introduce
New acts and sometimes he’d let loose
A revolution from his stage
For viewers of a certain age.
I was among those teens that night
Who watched and screamed in pure delight
When John, Paul, George and Ringo played
The sweetest music ever made
(At least to us, for rock and roll
Tapped into every teenage soul).
Today’s that date. In ’64,
With no idea what lay in store,
That show unleashed, on each TV,
A moment etched in history –
The Beatles sang, to wild acclaim;
The world would never be the same.
What was it with the year nineteen sixty four?
That made our dreams seem so much more.
Now dreams lie dormant behind locked door.
This is so removed from what was hoped for.
the Thames estuary;
a flock of caravans
and a low sun
that narrows my eyes,
a seawind strong,
that pulls my kite
over the water.
I miss the mist
that kissed my face.
I miss the joy
of hills that race
to catch the bay.
I miss the life
the Monk tones,
the cable car bell,
the foghorn groans
that filled the bay.
I miss the Coit
and the Golden Gate
the parks with
views so great
of the endless bay.
I left my love
my life, my soul
in the city so warm
in a life gone cold
by the beautiful bay.
The summer of 1964 I spend in a tree with cats
Reading Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew
Discovering Agatha Christie
While I spy on the neighbors
Mr. and Mrs. Dellabetta are in their nineties.
Their voices are raised, they argue in Italian.
We do not understand the words, but we get the inflections.
I keep my face down on my book, pretending to read a page.
The women are outside hanging up the wash.
It must be 10:00. That’s when they all head out there
So they can chat and laugh while they pin shirts to their lines.
Mrs. McWhirter is the only one who brings out giant panties.
Mom’s laughter comes up to me, and I smile.
She loves chatting with the hens of the neighborhood.
The cats are yawning, wanting a nap.
Nothing is holding you here, I tell them but they will not leave.
1964, Saturday night, 7 p.m.
Mom has prepared meatloaf, scalloped corn and baked potatoes.
We are okay with this, sitting behind our TV trays
In the living room, waiting for Lawrence Welk to come on
Surrounded by wallpaper of giant green philodendron vines.
We are impatiently waiting for our favorite TV show.
So we can see the fabulous Lennon Sisters.
We have their paper dolls, don’t we?
“And now a word from our sponsor”.
But it is more than one word.
It is “see the USA in a Chevrolet”
and then it is “Plop Plop Fizz Fizz Oh What a Relief it is!”
Suddenly a Spaghettio commercial comes on.
“Mom! Can we have Spaghettios next Saturday?”
We say this in unison, not understanding
We just insulted the dinner she had spent an hour preparing.
The first K-mart
opens its door.
Into space we
start to explore.
Motown Records is born,
It's from the soul.
We have new music,
It's called Rock n Roll.
For luck we carried
A rabbit's foot.
We kept phone numbers
in a phone book.
There were two
keys for the car.
The Barbie doll,
an instant star.
The kids had Bozo
and Howdy Doody.
We saw the first
drive-in movie.
We had I Love Lucy
on the TV.
We had no safe place
for safety.
In real-time we
experienced Beatlemania.
Our information came
from an encyclopedia.
Food stamps for
people in poverty.
Dallas Texas they
assassinated,
John F Kennedy.
We wrote in cursive and
can tell circle time.
We shopped at the
local five and Dime.
We used the first
electronic calculator.
We ate Swansons
frozen TV dinner.
We got our milk
from a milkman.
Our President was
Harry S. Truman.
We heard music
from vinyl LPs.
We had no color
on our TVs.
The government signs
The Southern Manifesto.
Vaccinations begin to stop
the spread of polio.
We had Dick Clark and
American Bandstand.
The papers read,
Say goodbye to Marilyn.
Turbo1904?