Best Gum Poems
The Cider Gum (Eucalyptus Gunnii)
By
Kevin L Fairbrother
The full Moon ablaze in the night sky
Beams down on the dead and dying Cider Gums
Their ghostly silhouettes, so white and stark
Now just a reminder of the past
…
The Central Plateau, the High Country of Tasmania
Is or was home to these magnificent trees
Now there bleached skeletons tell the story
That the environment in which they flourished has changed
…
Grazed extensively by native and domestic animals
Used by the aboriginals, settlers and trappers
The Cider Gum leaf, was used to make cider
And the sweet scent used to freshen homes
…
Eucalypts Gunnii (Cider Gum) unique to Tasmania
Once so prevalent and used in a variety of ways
Now standing forlorn, dead and slowly dying
Their limbs and branches bleached white by the sun
…
Many attempts have been made to re-introduce the gums
But the changing environment and pressure from the wildlife
Has meant that the Cider Gum is facing a loosing battle
For the seasons have changed, not enough rainfall and hot summers
And the snow no longer on the ground for weeks on end
…
Such a unique and magnificent shade tree, stepped in history
Will soon be a distant memory and extinct
Will be left to the old timers to tell about the Cider Gums
For I have doubts that mother nature can revitalize Eucalyptus Gunnii
Why americans
are known having large jaws ?
- chewing gum effect !
Retired sweetness paints
a tiled mosaic of
unpredictable patterns.
Black, brown shapes
spatter the
grey concrete of
an underground kingdom.
The fresh ones burn
pink and seafoam
green against
this steely blue
and yellow lined world.
The stickiness clings
onto shining
out of spectrum,
before becoming
another dot
in dark masses.
In my child’s mind a gumshoe sleuth detective
that would be me.
Nancy Drew or Ms. Marple, invented by Agatha Christie.
Trixie Belden and Honey too,
there were so many choices you see.
I spent many an hour reading these books,
training for the detective in me.
How many job choices along the way could there
possibly be?
Lots of common blue collar jobs before I finally
got a degree.
If I am honest, I might have to tell you a total
of around thirty-three.
There was no book-reading in those days,
except the boring texts assigned to me.
I am a Gemini oozing with flexible thinking, it is
my main and only true-blue decree.
In my thinking, a gum shoe sleuth detective
is what being a guidance counselor has
made of me.
All around looks cruel and starved,
and bleached bones define a stretch
of drought and death that halved
life for that lone, starving wretch.
Mountains have formed a background,
shaped by sporadic storms and rain;
a dry creek bed revives when drowned
where stands forlorn upon the plain.
One lone gum in friendless splendour,
where from a sapling passed the years;
stands without sibling contender,
to guard these vast untamed frontiers.
The passing years have left their mark,
with scars and wounds by elements.
Storms, fire and water stripped its bark
without concern for sentiments.
Life and death on widespread limbs;
decayed and fallen, yet endures
with glossy leaves and flowered rims,
to state still many years assures.
The sun that crisps the baking earth,
provided shade for travelling souls,
and sustenance in times of dearth,
or shelter in the dead limb holes.
Striving on through stout revival,
this grand gum rejecting failure.
Here stands the spirit of survival,
that represents Australia.
I stood before this gentle giant,
in silent wonder with respect;
observe foliage still defiant,
as hot winds blow boughs unchecked.
And so this solitary gum;
an outback artist’s wondrous theme,
becomes immortalized by some,
with a soft pastel colour scheme.
Words turn to sounds lost in infinity.
Nothing stays for eternity .
Pain is just a phase.
Don't make it your launching base.
Bad day .
Is a fee to pay .
So chew misery like a gum.
And spit it and wait for tomorrow to come .
30Aug 2021
A lie is like a leaky zeppelin...
Patched together with bubble gum breath.
In time, it will violently come back to earth.
The earth's heart has a karmic core
thinly wrapped in gravity.
A piece of gum it started as fun and ended with a love so undescribable. I love him so
much; I desire his touch and when i'm not with him it hurts. I can't even tell you how
much he means to me. His eyes, his smile and everything in between. He makes me glad that
I had a craving for something chewy. Just think that's all it took to create you and me.
I am watchful now and cherish every moment because who knows when a piece of gum can help
me find someone as sweet and perfect. I closed my eyes at night and prayed for the right
guy and all along like a spare hug in your pocket you held the gum that would eventually
bring us together. Now that I look back I laugh at the story of how we first met " A
piece of gum" a kiss I will never forget. He is there for me whenever I call and even
though i'm done chewing the gum and the flavor is gone his love feels everlasting he will
always be in my heart.
Though I can hold my branch the whole year long,
I sometimes lose my grip upon the tree;
A cheeky cockatoo with beak so strong,
Or racing winds that hurry to be free.
My falling journey brings both fear and joy,
While looking up, I see my brothers bound;
What cruel winds and hungry birds destroy,
Will join our fallen kindred on the ground.
The monster sups upon our brittle bark,
And swallows all my world in blinding gold;
Yet waiting in this fierce, devouring spark,
A greater, green rebirth will soon unfold.
Though I am turned to dust upon the floor,
My ash will feed the native bush once more.
Poet's Note:100% Human-Written.This poem is a strict Shakespearean sonnet, written entirely by hand in perfect iambic pentameter with an exact ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme. Please be aware that AI detection tools frequently flag this piece as "100% AI" because they rely on finding rhythmic irregularity and metrical variance. The strict meter is a deliberate, human-crafted artistic constraint.
Those spiked thorns of sweet gum balls
cause a sprawl
and sprained ankle,
close calls
Sour my day, sweet gum balls
curse you! so ill befalls!
Once and for all,
no sweet, no sweet gum balls-injury befalls
your innocent victims, vicious, thorny, balls!
Love is like bubble gum
When sweetness is over
Chewing is done
Hug me...
Kiss me...
Before the night is over
Love me...
Leave me...
Tomorrow is another day in our lives
Take some advice
It's over when it’s over
Don't fuss, or fight...
Bubblegum is sweet and chewy
Blowing bubbles can get gooey
When it pops inside your hair
Trying to pull it out with care
Doesn't work neither does washing
SO scissors are used for forcing
Out this yummy ooey treat
That every kid loves to eat
Trident and Dentyne caress
Your mouth with a nice freshness
So people aren't scared away
It also helps with tooth decay
Bazooka Joe was really fun
Comics wrapped around the gum
With funny jokes and prize points too
Gifts could be mailed to you
Zebra gum was full of rainbows
Colored bubbles you could blow
Different flavors in each stick
Finding your favorite was the trick
Chicklets are so cute and square
You could take them anywhere
In a box they are protected
The smallest gum that was invented
The best gum came in a pack
Of trading cards you could stack
And trade with all of your friends
Complete collections int eh end
People chew gum everyday
A trend that is here to stay
Being chewed so merrily
A treat that is happi8ly
Part of everybody's world
But please don't be like the girl
Who was acting so stingy
And turned into a blueberry
nobody on the beach today
but a little girl walking in circles
on the sand
she skips her way to me and asks
me what i am reading
i tell her i am writing a poem
she says 'oh, well can i hear it'
i notice that her voice is froggy
and i ask her if she has a cold
she said no, she has a rare throat
condition and that she just had her
seventh surgery on it
i ask her does it hurt to talk
she smiles at me and says 'only
when there is nothing to talk about'
i laugh and read her what i had written
she clapped and tells me it the few words
were the highlight of her day
i tell her meeting her was mine, and then
suddenly she begins to cry
she tells me she 'lives alone' and then says
'mommy is ashamed of me'
i then ask her why and she says' 'mommy
says the sound of my voice makes me ugly'
i tell her she lights up my life
she sits next to me and rests her head on my lap
still crying lightly
i then wipe away a few of her tears and ask her if she could
have ice cream
she nodded her head in anticipation and disbelief
i ask her what her favorite ice cream flavor is and she
exclaims 'BUBBLE GUM BLUE AND BUBBLE GUM PINK'
we walk down the beach a ways and cross the access to
ice cream place
i tell to get as many scoops as you want and she tells the lady
behind the counter 'four scoops in a cup please'
i lean against the wall and say to myself 'how can you not love
the radiant beauty of this little ray of sunshine'
we end up spending the rest of the day together until i tell her that
the sun was going down and that she needed to get home
she asked if she could stay with me, and i hated to tell her no, but
i do
real life has safety nets unlikable to man, but necessary for survival
i watch her wave sadly and walk away slowly with such depressing hesitation
i almost shed a tear, but i know deep within me that i have to move on
perhaps when i come back here at a later date i will see her smiling face again
however right now, all i can do is pray for her, accept the life that God has created, and let Him decide and do the rest
The thought of meeting the love of your life
Can cause you to lose your cool
Stumbling over words and fidgeting about
Just like a boy out of school
It's a common reaction, it happens all over
We're all just following the rules
That surely were laid down many years ago
But it's still not kosher to drool
You open her door and bash her poor head
Embarrassed, you apologize profusely
You offer her gum and a mint from your pocket
And tell her she's a sweet li'l floozie
She looks at you strangely for that response
You barrel forth not blinking an eye
Just wanting to impress this gorgeous young lady
It gets worse the more that you try
In spite of the blunders and embarrassing stuff
Somehow she thinks it's all cute
The more you stumble and trip on your words
She loves you, you big galoot
To cut it short, she's my gorgeous bride
Although many long years have now passed
A lot of water's flowed under the bridge
But she's still got a fabulous ass!!!
© Jack Ellison 2015
David slings a rock
Cop holsters a glock, Lizzie Borden packs an axe
Mac he packs the knife, Billy battles with a club, Tommy’s gun is a sub
Kelly’s got one too, Bazooka Joe Is Gum, Peter Gunn isn't,Colt45not malt
Nor is it a horse, horseshoes & handgrenades, canons have big balls, Doc
Holiday had TB Rock Hudson had HIV, James Dean crashes his car,Hank Williams crashes a bar, Natalie Wood don’t float, Cain killed his brother, Juliette drank poison for her lover, Rev. Jim Jones killed with cool-aid, Whitey Bulger he got paid,dead man walking gets to eat Rodney King
got beat, Cupid’s arrow as Clyde Barrow, Mama Cass choked on ham
57,000 gone in Nam, Four dead in Ohio, Kamikazes fall 1941, again
they fall 2001Iraqi leader with a rope, John Belushi too much dope,
Charles Manson is alive MichaelJackson isn’t,Saturday night special
is very ordinary, Fast and furious is the crime, Dick Clark just his
time Pirate victims walk the plank, THINK,
Next I’ll come rolling in a tank
Hear the whistle of my missile
Dirty Harry had the biggest
The Derringer is small
Smokey Bear forest fire
Greek funeral is a pyre
Too many +’s or -’s
Is electric surges
Woman and child
sing the dirges
Walking dead
Are zombies
Fat man and
Little Boy
Are atom
Bombies