Best Jacks Poems
there is a craving
in my heart
an anticipation
that keeps me going
propulses me
to greet each morning
with the same excitement
and childlike hope
as when I'd open
that new box of
Cracker Jacks
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
Posted on November 5, 2019
I sometimes dream of days long passed
Spent sailing on the sea
Of visiting those foreign ports
And the call for liberty
Liberty expired at 2 AM
We all thought it was too short
So we hit the closest bar in town
Every time we pulled into port
Sometimes we got a little rowdy
There’d be a fight or two
Some times we just got crazy
To do the things we’d do
We were young and wild and free
Shipmates side by side
We’d dress in our cracker jacks
We all wore them with pride
Homecoming was special
Being away for half a year
We would set the sea and anchor detail
From the crew we’d hear a cheer
Women and children waiting
Standing anxious on the pier
Mothers smiling at their kids
Saying Daddy will soon be here
The one MC blared liberty call
The crew would cheer and then
We’d put on our cracker jacks
Good to be home again.
Twos, threes, and one-eyed jacks,
And jokers thrown in too,
These were the wild cards in our poker game,
May seem a lot to you....
But four of a kind to open,
Somewhat evens up the score,
And this was a time of fun,
And we did much, much more
This was our "Military Club"
An idea I did cook up,
To give reason to live,
For old men lost to desperate time
Who's life otherwise passed by them
Turned out an idea sublime
All got ranks in our club,
My uncles were Majors, you see
My father I made the Colonel
And poor old lowly me...
A mere Lieutenant
To drive the staff car around
This became so important to them
My idea had been more than sound
We loved our pool halls
Like most women love a shoe store,
And took turns at each others houses,
And what's even more
After pool we'd have some beers
In one of our watering holes,
And after poker later
A good meal would enrich our souls
Ah, to go one more time
Out with them,
Alas most are gone
And all I have is memories
To help me carry on.
Betty had a good buddy whose name was Jack
His brown bunny she took for a verbal attack
This retort she had
Made her feel too bad
So Betty brought her buddies brown bunny back!
Ah had a aulder bruther whin ah wis wee,
ah wis five then an' he -wis nine yea see.
A tendid tae follow him aboot,
bit bein' aulder he widnae care a hoot.
Aw jings a remember wan day at school,
oot o' ma pocket ma hankie a bullyboy did pull.
Whit arrrr' yea cryin' fur? Ma brother Jack did say,
that big bullyboy pinched ma hankie whin ah wis at play.
Noo bein' aulder an' bigger he set aboot his bloke,
at furst the bloke thocht it wis a joke.
Bit no fur lang whin Jack grabbed this blokes wee wee parts,
the bully bloke screamed an' had an involuntary fart:)
Weel a gote ma hankie back an' it stoaped me fidgin',
as that bullyboy bloke walked away haudin' his Nether region"
Naw ma bruther wis no fond o' playin' wae me,
bit he wid a'ways protect me tae the Nth degree.
Whin a wis Nine an' ma bruther wis thirteen.
Jack wis a'ways oot an' never tae be seen,
Wan day ma faither came hame frae his workin' day.
"Alex" he shouted oot the windae , cum in this minit frae play.
Jings, crivens he wis in a blidy angry mood,
a wid hiv ran a mile if a possibly could.
Did you burn aw those window curtains doon?
a looked up at the windae an' blidy swooned.
The curtains wir hingin' wae a wee bit charcoaly thread,
oh crivens a wished as wis blidy dead,
No me faither, naw it wisnae me,
jist then, at that moment, ah hid an' involuntary pee.
The door opened an' Jack came in,
his face white as if he had done a terrible sin.
Sorry faither it wisnae Alex that done this horrible deed,
oh so sorry faither I wis stupid, Jack did 'onestly plead.
It wis me as ah flicked a lighted match,
oan blidy fire those curtains did catch.
Aw a kid dae wis tae pull them doon oan the flair,
an' smuther the flames wae the back o' that there chair.
Noo , faither dinae explode,--- at aw,
even efter aw whit he had saw.
Faither said. Twa things saved yea Jack ma lad,
an' fur those twa things you should be glad.
First wan, yea admitted yer firey crime,
saved yer wee bruther frae a hell o' a time.
Second wan wis yer presence o' mind,
actin' sae quickly whin yea were in a terrible bind.
So ma lad, thank you for being so quick an' true,
no punishment but a reward for you is due.
Sadly for me noo baith have gone,
but niver have lights so brightly shone:)
The Auld Yin.
Jacks from Montreal in case you don't know
Likes a laugh and in his work it does show
Been around a long time
Enjoys composing rhyme
If you want humour then to his page go.
Shame we can't all get together and sing
Happy birthday to soups limerick king
He's eighty four today
Sending greeting's his way
To this site laughter and joy he does bring .
...............................................................................
And a bonus one as its his birthday.
Jack hails from the land of milk and honey
Drives a Porsche and is loaded with money
He's quite the ladies man
Has a bright orange tan
Makes the girls go all giggly and funny.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK.
Written 6th August 2019.
Spare dimes and nickels were rather scarce when I was a lad,
But when I received a nickel now and then from my dear old Dad,
I'd hie to the store to buy a box of those ambrosial snacks,
Known to kids in all the land as scrumptious Cracker Jacks!
I can think of no other tasty morsel created for the masses,
Than that toothsome blend of popcorn, peanuts and molasses!
On the box was a picture of Sailor Jack in his sailor suit,
Along with his faithful mutt, Bingo, colorful and so cute!
Ah, but those magic words on the box are what caught my eyes:
"GUESS WHAT'S INSIDE!" - there was always a 'valuable' prize!
With trembling hand I'd reach in the box with great expectation,
And finding some trivial trinket, I'd give a cry of jubilation!
You might find a baseball card, jacks and among other things,
A tiny truck, ship, automobile and even 'diamond' rings!
A toy soldier, whistle, a fire engine, a small animal or plane,
A card with one of Jack's Funny Facts or a miniature train!
"What'd ya git?" kids asked, then swapping would commence.
In our youthful greed, these dealings grew quite intense!
In the autumn of my life, I peer back through the mists of time,
Recalling simple Cracker Jacks and times that were more sublime!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
A Box of Jacks
A box of fun,
popcorn and nuts,
a prize,
all to be
shared.
A simple pleasure,
a memory,
an event,
to be treasured,
not measured
but looked back upon
when we are long passed
the point of childhood altogether,
and are desperate
to be more child-like,
than adult.
Embracing the magic of life,
takes turns at every age,
like skipping rocks on water,
and whispers in the dark,
from a lark,
a happy bird.
Life is so short,
time is so fleeting,
the meeting of the two
a heartbreak,
at daybreak,
unless embraced
beyond forever
into eternity,
in service
to Our Lord.
Just a box of popcorn,
a whole world experienced
in a single moment,
that changes everything
to come thereafter,
here,
there,
and
ever...
after.
Does chocolate milk come from a brown cow
Is a rabbit's foot lucky for the bunny
What good is a wish on a falling star
Are dad jokes never ever funny
Whatever happened to conversations
Why are people transfixed on high tech
Who cleans erasers from the chalkboard anymore
Why play kickball if you never get to kick
Will under your desk save you from an atomic blast
Are short people actually fun size
Whatever happened to kids reading comic books
Did Cracker Jacks really have a great prize
Jack, Jack, Jack and jack, what about me, my name is Jill
I’m only mentioned once, when we climbed up the hill ,
Then Jack fell, and broke his crown, I was filled with dread,
So tumbled after him, but he had gone to bed,
To bandage his head.
Jack Sprat and his wife, one ate no fat and the other no lean,
So hence left their platter void of food and always clean,
So, I suggested to his wife to keep slim, to do some running
Down the street, to lose the weight
She ate.
And Jack Horner who only sat in a corner, I felt that was cruel,
Told him to tell his teacher that he would quit school,
He was never again, to be made a fool.
As for Jack be nimble, I mentioned that as he was always quick,
I would nurse him if he broke his ankle jumping over the candle wick,
So now I no longer feel a little jealous, as I have taken Charles's tip,
I tried to help the first Jack, but did get involved with the other three,
I now feel good, my name is Jill and I hope you agree.
Now give me a giggle,
Hey diddle diddle
Competition entry:Jill Nursery Rhyme Poetry Concert
Sponsor:Charles Messina
Date; 03/11/2024
I remember it well that October night
Meteors aligned tipped like candelabra lights
I'm sitting in my outhouse under a hakka lantern
Yea, in Guangxi Province, pending storm concerns
Kinda spooky feeling magnetic electric zipping
Need to lay of the 'Jacks' feels like I'm tripping
It's like a potion to me, it brings me to likes edge
Thankfully the 'Moor' in me, saves me from the ledge
Wow, crash boom bang, thunder clap new, mun!
Blimey, bloody broom noisy, just like my neighbour
Erratic lightning laylines break open Eastern skies
Suddenly a shadow in the corner, and I ff'ing swore!
My legs aren't even moving but this misty fog lures I
Bleary eyes focusing at, at, this Succubus, she
On the Radio 'Wake me I am dreaming' by the 'Love Affair'
Minds guising disguising, just what is 'Jacks' streaming
I awake in the morn, wondering what went the night before
Elves, Goblins, Fairies or could it be the Jinn Genie!
Blimey if I was worth my weight in salt, I'd go to church
But if I told this story when younger, I'd sure have got the birch.
That was something unexplained that I saw:
Paul Newman was playing poker against Robert Shaw.
Robert Shaw had four nines, and was happy to stand.
How did Paul Newman get four jacks in his hand?
From the 1973 film “The Sting”
To make his jack-o-lantern,
My husband wields a knife
And carves a slightly scary face
To make it come to life.
It isn’t sketched or plotted;
Just some time is all he needs
And before he’s even finished,
I have roasted all the seeds.
My son’s approach is different
For the face is deftly planned,
The features poked out gently
With some special tools at hand.
And his jack-o-lantern’s friendly
Since his kids are 3 and 1;
But both pumpkins were terrific,
With both carvers having fun.
Though my husband’s has a candle
And my son’s a phony flame,
Each will flicker Halloween-like
To the family’s great acclaim.
I spotted where my lamb hops
Went after her with an axe
I hacked her up for lamb chops
Then I played a game of jacks.
My good friend Zac
decided to make a crack
about me writing poems
so I figured I would show em
about what it really meant
to be a true poet
so instead of just running my mouth
I would shut him up and show it
As he began to say a poem
that was to me,mean and cruel
a cat grabbed him by his tongue
and made him look like a fool
Now this man they call Zac
he tells many women lies
some say he's womanizer
some say he destroys lives
but with all this reputation
don't misconfuse my interpretation
for this man is my friend
many say he's a good hand
with the imagination of a 4 yr old
He truly believes
He's full electric volts
and only ask
when you shake his hand
you act like your shocked
and die like a man
I know that makes no sense
He told me to put it in
Like I told you all before
This man is my friend
Like funny Cracker jacks
they show there true colors
they only feel better
when they tease and taunt another
So if you see my friend Zac
ever walking down the street
Please O god punch him in the face
and please say it was from me