Best Lenses Poems
Childhood Days
I’d heap spoonfuls of sugar in my tea
I wouldn’t drink it without it you see
That sweet syrupy drink
Wasn’t poured down the sink
Every single drop was supped up by me!
Adulthood
Dad’s diabetes made me think -
Did I need to sweeten my drink
So I cut sugar out
And I don’t have a doubt
I’m slimmer and I’m in the pink
Contest: Two Lenses
Sponsor Sara Kendrick
02~20~16
I was a child of only seven years,
adventurous, bold, I had no fears.
Into the woods I would go
after my Mom told me "No."
But worth the spanking and the tears.
These days the woods are worrisome,
fear I may trip and land on my bum.
Things live there I didn't see
when I was young and carefree.
With age, it's to caution I have succumb.
{ { { February 14th, 2016 } } }
How
I loved
summer fairs -
the cool night wind
in my hair as I
twirled on the tilt-a-whirl
or climbing into sky. . . then
descending at lightening speed,
stomach leaping at the thrill of it;
I was buzzed, wishing it would never end.
My fifty-ninth birthday at the state fair,
I sampled again the drug I craved
when I bought two tickets for rides.
But my pleasure was short-lived.
By the second ride and
feeling nauseous, I
had to accept
I’d taken
my last
ride.
Written 2/25 For the Two Lenses Poetry Contest of Sara Kendrick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They sit folded on the windowsill,
a geometry of silver bones
holding lenses thick as bottle-bottoms.
Morning light catches dust particles
dancing in their patient curve.
He wore them low on his nose,
peering over the frames
while reading fishin’ magazines.
The bridge bears twin grooves,
softened leather pads worn thin
by decades of Sunday morning news
and crossword puzzles.
Now they frame only stillness –
ghost lenses reflecting the garden,
empty orbits where his eyes
once measured the world’s sharp edges.
Cold metal remembers the warmth
of his temples.
As kids, we were brought to the beach
at riverfront...sea out of reach.
Our sand was like mud;
neath water, silt crud.
I'd wallow with fun, laugh, and screech!
Now grown, to the seashore I go
where sand is as white as the snow.
I don't go out far
beyond the sandbar
for fear of the silt down below!
Sandra M. Haight
~6th Place~
Contest: Sea Tales Limericks - Old Or New
Sponsor: Carolyn Devonshire
Judged: 08/04/2018
When I was about sixteen I bought my first car a '37 Ford.
I thought I was hot stuff as about the town I roared!
It had straight pipes and a radio from which the music blared,
But for some reason my feckless youth the cops never shared!
Nowadays, kids with their noisy heaps drive me up the wall!
Their vexatious boom boxes and roaring pipes I can't tolerate at all!
They pull up beside me, flex their middle finger and with a silly grin,
Roar away leaving me in a cloud of dust much to my chagrin!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
Entry for Sara Hendrick's "Two Lenses" Contest
Marshmallows, when I was a kid
I'd eat a whole bag, and I did
I felt like a winner
but ruined my dinner
and hid when my mum flipped her lid.
When I see those things now, white and pink
I look at those sweeties and think
my God, they were sickly
I'd turn pale so quickly
and then I'd throw up in the sink.
176th Feb 2016
For contest 'Two lenses', sponsor Sara kendrick
In the exuberant morning sun
Showcasing the self was an obsession
Cricket swimming jumping very high
Flying the kite high up in the blue sky
In the mellow glee of afternoon
Seeing and waiting is the mind's moon
Around your neck my arms in a loop
Relaxing happily in Poetry Soup
--------------------------------------------------
February 15, 2016
Gray naked trees, forest lawn cloaked in white
Wearing red, bearing arms, hiding motionless and pious
Appearing out of nowhere, an apparition so quiet
One shot rang out, then suddenly dead silence
Nearly half a century, has passed since that year
A revelation came to me, lucidly clear
So beautiful and graceful, yet to live in fear
A life resolving murder, of a helpless deer
February 15, 2016 an original poem by Daniel Turner
Two Lenses
While studying Masters in my teens
also in service in early twenties
I was prompt and ready
to catch the train in hurry
jumping from platform crossing rail lines
Now I have turned senior citizen
and always choose to avoid train.
If go on compulsion,
over bridge is solution,
also by slow walk without strain
02/27/16
Two Lenses Contest First Place
Sponsor Sara Kendrick
As a child I loved to ride 'Thunderbolt" into the wind
living then rural, Thunder was my best and only friend
but now that I have grown so much older, more wise, mature
I no longer desire shoveling barns, filled with manure!
When I was young and had zero dollars to spend
Grandpa's skiff with succulent mangoes I loved to tend
With view of City canal, flowing not far from home
Near thoroughfare with perfect patrons; few not so grown
Not so proud as I, safe with shillings from tropic fruits, sold
Sans chant. I never had to beg, my joy was always two fold.
Times have changed, I wouldn't sell jack; my family knows
Sales has never been my forte; I'll be lackadaisical, and let it show
For I'd rather be a P.R. person, who sniff labels and goods that entice
As deals, but trick the masses with much gook, some unnoticed
But that's not all with sales; folks will look you up and down
As though you're part and parcel of goods they've found.
...
Entry for Sara Kendridk's 'Two Lenses' poetry contest
When I was a child, I had no fear,
With Mama and Daddy always near.
I liked to swing on the garden gate,
With never a thought of tempting fate.
No one could tease me or make me cry
With my four brothers standing by.
The guilty were scared right out of their socks
By protectors aching to clean their clocks.
As and aged adult, I find I've changed,
Since the whole world has become deranged.
Every loose package could contain a bomb
And every strange man, a Peeping Tom.
All of my protectors have been taken away
My home is a prison of fear today.
When needs must take me from the house,
I hurry back home like a frightened mouse.
02/13/16
When I was young I hated school;
in playing truant saw no harm.
How could I throw away the fun
which I enjoyed on grandpa’s farm?
My mum was strict and had her way
while the pied piper played his fife!
So common sense won in the end;
I taught in schools most of my life!
--------------------------
Contest: Two Lenses
Sponsor: Sara Kendrick
Placed 1st
Two Lenses
Such a dreamer and a tomboy I was growing up
Like a busy little bee trying to catch fireflies in a jar
Playing baseball with the boys instead of dolls and pouring tea
Crawling under places where little spiders dwelled
climbing trees with ease
As I’ve gotten older
I’ve developed phobias of creep-crawlers, and being far from the ground
I collect porcelain tea sets and dolls with rosy cheeks
Squeezing moments with my grand-kids and filling their appetites
A lady I’ve become making grandma’s dreams
Whistful Memories ; 2/25/2016