Best Peoplefamily Poems


I Have Three Favorites

Part I
Three TV shows stick in my mind.
Specific memories are hard to find.
There once was a series, long ago.
I would always cry at the end of the show.

“I Remember Mama” was the program's name.
Their family stories set my heart aflame.
Love's influence stays strong in my soul.
Family ties remain love's precious goal.

Part II
Jack La Lane was a “family name.”
It was not a drama or a prize-winning game.
After school each day for many years,
Mother and I exercised to his cheers. 

Healthy eating and exercise,
He daily did enthusiastically advise.
Scrunching the face and tensing the mouth
Would keep the sags from going south.

Daily healthful lessons and time with mom,
Soothed my fears; I felt safe and calm.
Those pleasant memories remain to this day.
Jack La Lane helped my family play.

Part III
“Today's Show” co-anchored by Barbara Walters,
Before “Women's Libbers’ and bra-less halters. 
Set a successful example for all to see.
Reporting with kindness and harmony.

Her interviews were thoughtful; guests at ease.
I would run home from school, the moments to seize.
She modeled womanhood by success.
Serenely she brought me through personal distress.

My life is quite different than hers ever would be.
She remains a part of my childhood history.
Thoughtful of others, from her, example,
I learned to be strong in a world that is hostile.

Three favorites each different, somehow, the same,
All made an impact upon my life's game.
Sincerity of heart was the common thread.
Caring for others, like them, did in my heart embed.

© July 20, 2011
Dane Smith-Johnsen

Written for Poetry Soup Member Contest: Favorite Television Show/Episode Remembered 	 
Sponsored by: Shani Fassbender

A Dog Day Afternoon

If you really love some-one
Then it shouldn't be so hard
You just put him on an leash
And simply walk him
Across the yard,
The heck with all the implication's
What are the chances'
They would reject him right away
Fore it takes' raw courage
To bring them home one day
A family bond is strong that way
               - And -
To meet the family right away
  The re concussion can be great
Though it take's much skill
        To articulate
                 Or may be,
It could be just a big mistake
                     -
Then if it is a dog
Then they barely know him
As you see, what come what may be
                      -
Sure they may know of his nature
Maybe just a couple of fleas'
But, what then can they really say
Fore he is the lesser of God's creatures'
And you have already given
           Him a name,
   And most of all,
He is yours',
                      -
He is your's to claim
Some how or another
Surely, he should be easier
          To tame,
A dog will all ways' have his day
In a manner of speaking
You just have to keep him eating
     And not let him run astray
And he surely will be worth keeping
      Every dog shall have his way
But people are so much harder
To display

                         GF

Tornadoes of New Hampshire

Yesterday I thought I try
to help some strangers, I thought I would cry
So we drove an hour and half to meet
The rain was so torrential we could hardly see

But our mission was true and hopefully we strove
All along the road a beautiful green land cove 
I was hard to believe that nature had struck 
So we pulled up the station and unloaded our truck
 
We bought them water and batteries to 
And a bag full of clothes to cheer up there blues 
Here a woman had lost her life 
The baby in her arms lived through the strife 

She was unlucky God called her home 
So sadly down the street we decided to roam 
We came upon some broken limbs of trees 
Further down that road we did squeeze

My heart fell down my hands to my knees 
There along the road for were broken off tops of pine trees 
The twisted heaps lined family yards 
And to each one of them I send you my regards

It looked like a war zone
 I had never seen anything like this at my home 
Nature had unleashed her wrath 
Distorted people lives in a wink of her path 

Animals ran loose wires were down 
After it was over 
came the shock and tears abound

I am sure they will never come to forget 
the moments of terror and that awful upset

For all those people I wish you the best 
And I hope your friends; family and neighbors help clean up the mess   
I hope we as humans can pull together and help 
And those with more money please share your wealth


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