The Kennedy Center is known to the world
For honoring those in the arts –
From Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Astaire,
Whose talents top all of the charts.
Sinatra, Gene Kelly, L. Bernstein, Kazan
And Benny and Lena and Merce,
Ray Charles, Lucille Ball, Isaac Stern and George Burns,
The list both profound and diverse.
Belafonte and Ailey and Hepburn and Peck,
Gillespie and Sondheim, the Who;
Aretha and Dylan and Kander and Ebb,
Judith Jamison, Chuck Berry, too.
Baryshnikov, Quincy, Paul Simon and Cash,
Warren Beatty, James Taylor and Cher;
Tina Turner and Spielberg and Barbra and Tharp,
Yo Yo Ma, Dustin Hoffman – all there.
Al Pacino and Elton, De Niro and Streep,
Lily Tomlin, Santana and Sting;
LL Cool J and Reba and Joni, Mel Brooks,
Lionel, Dick Van Dyke, Carole King.
There are more I’ve not mentioned, but going ahead,
It is going to be quite a shock
When the Kennedy Center will honor, perhaps,
Village People or maybe Kid Rock.
Oh, I fear for this country in so many ways
And it feels we’ve been stabbed in our hearts
With the Kennedy Center now being run
By a man with no stake in the arts.
East of Eden and
The Tingler.
The lady killer and
Julius Caesar.
A star is born and
Vertigo.
The Killing and
Ace in the hole.
Godzilla and
The night and fog.
Johnny Guitar and
Hound Dog.
Wild strawberries
And Stalag 17.
High noon and
The African queen.
Ray Charles and
Kiss me deadly.
The big sky and
The voyage to Italy.
Dean Martin and
Buddy Holly.
Casper and
Mr. Peabody.
House of Wax and
Elevator to the Gallows.
Elvis and
Tears on my pillow.
Asphalt jungle and
In a lonely place.
The big heat and
Chantilly lace.
Hank Williams and
Chuck Berry.
Sunset BLVD and
Tom and Jerry.
Turbo1904?
I am Eisenhower builds the
Interstate highway.
I am polio vaccine that
Saves the day.
I am the energy of civil
Rights.
I am the first transcontinental
Flight.
I am the Rosenbergs guilty they
Get the death sentence.
I am Elvis rocking,
You can feel his presence.
I am a disc-jockey who terms
The word rock n roll.
I am NASA created, can we get
A drum roll.
I am the baby-boom era at
It's peak.
I am Rosa Parks not giving up
Her seat.
I am the first episode of leave
It to beaver.
I am the TV remote control
Receiver.
I am the first passenger jet
Airline.
I am Winston Churchill when
He resigns.
I am Barbie and the hula
Hoop.
I am DNA discovered the
Double-helix loop.
I am the first credit card
And solar-cell.
I am super-glue and the
Birth-control pill.
I am the new rhythm
And blues.
I am Elvis in Blue suede
Shoes.
I am a fender electric
Guitar on scene.
I am Chuck Berry and
Maybellene.
Turbo1904
tonight i light the fire
nothing to do but embrace life
i have a cup of hot chocolate
i have a plate of ten chocolate chocolate chip cookies
i just may make about ten to fifteen more
time is even being cooperative
tonight i light the fire
nothing to do but give Thanks to the Lord
feeling better now that i am over that bad cold
i have one more day off to rest the body and the immune system
i have a chuck berry greatest hits cd playing in the old dual cassette boombox
right now being alone is the greatest feeling in the world,
but by bedtime i will be missing her and the how good her body felt again
well, in life, you can't always get what your heart yearns for, desires, and wants
however, my attitude is educated even more all the same,
so i will just sit in front of this warm and soothing fire and Give Thanks
for the Blessing of the Important Needs ThankFully EverPresent in my life Now
Day-glo dewy
chuck berry faded daffodils
woodlark fluid warble
emerald chorus
& abash earth
drowsy petrichor
on
parched earth
fall mist lyrics
of
glyphs thrum
in sepia tones
of
whimpers
& heart hums
of
lengthy
boyhood
&
haunting echoes
shattered bell's
agonizing chimes
In shadowy
kaleidoscope
dystopian swoon
climax is symphonic
&
thunderous melancholy
of
tearful farewell
remove dust mote
of
gramophone groove
daily spirit sweep
clean mental dust
&
embrace gratitude
& love
life's melody won't die
eclectic idiosyncrasy
happiness bid
Written: November 03, 2022
There's an innocent time that I recall
when every girl is Cinderella at a bobby-sox ball
each guy, a penny-loafer prince in a white letter sweater
and the jukebox music keeps getting better
A place where the teens are not overly hip
where the burn-outs and greasers don't dare give them lip
where 350-engines purr under car hoods
where heroes are handsome, virtuous and good
The Beach Boys are gone now
Bobby Vee, Neil Sedaka, Chuck Berry too
Hearing their music brings a tear to my eye
If I make it to Heaven, I hope they'll drop by
Wild Scrumptious Berries
Scarlet, True Blue & Plump,
Juicy Lucy In The Sky Blackberries Trump,
Politics Aside, Chuck Berry Doesn't Stump.
Sure to Turn Round Any Blues,
Tongue Taste Belongs to No Fake News,
Tart Smart Sensory Chews.
Hued Color Bright, Savory Flavor Right,
Check for Bugs Crawling or Landing Flight,
Even They Are Protein But Not a Delight.
Rarely Ever Discovered, Summer's the Season,
For Picking & Curing Winter's Long Awaited Easing,
Delicious Felicitous & Scrumptious Mouth's Reason.
Strawberries Splash Eyes & Crash Cries,
Instead Laughing Giggling Smiling Highs,
Loving Life's Highlights, Rising Contented Sighs!
Back in the fifties
America seemed much calmer
McCarthy's commie blacklists
Sputnik's shocking launch
Ike's wife Mamie so sedate
That pre-historic hairdo
World War Two over
We needed some time to heal
Alan Ginsburg penned his 'Howl'
Chuck Berry goosed his walk
The West Wing conservative
White House picket-fence painted
Boom! an explosion
Cultural revolution
Sixties' deaths brought us down
Hendrix, Morrison
Jackie became Onassis
Where's JFK's Camelot
Seventies came, went
Eighties crashed, burned, flamed out too
But Jerry Rubin's Wall Street
Greed ruled the Nineties
Internet changed all of us
The world at a click-click-click
New Millenium
Rapid change hurtles forward
People do change, however
Shootings dot landscape
Retreat into our smartphones
Loneliness Unconnected
Now the Age of Trump
Rears its flame-orange mane and screams
Me-too Movement gains traction
Women come forward
Teen suicide rate rises
Society imperiled
May 07, 2019
Entry: 'Best Sedoka' contest
Sponsor: Lu Loo
Dad, I pray for you now, in your time of passing
My memories, heartfelt and everlasting
Every night, you tucked us into bed with loving care
Now, you're just laying there, while we stroke your hair
Could you feel us all around?
Or could you even hear a sound?
The age of sixty-five was your life expectancy
Your spirit, your will, they could not see
I will remember your younger days
Your dark humor and wild Italian ways
I'll never forget your platform shoes
Hard to walk in with too much booze
Without them, you were shorter than your wife
Without them, in the car, could be your life
I will never forget the Moose Hall
Drinking, eating, and having a ball
"Twist And Shout" by Chuck Berry was our favorite song
Every time it was played, we always danced along
They can never take my memories away
It matters no more what they say
Moshe, Larry, Curly,
Howls, cries, nyuks;
Three silly comic stars:
Smile, clown -- Cluck!
Chico, Harpo, Benny, Berle,
Moron grins, happy chins;
Crazy nutty comic kooks:
Funny jokes -- egads zooks!
Alvin Ailey, dance gaily,
False teeth: Brush daily;
Silly Sally, Dilly-dally,
Ollie, Holly, Mollie!
Belly flops, fatal plops,
Messy slops, lemon drops;
Harry Caray, Tooth Fairy,
Music Maven -- Chuck Berry.
Pitty-patty, kitty-katty,
Ticky-tacky, Cinci-nnati
Polly-Wolly, Wooly Bully,
Diffy-daffy, Laughy Taffy!
March 22, 2018
Contest entry in "A little laughter five," sponsored by
Edward McCall, closing date - March 23, 2018
Notes: Moe Howard's (of the Three Stooges) actual first name was Moshe.
'Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk' was a trademark line of Curly (3 Stooges.)
Berle is comedian: Milton Berle (aka 'Uncle Miltie').
'Egads zooks' is an exclamation my mother and others of her
generation used to use (frequently).
'Wooly Bully' was a pop song by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs,
released in 1965; it soared high on the Top-40 charts.
Without him, there would not have been
The rock and roll we know.
His influence reached far and wide
And still, it seems to grow.
His list of hits could blow your mind;
His duck walk and his hair
Made him such a rare performer
No one else can quite compare.
He had his issues (don’t we all?)
But hearing of his death,
It made me think we owe him
For this genre’s primal breath.
So hail to you, Chuck Berry,
For the stories that you told
With such perfect presentation
That for sure old Ludwig rolled!
So many great artists
passed thru death's door,
Divine, soulful voices -
serenade us no more,
But in harmony thus,
the angels will sing ...
For Rock and Roll Heaven
now welcomes ... its King.
Beethoven was awakened by the sound of a guitar
Played by Chuck Berry, a rock 'n roll star
'When Beethoven heard those rhythm and blues
He ran to Tchaikovsky to tell him the news'
He made that guitar sing like no one else could
As he rocked us with 'Johnny B Goode'
'He stole a kiss at the turn of a mile
But her safety belt was stuck for a while'
So he had to take it slow
With no "Particular Place To Go"
He didn't know just what to do
When 'Maybellene' was untrue
She left him brokenhearted on the highway
As her cadillac sped away
He will play that guitar by an by
In rock 'n roll heaven up on high
On my computer
I
play
songs of the late 1970's
My seed time
as it were
ELP, Yes, and King Crimson
Perhaps I will pick up a recording by
Nice
they did a great version of "America"
from West Side Story
or perhaps I shall return to the fold era
or flip on some Dvorak
Music and poetry
enables us to touch unreality
but only if we let it
Some recommend Beethoven and Bach
Others Chuck Berry and James Brown
Attempted to play the French horn when I was younger
what a gorgeous sound that instrument can make
The Beatles and the Rolling Stones used ti
So did we at Midwood High
AS we marched down the football field
Cool autumn days
remind us
of leaves turning color, football
and the beginning of the school year
I remember those days
As age creeps in
I attend poetry
readings
and volunteer at Poets House
read a lot of verse
Poets House has Israeli, Afro - American, Chinese, Puerto Rican poetry
and much more
The world needs poetry and song
And so doe we , friends
here i am yearning
for mashed potatoes and gravy
honeybaked ham and honey butter biscuits
all of the above inspires me to make hot oatmeal raisin cookies
and buttercream cake squares
i wash down with more overeating and set up an oldies station
right now chuck berry is talking about havana moon and lou johnson
is asking someone or another to reach out for him
old eddie is speaking truth about blues in the summertime and joe jones
does the same about the everyday loquacious one
it is during the latter song when i realize that we are all lapping up love
in our own little ways
i am just lost in my own little reverie of ThankGod without knowing it
here i am....still learning....
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