On May 11th, Hawaii did declare,
The pandemic's end, no longer a scare.
Federal word, the last state to know,
Preparing for changes in the vaccine flow.
Medicaid shifts, seniors in plight,
September 24th, the end in sight.
In early June, insurers did call,
Reassessing coverages, answers to stall.
July brought news, uncertain and grim,
Doctors from Honolulu, prospects dim.
August 13th, a reevaluation came,
Insurance updates, changes to name.
September 4th, last talks in the air,
Doctors and insurers, a tangled affair.
Neighbors noticed a front lanai void,
Paramedics broke in, stained glass destroyed.
September 30th, Hilo Hospital's care,
Unconscious, admitted, a fate to bear.
Rehabilitating now, seeking what's just,
Attorney in tow, a lawsuit a must.
In court, on the prosecutor's side,
Facing defenses, where Luigi will bide.
From issue to hope, a journey so grand,
Manus, Festus, Infestus – a fight at hand.
At Festus I no longer wave.
I should save a not–safe image.
At all persons Festus would rave,
With this triggering plain outrage…
Last cause of Festus’ Anger “Dave”,
For which he called the Poor Guy “Slave”
“The best roof over Dave’s Head ‘Cave’s,”
The scene he’d keep frequenting ‘Grave’s…
Now; I am often on the run,
Mingling with Festus ‘poorest fun’…
Who knows? Tomorrow, a shot-gun
And the deed as good as ‘just done.’
Anita, Stanley and Poor Me
Festus won’t allow to feel free.
We're asleep in this graveyard
We can't hear you pout
So please leave your flowers
And get the hell out
Frankie boy,
you’re so ghoulishly handsome
with your graveyard tan
My baby boy is
one Munster hunk of a man
With your strong and cold
cadaver Addams Family hands
You’re gonna make
your momma Morticia cry
And wipe the nightshade mascara
from my bloodshot, vampire eyes
Frankie boy,
tighten your steel bolts
and straighten that skeleton necktie
Your future bride,
with the electroshock hair,
said she’s gonna zombie stop on by
And your favorite uncle, my brother Festus,
with the light bulb bald head
Will be dating her Bewitched auntie Endora,
that’s what our butler Lurch said
My other mother’s daughter Lily,
and her husband Fred
Along with her Grandpa,
and your cousins, Pam and Ed
All will be coming thru to voodoo visit too
Frankie boy,
tell your two daddies
Vic and Gomez to come downstairs
Make sure they shut the lab door,
‘cause there’s a draft in the dank castle air
Frankie boy,
go get your sister and brother,
Wednesday and Pugsley
Tell them to come on down too
It’s our favorite night of the year, it’s Halloween ...
and we got a lot of scaring to do!
Your words were hurting
Provoking and mean
More of torture than loving,
So I thought as a teen.
The rod of admonition you never spared,
Consistent though I was rebellious.
In the raw word I was rared,
Though hard and strenous.
Now shall I forget thy prayers at night,
Or should I seize to remember the song you sang?
It resonates joy and not plight.
I can only reciprocate by acquinting with the right gang.
On me you spent your last kobo,
Was there when my heart seemed frail,
Though I never showed it cos of my ego.
Your encouraging words were around when I seem to fail.
You whisper joy to my ears,
Between the gale you were my anchor.
Your soft smile drowns my fears.
You thought me to axe rancour.
FELICIA AND FESTUS, you are the best parent.
Kacey.Tender,Dimensional,devoted,and rare.Daughter of Lisa.Lover of Michael,nature,and the
written word.Who feels needed,admired,and above all lucky.Who fears
abandonment,rejection,and loss of life.Who would like to see tropical climates,unity,and
love against hatred.Resident of Festus,Missouri.Greenlee
(Dedicated to Ken Curtis who died April 28, 1991.)
When he starred in Gunsmoke, he truly blessed us.
I'm talking about Ken Curtis who starred as Festus.
He was dirty because he never bathed.
He irritated Doc Adams and he never shaved.
Talent was something that he never lacked.
When people watched Gunsmoke, they loved to see him act.
Festus bought a car
Quite cheap but second-hand
The horn button broke when he
First pressed it with his hand.
His local paper he did scan
Until he found an ad
Directly from a factory
Horn buttons could be had.
Any car without a horn
Must surely soon be dented
So Festus ordered one
But when it came,lamented.
Sent direct and by return
In a little packet
The article in question was
A button for a jacket!
He wore a floppy, chewed-up hat
And he came to replace Chester,
Who limped off to a better deal
And then let sad feelings fester.
On Gunsmoke they called him Festus,
But his real name was Ken Curtis—
At first no one knew what to think,
Because Chester’s leaving hurt us.
His talk was high and real scratchy
And he spoke with a mountain twang—
Of course it was just put on thick,
For we all knew that he once sang.
Seemed like he needed a close shave,
His whiskers were mangy and wild—
He screwed up his face like Popeye—
It was hard to tell if he smiled.
It just seemed that he was cranky—
Most times had loud words with old Doc—
Out of fun they always quarreled—
Guess we thought that they’d never stop.
There was Marshal Dillon, Newly,
Sam the barkeep and Miss Kitty—
And those jingling spurs of Festus,
Long silent now – it’s such a pity.
Doc, Kitty and Sam are gone, too,
And Gunsmoke is long off the air—
Didn’t know how good Festus was,
Till we looked around and he wasn’t there.
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.