I have gotten the kentucky blues because I had so much to lose
I lost my family and I lost my friends and it seemed like it would never end.
I lost my job, then I lost my house and was married to a louse.
I had kids who didn't care yet their problems with me they'd share.
Everything I did would go wrong and I felt like I didn't belong.
So I got down on my knees and prayed for the Lord to help me find a better way.
When I had fallen asleep that night - my heart, body and soul took flight it took me to a place i had never been before and showed me how to open the doors.
On the door a message I read look to FAITH, HOPE, LOVE, instead
That is where the answer lies for God is there by your side
(C) L.Rams 050926
Despite the heaviness of grief,
I am beginning to feel that magic
that comes with Spring in Kentucky
The beauty of blooming flowers and trees
the bluegrass starts to grow
the bees flitter about, polinating
and distrubuting the magic
the animals and their babies
start coming out in natural places
with the occasional wildlife
turning up in backyards and parks
Children flock to parks and open spaces
Kentucky is a magical place year round,
but esspecially in Spring!
Today is Derby Day
It is a big day in Kentucky
I have never attended,
but I try to watch each year
I love to see the dresses
and the fancy hats
and the beautiful, strong
horses give their all
It is a special day that people
in other states may not
think is a big deal
but I love Derby Day
when out birding, woodpeckers are one of my favorite finds
in Kentucky, where i live there are seven different kinds
the smallest is the Downy and they seem to like my suet feeders best
I always see them in a pair so I hope nearby is their nest
next we have the Hairy and its just bigger by a bit
in the evenings they seem most active so I like to go outside and sit
a Red Bellied woodpecker visits one of my trees each day
I am pretty sure when I hear its call it asking me to play
Northern Flickers have speckles and a black patch on its chest
Its feathers are mostly brown, and not black and white like the rest
Yellow Bellied Sapsucker is my favorite one to say
I spotted my very first one in a field of flowers on a hot summer day
the Pileated is the largest and loudest and a majestic one to see
they like to make their nests in the cavity of a large dead tree
the last is the wood-cockaded that I have yet to spot
its rare and likes pine forests but I will give it my best shot
October gallops in as stolid as a gray mare,
a blunt wind snorts furiously through autumnal trees.
Foliage rattles, but does not fall, it clings still
to green stems.
Appalachian backwoods have tough roots,
shod as they are into an earth salted
with a dark gritty ore.
Bears are foraging and reaping,
their black silky pelts clamber over gusting winds
to reach the furthest fruits
before first snows overburden stoic pines.
Today the sky is unharnessed
and racing at full tilt
It whips my raw lips like a wet mane,
it rears up to stamp down upon its own
animated onslaught.
I adjust my rucksack and reshoulder a shotgun
grin, eyes watering
caught under the stampeding gale,
buffeted now by its muscular flanks.
I need to bridle this striding wind,
to halter its headlong charge,
or better yet just surrender -
turn my back on it,
let it ride me
as we leap down from the hilltops
whooping it up like cowboys.
The gates open as a large crowd starts rushing in
A day of pomp and pageantry is about to begin
It is the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs home of the Kentucky Derby
Top 3-year-olds from around the world circle the track in a frenzied hurry
The jockeys with their colorful outfits mount their horses
In just a few moments they will chart their course
The crowd is a sea of black and white colors with ladies wearing exquisite hats
Mint Juleps flow freely amongst the crowd as the patrons raise their glasses
A tribute to horses and jockeys 160 thousands people join in to sing My Old Kentucky Home
In a few minutes, the race will be run and the winner will be known
The horses are released from the starting gate the wait is over the race has begun
In the end, the horse I bet on comes out on top making the race that much more fun
As swift behooves,
In challenging quest,
Competitive hearts,
Race their best,
A treasure to win,
One measurable test,
For equine ones,
The World's Best.
new renditions to have compared later. This is with As starting out on first line.
A friend was he to you and me.
Like me, he was a poet and a teacher,
Gosh, I think he’d even been a preacher!
I liked that he enjoyed using lots of poetry forms
and also that he stuck to grammar rules
even though not everyone
might find that cool!
His soul was true to what he knew,
and if with him I disagreed,
there would never be a need
for us to hurl
words at one another that were cruel.
I liked that he was kind.
In that regard, we were of the same mind.
New Year's Eve 2022
First time entered in a contest.
Submitted for Brian Strand's 'You Select" contest
There was a lady from Kentucky,
Whose husband always played hockey,
She wrote poems on magic,
Until there was a tragic,
Her husband was turned into a key.
December 11, 2022.
Legend of goat man of pop lick trestle
prominent in the stories of mountain folk
blue grass anomaly seen by a few
chilling bluegrass spotters who become hypnotized
some local hillbillies affected jump off the trestle
landing a hundred feet below on sharp gravel
terrifying to passengers of oncoming train
he uses voice mimicry to lure many to their deaths
common story in floyd, Kentucky
known by few newcomers or interlopers
shared by old timers in hushed whispers
waitress listens and rolls her eyes at their tale
There once was an overweight chicken
Who feared she'd become finger lickin'
She let out a loud squawk
At the sight of a fork
And shot from the Coop panic stricken
3 November 2022
Syllable counter.. poetry soup
I am an old man
a deep well
an epoch marriage
a raven haired beauty
five above average kids
Orion deckhand and cook
teacher of the year
Bible study leader
jail preacher
song worship leader
NAU graduate --graduate school
ASU graduate --undergraduate school
life guard
breakfast cook
English tutor
Archie Brokeshoulder's well puller
grain elevator operator
pizza chef
dishwasher
mental hospital patient
prisoner
welder
all region linebacker
wrestler
pole vaulter
3 high schools
4 jr highs
2 elementary schools
8 states
2 dads
5 moms
6 sisters
4 brothers
13 presidents
I am an old man
I'll swim a mile
this morning
and dance
all night
golf tomorrow
backpack Europe
visit kids in Montana
come back to Arizona
visit kids in Kentucky
do more Europe
come back to Arizona
swim and golf
then who knows
India, Nepal, Tibet
I am an old man
looking for something
The Horse.
A horse gives joy to everyone,
By those that ride them just for fun.
There are others that race them, a quarter mile,
and those that do it Kentucky style.
We also see them trot and pace,
and teams with wagons, that love to race.
They are also quick to run a steer,
and buck a cowboy without any fear.
We see them jump a fence and wall,
and play the sport of Polo, with a mallet and ball.
Their elegance and rhythm we admire,
with a magical movement, they inspire.
They will control an unruly crowd,
that often becomes offensive, and very loud.
They are also used for ceremonial events, to honor Dignitaries past and present,
they are more than a sport for Kings, but are a challenge for others, to achieve many things.
There’s a young married man in Kentucky
Who finds all touchy-feely stuff yucky
He is so uptight
he shakes hands goodnight
He says he’d like kids, but some guys aren’t lucky
2/11/22
November in Kentucky
Outside my windows
Morning is gray again.
November kidnaps the sunrise sun
Leaving gray,
Day after day,
Weakening the spirit…
So eyes close
Casting sight to blackness
That drifts to dreaming
Radiant scenes.
———————————————————————-
(c) sally young Eslinger 11/2021
Glory to God
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