Surely there is a phantom here
As I jerk my head in sudden fear
Praying for those I hold so dear
Sensing movement that is very near
If it happened just the one time
I'd dismiss it as nickel-and-dime
But more than once - has to be sublime
And this happens in the daytime
Birds on the feeder are not shaken
And my senses are not mistaken
So this cannot be godforsaken
But prayers the phantom has a stake in
We do not know how we should pray
So this phantom helps us in His way
With groanings we cannot hear or say
Interceding for us as we pray
I must testify to the Spirit's aid
His assistance is deeply laid
Great care and effort powerfully made
Our prayers to the Father conveyed
Xmas is here tonight
At midnight, what a night!
Let's write a bad poem about Christmas
Before the Midnight Mass
As we offer our best wishes to all on the planet
This is it
Santa Claus is sliding in the chimney
Hurray, hurray!
Papa Noël is coming to town to bring gifts
Garlic, olive oil and onion
To everyone
Stop all types of cheats.
Long live Papa Noël
Who hates to dwell
On negative things
Santa Claus stutters and sings
All the time
And he will never nickel and dime
The poor, the crazy and the pelicans
Except the poor Republicans.
Long Live Santa Claus
Regardless
Of our mess
He has been fair to all of us.
If you like this poem
Please wish your friends and neighbors
A very Merry Christmas and many Happy New Years
To come
Oh! Ho
Ho, Ho!
This is a gaffe
For Baby Jesus: laugh and laugh.
Copyright © December 2014, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved.
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poems.
My soul started yearning
And my feet grew all restless
To see the old hometown
And the place I was born.
Out back of my old house
Sweet nature was waiting,
The woods of my youth
Were calling me home.
I drove all that night
And half the next morning
I pulled up to our place
Where strangers now lived.
Things looked pretty good
Till I checked out the backyard
And rows of new houses
Where the woods used to live.
I asked an old neighbor
Now gray and decrepit,
Where is the oak forest
Where we all used to play?
He said it's all gone now
Except for the memories,
A big old bulldozer
Has scraped them away.
They put up these houses
On top of each other
And squeezed the old woods
For each nickel and dime.
The trees are all gone now
Except for the memories,
A big old bulldozer
Has scraped them away.
I got back in my car
And headed for Bristol,
Didn't stop driving
For a night and a day.
I gazed at the trees
That stood on my woodlot
And swore no damn dozer
Would scrape them away.
Tumultuous tale told and taught throughout time
Chiding cheers and chants and church bells chime
Parishioners of pastors who've past their prime
Claims of cunning conquers and cryptic crime
Daunt deeds to deviants dying for a nickel and dime
Grieve for the gains gone-by who grovel in grime
Sent forth by a sovereign who sought sublime
Messengers now muted no more than mime
Rue the revered who suit to rewrite the rhyme
Cast off couriers contrary to who create the crime
The nineteen fifties were an innocent time.
We could buy a comic book with a nickel and dime.
Our dances were lively, but girls wore shorts under a dress.
Being tossed by the boys, who never went around shirtless.
Malt shops were on corners, and we could have a cherry coke.
We were protective of each other. Friendly, we always spoke.
Maybe it is because I grew up in a small Iowa farming town.
We watched out for each other, and we helped up who was down.
The nineteen fifties weddings were simple and quite sweet.
We served cake, punch, mints and nuts, it was a lovely treat.
The bride and groom were thrilled with each gift, showing appreciation.
We knew how to uplift each other and enjoy each cherished celebration.
A nickel and dime
Had lost their shine
When they slipped into the old couch in the parlor
Their paths have been crossed
When they both had got lost
When they were exchanged from change of a dollar
The dime and the nickel
Still both in a pickle
But they know they'll be found in due time
But until they do
They'll stick together like glue
Until they get found and cleaned from their grime
Nursery Rhyme Poetry Contest 3
Sponsor: Eve Roper
3/23/2021
Thomas was a doubter
Not a pouter
Day was bright
Sunny no clouds in sight
God’s gift warm and temperatures just right
But there was Danny the weatherman
Predicting things behind a five and dime stand
“There is something big headed our way
Filled with high winds I must say
Lightning and thunder
Will be the wonder”
Thomas didn’t believe the word
And headed out to see the swirl
“Before you leave
I would like you to believe
In what I see
A problem is brewing
Preparation is what you should be doing”
Thomas shrugged his shoulders
Feeling these warnings are colder
Decided to put them in his thoughtful folder
“Could you please spare a nickel and dime?
Payment to hear the information from my mind,”
Danny asked
After performing the forecasting task
Being a man Thomas decided to confront
To see what the forces of nature want
Ocean waves were making surf rougher
A message to Thomas ‘you better get tougher’
Skies started out blue
Grey entered the picture too
Night arrived time to hit the sack
Peacefully waited for the meteorological attack
Tune in tomorrow
And the results to this rainy day horror
One cent, two cents,
Nickel and dime
Two bits, four bits,
A dollar this time.
Ship me a grasshopper
Do me a crime
Fly like a whippoorwill
O'er Anaheim.
Springtime easing into summertime
Euphoric she was in her prime
She had mountains to climb
Dreams of a lifetime
Magnificent and sublime
T’was when she ran into a mime
In the midst of his pantomime
Trying to make a nickel and dime
This distraction turned out to be a crime
Just some icky slime and grime
In the meantime losing track of time
So much to do before bedtime
To take advantage of clement clime
Better moving overdrive into overtime
Before daytime turned to nighttime
T’was then she heard the chime
While she was still in her prime
Still had those mountains to climb
And all those dreams of a lifetime
Magnificent and sublime
AP: 3rd place 2020
Sin
Release your thoughts, await the applause;
Of course I release you from all your chores.
What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is yours;
I need nothing from you, but I shall take all that which is yours.
Place your bookmark at the end of the chapter;
We both know what comes after,
You turn out the light.
But we shall hold our tongue,
Because of all those things that you have done.
We shall forgive you your sins,
If you sing this hymn
And beg for forgiveness,
From the one they call Him.
Don’t play dice with the Devil,
It’s snake eyes every time.
Don’t ever owe him,
After he takes your nickel and dime.
Old Nick will not miss a trick if you relax around him,
So jinx him and leave him to wallow in his beloved sin.
I banish you curse to an ungodly land,
Where man walks alone, because he is accused and condemned.
(C)2016 Aa Harvey. All Rights Reserved.
Tin can pan alley cat man
Nickel and dime No money blues
Also-ran derelict on the run no shoes
In the Bank or Under the Mattress
By Elton Camp
Decades ago, it was hidden at home folks kept their dough
But they had to be concerned that it might be stolen, though
Nowadays, most of us deposit our funds into some bank
But it’s still subject to thieves who are more vile and rank
Bankers, unlike robbers, won’t take your money all at one time
But through multiple fees they drain it away, nickel and dime
We pay the banks monthly for having the free use of our cash
Then are charged check writing fees to make our teeth gnash
The banks’ own debit cards they urge that we should use
Then establish various fees, just whatever they may choose
Even if we don’t put money in or take a single dime out
Then we will learn what an “Inactivity Fee” is all about
At some, if to an actual human teller you want to speak
Then a special fee of doing that they will proceed to seek
On our savings, the interest the bank pays is miniscule
Less than one percent at most is the established rule
I’ve been thinking about all of this abuse pretty hard
I’m about to decide to bury my money in the back yard
You can give up that nasty habit if you try.
Just think of all the things your money will buy.
Each one of those houses is a den of debauchery.
They are clip joints just out to get your money.
When you dump at the tables or feed the machines,
the end result is usually some egregious scenes.
If you win, consider it a loan at the time.
You will return to pay back every nickel and dime.
Being broke is where most adventures will lead.
The house takes advantage of the weakness called greed.
Greed is the deadliest of the seven deadly sins.
In the long run, only the house is the one who wins.
we try to make a dollar stretch
but never wonder why
when all the credit cards and checks
createdanother pie
but if you try to get a piece
they say that you're in debt
but how is that when you take lease
plus you created it
i see this system has its flaws
thru which abusers slip
but keep us clamped inside these jaws
with never ending grip
i simply see it all the time
how many of us play
continue to nickel and dime
when you could quit today
You were in love with me
While I'd tell you I didn't love you,
And you continued on for a space...
Until I finally fell in love with you.
But you fell out with me
And kept telling me to my face.
Then my promised love got exhausted
While you were replenished;
Yet, you say it wasn't from my endeavors.
And now you're back in love with me.
But since... I've fallen out with you;
You franticly pull all my handles and levers.
Pushing all my buttons you realize
That we have never been in love
With each other at the exact same time,
And we know it's a crying shame
How quickly we always fall out
Exchanging rich love to nickel and dime.
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