Everybody keeps asking me, “Hey Jerry.”
Are all the things you write about really true.
‘Cause they find it pretty hard to believe,
I’ve done all of the things I say I do.
If I really did all I said I have
then by my calculations it appears
That it would cost about ten million bucks
and I would have to live two hundred years
I will say there are some things I’ve written
that are based upon some facts that are true
As to which ones are real and which ones not
I will leave that decision up to you
I can say life has all manner of things
happy and sad - good and bad - false and true
The best thing about anything I write
Is when I’m allowed to share them with you
Categories:
ozarks, poetry,
Form: Rhyme
My Valley
Tucked away in the north-central part of the state, about ten miles or so from where the clear and slow-moving water of the Grand River mixes with the quickly rolling mud of the Missouri River. Was my isolated valley. A tiny insignificant place dotted with small farms and rolling pastureland of bluestem, switch, and Indian grass. Somewhere just off the beaten path and a little left of “where the hell am I anyway”. From high up in the hills where the Crabapple and Cottonwood creeks merge just outside Log Cabin Station, there is a small creek that begins to snake its way south for thirty miles or so along the northern boundary of that rich Sugar Maple bottom land. For seventy centuries the Sioux Indians fished, hunted, and thrived there. They were the first to speak its name. The abundance of wildlife in the area led them to believe that that small waterway was the ‘River of the Great Spirit’, and they called it…Wakenda.
Life moves in circles,
Like the oceans ebb and flow,
There are no shortcuts.
Categories:
ozarks, poetry,
Form: Haibun
Caves and lakes, pine trees, apple orchards.
Festivals to honor summer, spring, and fall.
Arkansas has the hillbilly music I grew up on.
Blue grass too. Grab a fiddle and join us!
The roads are winding and hilly for this is the Ozarks.
If you are visiting Arkansas, make it in the fall
When the apples, pumpkins and gourds are ready.
Everything will be decorated in lively oranges and yellows.
There is a diamond mine, recommended highly.
I have started out there several times but stopped along the way
And spent my money on homemade honey and biscuits,
Jimmy Dean sausage and enough gravy to soak a car.
They believe in country hospitality
Big breakfasts, large families, feuds,
Story-telling, whittling, and diddling.
It is a nice place to relax and take a breath.
Categories:
ozarks, adventure, america, travel, usa,
Form: Blank verse
I love these Ozark hills,
that lie amidst the rocks and hills.
The sunshine and rain, and harves of grain
and the call of the whipporwill,
The beautiful trees that sway with the breeze,
The neighbors are friendly and kind;
There's much to be had,
to make your heart glad;
and bring you peace of mind.
The beautiful rivers and lakes so blue,
and wildwood flowers of every hue;
You can fish and hunt to your heart's content
and relax at the close of day.
You can feel you have a wonderful life,
living the Ozark way.
Categories:
ozarks, life, beautiful, beautiful,
Form: Free verse