Glenn Campbell sang of Wichita
Trini Lopez of Kansas City
Otis Redding crooned of Sausalito, CA
Sittin’ on the dock of a bay
Chicago was Sinatra’s kind of town
He belted out the refrain
Guthrie’s ‘City of New Orleans’
Turned out be an Illinois train
So why don’t they sing of Annapolis!
It rhymes with Minneapolis and Indianapolis
And fifty-four astronauts graduated the Naval Academy
~ Updating ‘Anchors Aweigh’ would gladden me
Categories:
sausalito, celebrity, city, flying, music,
Form: Rhyme
is a mass hysteria
induced by the sound
of Indies short-tailed crickets mating,
not, as conspiracy would have it,
the result of a sonic weapon,
a microwave attack,
or malfunctioning eavesdropping equipment.
Likewise, the Sausalito Hum
was not a snooping Russian sub,
or newly laid electric cable.
No, blame the love sick plainfin midshipman,
a simple toadfish sounding off like a foghorn.
Pay no attention to the banshee cry of the lynx,
or to the brush-tail possum sounding off like machinery grinding,
not to puffins like chainsaws,
not to cheetahs chirping,
not to koalas bellowing,
not to ptarmigans chatting like cartoon characters.
Stories of spying and international espionage might be exciting,
but Mother Nature is much more surprising!
Inspired by "Animals Keep Creating Mysteries by Sounding Weird", Ed Yong, The Atlantic, January 8, 2019.
Categories:
sausalito, nature,
Form: Narrative
Her name is Apogee Sausalito,
she is tiny, feisty and black;
when she romps with Tricia,
she thinks she's a cat.
The crafty feline hides
on the dining room chair;
'round and 'round the table,
the dog circles her there.
Behind the tablecloth,
the cat keeps watch;
reaches out with her paw,
and gives S'Lito a swat.
It's a game they both love;
each day's regular routine,
we enjoy their frisky antics
with morning coffee and cream.
Categories:
sausalito, animal, cat, dog, morning,
Form: Quatrain
Each morning I wake
eager to search online;
the latest news,
messages from friends,
funny videos on U-Tube,
or love notes from relatives living
in Belleville, Casper, or Sausalito.
The top-drawer of any morning
is listening to a familiar voice
pronounce names of notable writers,
born on said date, and list
their quirks, achievements,
titles of books written, etc.
Each day, he reads a poem
chosen to inform, comfort,
or entertain his audience,
the timbre of his voice as soothing
as a soft rain falling on a canopy.
I wait for his closing message,
and my voice joins his farewell
as we say these words together,
“Be well, do good work,
and keep in touch.”
No morning is complete
without The Writer's Almanac.
Categories:
sausalito, appreciation, books, morning, poetry,
Form: Free verse
Mary Jane, what an unusual girl you are.
You have fans that live both near and far.
They call your name from Bangor to Sausalito.
How popular you are from Fairbanks to Hilo.
It doesn’t take much for you to grow.
You seem to be the only girl some folks want to know.
Coming in a bag loaded with stems and seed,
your leaves are the only things we need.
We just adore having you around for company.
However, you can’t make your presence legally.
We wrap you up in some paper clandestinely.
Then, you can make us high as we want to be.
Categories:
sausalito, passion, girl,
Form: Rhyme