Today is hot; tomorrow, not.
This summer’s been like this a lot.
It’s tough to know which way to go
When making outdoor plans and so,
You must choose twice, that’s my advice,
For just one thought will not suffice.
A lovely hike, which you might like,
Won’t work if temps begin to spike
And pouring rain would be a pain
And cause all parties to complain.
An indoor spot when it is hot
Might be the best choice you have got.
A place to start is where there’s art
Or dinosaurs to tell apart
Or go to eat on any street,
For that can always be a treat.
Once plans are made, don’t be afraid
To change them if your mind’s been swayed
By Nature’s kinks or sidewise winks,
Since that won’t help at all, methinks.
Categories:
sidewise, weather,
Form: Couplet
The Look Is Fast As The Speed of Light
I got the look!
Instantaneous…eyes snap sidewise faster than the speed of light…
Freeze tag pinned in place…
Duh da da duh… I'm in trouble, blown something…
No question… no room for doubt… Yet not really…
Dad's unique cue… falling in between traditional parenting cracks… Straddling between discipline and time to nip this one in the bud…
That I can't believe _____ (fill in the blank) … I'm annoyed… to… well.. fits almost any category
A genetic predisposition… or inheritance?
Who cares? I got it! It's mine!
The girls got the look…
Doug. He's more than a worthy mention. Countless outcries… Don't give me the look!
Too late, once you said “don't” ….it's fait accompli!
Sherry Barton
May 10, 2024
Categories:
sidewise, appreciation, childhood, father, growing
Form: Prose
Snow
falls sidewise
People shiver
Categories:
sidewise, america, weather,
Form: Haiku
It was not the scent that embarrassed me
Nor the sidewise glances here and there
It was a slow phizzing sound that came out
While I slowly passed the gaseous air.
I tried my best to hold it in by tightening
My butt cheeks like a famous levitator
But try as I did, that phizzing sound came out
When I let one loose in the elevator.
written on July 31, 2021
especially for "When I Let One Loose In the Elevator" Poetry Contest
sponsored by Charles Messina
Categories:
sidewise, humorous,
Form: Rhyme
I came upon a spring so fresh and clear
Water washed the pebbles clean
Tiny fish swam so happy and free my dear
Shimmering in the sun gills all a glean
And I closed my eyes and reached down low
A searching for a pebble not a stone
To propel across the waters’ surface all aglow
I the master caster all alone
It felt just right I closed my eyes
I turned my hand a bit sidewise
It skipped across the springs clear edge
Remarkable as if it were possessed
And revolved itself in the whirlpool
A hapless pebble skipped back to a fool
I cast it out but again in awe I watched
It skidded the surface a marvel unmatched
A wondrous sight to my eyes alone
A pebble skipper quite at home.
Categories:
sidewise, adventure,
Form: Bio
awaken
chatter
distillate
spread out
charm
guess
welcome
host
bluff
forage
then
sidewise
retreat
Categories:
sidewise, word play,
Form: List
I'll tell you,son, about the Birds and Bees,
Not much can be more important than these.
I will tell you the facts right from the start.
There are many roads that lead to the heart.
But the many roads start from the same place-
It's called a flirt and it starts in the face.
Now the purpose of the flirt is well known,
It's the first act to make someone your own.
There are two tools that put your face to work -
The eyes and mouth are where a flirt will lurk.
Now the eyes are made to flirt more than see -
A wink, a roll, a stare, a sidewise glance
Are powerful tools in this mating dance.
The mouth brings forth a smile, a laugh, a pout -
And hints at what flirting is all about
Now practice will give you the skills you need,
And flirts coming your way you'll see indeed.
So these are the tools of the mating dance -
Our next lesson will deal with the romance.
But for now, my son, go flirt as you will
Then we'll talk of romance, there is time still
November 30, 2016
For contest Flirt
Categories:
sidewise, education,
Form: Couplet
The golden grain stretched out like sheets
upon the Kansas plain, like birthright, innocent
behind the festered sun.
Some were unaware of upstarts
in the rolling Minnesota countryside,
defiant to the blistering avalanche of corn.
There were the sidewise glances,
prudent in their reticence, worn pencils
tucked behind their bibs, the markets'
vagaries aswim, Chicago far the east of home.
In Iowa as well,
the warriors of the plough,
the timeless men of bread,
the conquerors of earth and sinew,
beast and baronet,
to thread the cloth of motherland
before our birth.
Thereto in Illinois, my cradle sanctuary
nested from the mountains
and the alien sea; I was the listener
within this deep midwestern ground.
It is not still where I have been;
the voices and the footfalls
make their print in time
and may not be erased.
And though my ashes fly in space
my breath, my bliss, my bower
rests forever in the heartland of the earth.
~
Categories:
sidewise, home, , western,
Form: Free verse