Gun shots popped.
Revelers dropped and bled.
Most ran.
The injured lay
on the trash-covered ground.
Some stayed and covered
the wounded or dead.
The shooter was found and shot.
Or maybe he turned the gun on himself.
But he comes back again,
the same rage in a different cell,
the same soul in a different skin.
The crime has not been solved.
Let’s call it what it is:
A serial killing spree.
Open wounds are re-shot
shattering nerves and floating debris—
a stronger blast hits the same spot.
We cannot heal.
We have no real security.
Is it time to say,
“Mountains, fall on us!
We don’t want to see anymore.”?
Or is this another isolated incident
in a neighbor’s back yard
that we can ignore?
Rita A. Simmonds
Early October, 2017
It was Hannah’s young dream to win golds,
At Paralympics because she was born blind,
So she races in the visually impaired class,
S12 along with many other blind swimmers.
Both Hannah’s parents are sporty and athletic,
So they wanted Hannah to participate in sport,
So they all chose swimming having no focus,
No balls, no team mates, others to focus on.
Hannah loved it, and after seeing Simmonds,
Swimming at the Beijing Paralympics in 2008,
She asked her parents if she could swap clubs,
‘Cos she wanted to take the risk, do more hours.
At the 2012 London Games Hannah won thrice,
A silver for the 400m freestyle, bronze for back,
And another bronze for the 100m S12 butterfly.
In the 2013 Worlds she took 3 silvers, 1 bronze.
In 2015 at the Worlds again, this time in Glasgow,
Hannah sealed 1 gold medal in the 50m freestyle,
And another silver 100m freestyle, so in Portugal,
At the Euros 2016, she won one of each medal.
In Rio she took the gold for the 100m backstroke,
In a time of 1:06.06, 6 seconds faster than Matio;
She trains, exercises in Woking Swimming Club,
And studies sports science at Salford University.
Ellie became instantly popular on Twitter,
For her Rio entrance to the 50m butterfly,
Which became known affectionately as,
The “gangster entrance”, her huge jacket.
Ellie was diagnosed in November of 2012,
Just after the London Paralympic Games,
When she was inspired by Ellie Simmonds,
To get into the pool and achieve ambitions -
She was diagnosed with Perthes hip disease,
Already she had achondroplasia, dwarfism,
But this meant she has physio every day,
A tough routine which perhaps you adjust to.
Her first international senior was 2015 Berlin -
She’s only fifteen, born on 30th August 2001 -
At the Internationale Deutsche Meisterschaften,
Where she set a WR, took 1 silver, 1 bronze.
On the run-up to Rio at the Euros in Portugal,
Ellie won a silver in the 50 metres butterfly S6,
Bronzes in the 50m, 100m and 400m freestyle,
So in Rio she won gold butterfly, bronze free.
Just like that, without an inkling
A voice inside started talking
Good or bad, dance or sing
Get up and do your heart’s thing
Fly attached or solo but do bring
Some wind under that placid wing
Violet to red and all in between
Taste the unknown, unseen
Pack light, act fast and explore
It blatantly seemed to implore
Worry less, smile and laugh more
Heal spots that still feel sore
Bright summer does dwindle
Gray winter works its spindle
I stared at my brow in the vanity mirror
The lone silver hair appeared clearer
Written on 07/13/2016 for contest
Something Seemingly Insignificant and Unexpected Changed My Life
by Rita A.Simmonds
Born in Walsall but growing up in Aldridge,
Ellie was born with achondroplasia to bridge,
She ended up at Olchfa School in Swansea,
With a larger swimming pool, destiny to see.
She was born on the 11th of November 1994,
At an age of 5 she opened the swimming door,
Her coach for her young life was Ashley Cox,
Who made her into a phenomenon that rocks.
When just 13, she won two sparkling golds,
For the 100m and the 400m freestyle folds,
At Beijing in 2008 where the Paras occurred,
And so was picked for the 2012’s, referred.
In those vibrant Paralympics of London city,
Ellie did win the S6 category with great ability,
Because she got gold for the 400m yet again,
And also won the 200 Individual Medley pen.
She’s an OBE since 2013 in the Honours List,
Was the Young Sports Personality 2008, gist,
She also won a silver and a bronze in London,
And has two gold postboxes to proudly spawn.
Looking back at the Earth, I can't really describe how beautiful it is from 300 miles up. Looking down, you can tell it's a planet. The sky is black. There's just a thin blue ribbon, what we see as blue sky on Earth. You realize how small it is and how fragile the planet is...............by Astronaut Mike Good:
a thin blue crescent
of earth from the moon looks like
a jewelled head band
crowning a young queen
on a dark night when her love
slides a sapphire hoop
silver stars sparkle
above this clear azure line
making love life snug
May 13, 2016
For Rita A. Simmonds
A stripe of blue in an ocean of black
Three hundred miles below
At the still time before a thunderstorm
There lies the dazzling beauty
A miniscule of infinity in a blue ribbon glistening in night sky
On the black crescent earth
Dumb, we feel dumb, in the tempest of mirth
From three hundred miles up a tiny blue speckle
A sense of pity in our entity
As we sometimes feel
Looking at a vast ocean from its shore
How poor our reality is
Our home and hearth
Just a speck in space
So was the mercury across the sun
Here in Kolkata yesterday
A dot, a fleck, almost of no worth
Yet we can yearn and earn many sublimes
Your beautiful face in starlit chimes
The world of our thoughts is mighty complex
As we reflect
On the myriad emotions
And the associated countless notions
Flooding over our perception
As we look back dazed from so high up
At the majestic blue ribbon
That is our earth
Environed by black night space
A moment ideal
Real blending in the surreal
___________________________________________
May 10, 2016/30 Lines
Submission for “Just a Thin Blue Ribbon” – Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Rita A. Simmonds