Sprucing Poems

ribbons are memories

The fresh round-faced babe wears a teeny ribbon in her hair
Did they attach it with a bit of glue or what?
It is the only indicator she might be a she.

Little girls in Sunday school have ribbons on their socks,
Their collars, the edges of lace on their dresses
Their satin sheen shines up nicely, sprucing them a bit

Boys are not eager to get ribbons unless they are Iowa 4-H boys
Entering their livestock – lambs, calf, sow or steer in a fair
The white green and yellow ribbons do not mean much
But the blue and purple ribbons give them much to smile about

Girls are growing up, entering pageants, wearing a fat vertical ribbon
Saying Miss New Jersey, Corn Queen, or Pancake Princess
Brides dangle ribbons under their bridal bouquet
Ribbons are memories, tucked away in albums,
Brought out to admire when nostalgia prances about.

friends and comrades

bathroom tiles
never clean
except for the first week
before anyone takes a shower

kitchen tiles
in a variety of designs and colors
glass, ceramic, metallic,
sprucing up the area before spaghetti sauce hits them

large black and white floor tiles of a restaurant
a necessity if the juke box and chrome chairs are to pull off
the ambiance of the fifties

seven tiles of a scrabble game
when using them all you get fifty extra points
KLINCRE becomes the word crinkle

no tile better than another
no snotty attitude or mean ways
friends and comrades

Every Ache In The World

Jim starts the day with good intention
Jobs need doing that require his attention.
The garden needs a good sprucing up
His vegetation 'triffids' are running amok.

He mows the lawn, trims the hedges,
Creates those nice, neat lined edges.
Weeds the borders, deadheads the flowers,
Feeds the plants their nutritional powers.

The hard soil is dug, ready and prepped
To sow the seeds for home grown veg.
Must not forget to prune back the tree
A labour of love is what it can be.

Hours of work that seemed never ending 
His body and limbs, stretching and bending.
Sun burnt skin, his head now aches
Back is killing him, so takes a break.

Joints and muscles moan and groan
Weeds now gone are finally dethroned.
Jim's bones applaud with clicks and cracks
His badge was the sting when a wasp attacked.

Admiring his garden that he has served
His body felt it carried every ache in the world.
The thing Jim will remember and quickly did learn
To wear factor fifty to avoid the sunburn.

             29.08.24

The Annual Ugly Bug Ball

The world of insects is adither and abuzz
About the biggest party bash that ever was.
Their favorite time is near,
It comes just once a year,
The Annual Ugly Bug Ball.

Caterpillars, centipedes, and honeybees
Are sprucing up and rubbing rouge upon their knees.
Their costumes are brand new,
And soon they're going to
The Annual Ugly Bug Ball.

Moths and butterflies are practicing their dips,
The Arachnida are limbering up their hips,
And ants who love to dance 
Hope they'll find romance
At this year's Ugly Bug Ball.

Both the mantises are planning to be there,
Such an elegant, sophisticated pair.
The husband is ideal
As dancing partner and a meal.
One mating tango, though, and he'll have done his share.

When the time comes they'll start streaming toward the hall,
Some will flutter, others scurry, creep, or crawl.
They'll frolic until break of day
To music the cicadas play
At the Annual Ugly Bug Ball.

The Back Burner

If there’s one thing I excel at,
(I am really quite a pro)
It is using the back burner,
Which, in case you didn’t know

Means procrastination, baby!
Putting things off for so long
I forget I meant to do them,
Which I guess is kind of wrong.

Still, I do deserve some credit -
The ideas are all my own:
Swapping couches for replacements 
Or an upgrade for my phone,

Sprucing shelves up in the kitchen,
Ditching clothes that I don’t wear,
Having floors both stained and sanded,
Planning trips to who-knows-where.

Once I pounce upon a project,
I do research so I know
All the people I must contact 
So I’ll be all set to go.

You’d think gathering the info
Would present the hardest part,
But for pros like me, that’s nothing -
What we cannot do is START!

Beautiful Miss Rabbit

The beautiful Miss Rabbit entered the parlor with her usual smile.
We had not enjoyed her presence for many days, quite a little while.
We began shining up our whiskers and sprucing up our rabbit ears.
That she might not pay attention to us was many old-timers’ fears.

She is gorgeous! One old rabbit said, thumping his foot in time.
I could not believe he thought he had a chance. He was full of grime.
She is marvelous, wonderful, pristinely neat, darling and clean.
Why would he think he had a chance with Miss Rabbit, our queen?

Location

My home is small but cozy.
My furniture is old.
It’s all in need of sprucing up,
Or so I have been told.

But just a block of walking
Brings the river into view
Where benches sit there waiting – 
There’s not much I’d rather do.

I’ve heard, when searching for a home,
Location is the key;
My apartment near the river
Is the perfect place for me.

Yearn Not For the Ships That Sailed

Applauding sun’s halo~ inspiring, rewarding,
Mindfully I rise with the ebullient awakening
Letting soul enliven while robins are singing
And horizon crimson glimmers in dawning.

I hold time still for the blossoms of spring,
Rivers that burble sprucing green prairies
And blue tides bouncing summer’s revelry 
And resplendent dazzle of autumnal leaves.

Every memento of love I treasure in delight, 
In embrace of family, I cheer life sublime
Rejoicing when I sense success in their eyes
Celebrating milestones of things done right.

Realizing I own a mere fraction of eternity
Elated I feel holding just a speck of infinity
Succeeding more often than failing or quitting
Coping resolutely with poor hand of destiny.

I shun nightmares, choosing dreams of night
Lifting troubled mind when grief occupies,
When darkness rules, I invoke moonlit skies
And paint on visage of hope blissful smiles.

I yearn not for the ships that already sailed,
Regret not having tried the conquests I failed,
But I chase prospects of aspirations deferred
Yet, remain focused on things that matter.

July 20, 2021
Placed 1st: Motivation poetry contest
Sponsor: Shreya LN

Freshly Painted Door

I am freshly painted
Feeling smug
Upstaging the walls of my cottage

I am feeling new
They are old
I am arrogant about it

No one chastises me
They are kind
It makes me feel guilty

I suggest they could use sprucing up
They laugh at my young self
Pointing out their love of being aged

I suddenly feel too fresh
Too new
Too modern

Relax say the walls
Just be you
We love you the way you are

Sage advice from the ancient ones
I settle down
Attempting to age as fast as I can

Faith Dedication

Faith In God


           Wrapped in peace, wakened by solace
           unconditional love eminates
           Sheltered by purest of promise
           His guiding nurture advocates

           Perfectly designed by our Shepherd
           Receptive heart's sprucing allowed
           By His Grace, from weakness protected 
           With trust's sturdy outlook endowed



          
         Written for Competition: Faith in God 
                 Let The Pens Flow  -  Rhyme 
              Sponsored by:  Jenish Somades

                            23rd June 2020

Christmas Scintilla

Christmas scintilla dressed in Holiday cheer 
Merry Christmas has become something dear
Though Santa is sprucing up his new red suit,   
its good old St. Nick that I loved, in my youth
Yuletide greetings coming from a lit computer 
Santa used to fly on a sled  and not a scooter  
I'll take an old fashioned Christmas of beauty 
over a modern Christmas, of gifts and duty ...

Interlude

Shed the coat and hat and scarf
'Cause today, I'll bet,
If the sun comes out you will
Be drip-drip-dripping sweat.

Take a walk or grab your bike.
Note emerging blooms
Sprucing up the landscape
For the springtime, one assumes.

Just don't get too comfy;
Leave some sweaters in your drawers,
Since temps on Sunday will return
To those with winter's roars.

Life Line

But she sees things 
In a different light
Where most would land
She takes flight

What seems simple to most
She couldn’t quite master
Her peers, on a float
She’s climbing a ladder

Some things, however,
Come easy as pie
She’s witty and clever
She sees the big why

A word generator 
And charmer to boot
High class negotiator
And a looker too

An artist of course
A starving dreamer
Acknowledged the source
Friendly demeanor 

Sprucing up the world
With aesthetic hues
Such a colorful girl
Liberal views

Never an outcast 
In her circle
Her horizons vast
From yellow to purple

Her equivalent bubble
Housed all walks of life
For, she knows the struggle
Of balancing the line

The Pope Is Coming

Many people are sprucing up the Quaker City.
Everything must appear clean and pretty.
They anticipate the last weekend in September.
That will be one all of Philadelphia will remember.
Countless visitors will be Philly bound.
Not one vacant hotel room in the city will be found.
There may be some difficulty for commuters to get around.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority
will be selling train passes to a select few by lottery.
Restaurants and stores are expecting a boom in business.
What do you think will be the cause of all of this?
Philadelphia will be visited by Pope Francis.

Stuffed

A special November day
for children, laughter and play.
To others, a day full of loved ones.
A meal too big for all, plates ladened with love.
Amazing how we relate love to stuffing.
Father and son eye the sport,
belts unbuckled, bare bellies rubbed.
Saving the dishes for later,
joyful colors adorn humble abodes,
sprucing up dreary days.
Day one of the rejoicing era 
is soon to follow.

• Short Sprucing Poems
• Famous Sprucing Poems
• Best Sprucing Poems
• Read Sprucing Poems
• Long Sprucing Poems
• Sprucing Quotes