Johnny Ray was a high-flyin' rock star
His songs thrilled teenyboppers near and far
Yet Johnny wanted more
Not some two-bit punk whore
But a woman who could pluck his guitar
Spring
magical, aromatic
exhilarating, mystifying, uplifting
toddlers, teenyboppers, grown-ups, oldies
jumping, singing, rejoicing
elated, emboldened
Rebirth
11 May 2021
For " Spring or Summer Diamante Poetry Contest"
Sponsored by Caren Krutsinger
2nd place
Times Square was once a sleazy place;
You wouldn’t go alone there.
When darkness fell, you held on or
You’d lose all that you owned there.
Today, though, it’s like Disney World,
With tourists, loud and surging.
There’s not an inch of space unfilled
Since everyone’s converging:
The families from Idaho,
The hawkers giving passes,
The Elmos and the messengers,
The bused-in high school classes…
The lunch-break workers, homeless dudes,
The theater geeks and shoppers,
The food carts, cabbies and the cops
And all the teenyboppers.
I love New York; don’t get me wrong
But oftentimes I wonder
If gentrifying Broadway
Might have been a whopping blunder.
Are those your teeth, they look so perfect
Actually no, you won't believe my tale
Some old guy had just passed away
And his wife put his teeth up for sale
They fit really well, just like my own
So I offered her half what she was asking
For that she said you could have the bottoms
If you don't mind a little cracking
But you must do better if you want the uppers
There's loads of nostalgia in those choppers
I can still remember the fun times we had
When the two of us were teenyboppers
So I bumped up my offer a couple of dollars
I could tell she really needed the money
She reluctantly accepted with a tear in her eye
She was giving away part of her honey
So now you know the rest of the story
Keep it deep inside your cranium
Bout how I ripped off this little old lady
To look like Clooney or Damon
© Jack Ellison 2012
Millions would tune in on the tube Monday night.
To countless sixties teenyboppers, you were a delight.
With Mickey, Mike, and Peter, you were in funny situations.
We still watch you in reruns after a couple of generations.
Not only did you have a fine voice for singing,
many considered you very versatile for acting.
What a fine career you had is what many will say.
We will miss you now that you have gone away.
David Jones 1945-2012
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