Little Red Riding Hood
riding solo in the hood
wondered if she should
hit the wolf where he stood.
He was pretending to gather wood
but she well knew he was up to no good.
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Carol decided to be a doctor
but medical school was a bore
her family thought she should be a writer
she laughed at their enthusiasm
next she tried law school
her LSAT scores were high
she was surrounded by children of lawyers
and grandchildren of lawyers
I have nothing in common with them, she lamented
they speak a language I do not know
she decided to train to be a wedding planner
Her town has 145 residents; there were no weddings
her parents cautioned her to choose her next step wisely
We are not paying for any more college they told her
Sixteen colleges later, she has no degree
But she has put off working for twenty-two years
I think she is wiser than most of us
the calmer and the wiser you are the clearer you think, see, and say
"Eat your veggies," as a nipper I was told
but I'd hide 'em on me lap so Mum wouldn't scold
then all the quicker feed 'em to the dish-licker
before they were even cold
now I'm older not sadder but wiser
and do enjoy a tasty appetiser
they may appear to look like a pear
here's a myth I wish to quash
tho' they're fruit chayotes taste like
zucchini cucumber or squash
against the fence homegrown I grow me own
and me garden's full of chokos
"Choko-bloc," one might even say
I'll do a prickly pear or two
but still don't eat veggies to this day
older is not always wiser
a saying proven wrong many times
I have met many wise children
they recognize the power of love
whereas dementia is often overlooked in elders who were never wise
( in loving memory of JPR)
Nowhere to go, is this a bonus feed
Maybe a curse, although it’s too grandstanding
Born into nothing, I’ve got nowhere to proceed
As if I fly too high to care about the landing
In fact, it was much simpler in reality
Dystopian curators were too lazy
And too corrupted to maintain the trad brutality
Corruption is godsent when rules are crazy
So I felt free and acted loosely, dear friend
But times again were changing their course
Much faster, but I got them in the end
No wisdom’s wiser than that smile of yours..
Maybe you could tell, I wasn't doing that well,
so you took off your coat and gave it to me.
Felt the warmth of you in shades of powder blue,
though it was supposed to be our spring.
Always looking over your shoulder,
your soul seems wiser and older..
yet leftover seasons won't let you be..
what was it you hoped to see?
Weeks and months came and went,
fragile years so quickly spent.
Are you happy now that I wrote?
Or maybe angry..
I never returned your coat.
Older does not necessarily
equate to wiser -- but wiser
can often make one seem a lot
older; in fact, robbed of youth
by poverty and war, I have
sadly met, too many premature
ancients: -- cynicism
in their eyes; where
should reside bright, hopeful
gleams -- dreams, obliterated,
man's faux surface designs over-inking truer light,
little more than colorful
tattoos
of ever
deeper
representation
of spirit
terminating
blight --
I'm a forlorn sunset, streaked with wise light of marine swells in heart's pulse.
Written By: D. Collins 9/1/23
Now I lay me down to sleep.
Hoping on this day, I made a leap.
If my deeds today lifted me higher.
Then, in the morning I should wake up wiser.
I don't mind being the talk of the town.
If its for the good works I've put down.
And, if they grant me entry thru The Pearly Gates.
It means God has favor in me carrying my weight.
If I wake up wiser than what I was today.
Then, I'm getting prepped for the rest of the way.
There is but one thing I hope to achieve.
To be a better person when I wake from sleep.
>••••••••••••••••••••<
CONTEST: Mother Goose Grows Up
SOURCE: Itsy Bitsy Spider
It may be a truism to surmise
That as we get older
We get wiser.
It may also be equally as true
That as we get older
We simply run out of
Stupid things to do.
if the blind primate trusts in what he can’t see ~ is it still illusory
said the deaf primate to his mute friend ~ gesticulating at a lorry
By
David Kavanagh
My lawn is patchy from cooler nights
The growth stunted into a paler green
Autumn is coming sooner, in August,
At least a month earlier than last year
I see definite signs of weather changes.
My farmer friend Shane says it is cyclical,
[A normal pattern over a long period]
It is apparently coming much quicker,
While slow change is barely noticeable
This is evident throughout the world.
I suspect human technology is to blame,
And like so much that is wrong nowadays,
Folks are unwilling to chart a new course
Or to do what must be done to amend,
The next generation will be wiser, I hope.
Written September 5, 2022
They all know the capacity
He’s enjoying in their city,
His hurting voice at its loudest;
Body movements of the proudest,
Powered by his swell bank account;
Many swear he does billions count;
Yes, his pay slips on a table
And No Normal remained stable…
Yet, it has been Trickles from him;
If you grab his dime, sing a hymn!
His criticisms breed like flies,
His smiles included in his lies…
Who ever turned A True Sponsor
That would Helping Dollars censor?
Now for ‘Chairman’ dreams not of bars
But this shall be rather in Mars,
Voters dead sure that no miser
On money matters got wiser.
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