What Makes Me Tick

In early years, we introduce

Our kids to rhymes of Mother Goose

And then move up to Dr. Seuss

In hopes that joy will stick.

 

In school, most teachers reproduce

Some famous poems and then induce

Their students, taking no excuse,

To write their versions, quick.

 

This seems like language arts abuse

And children might just say vamoose

When rhyme and rhythm, like a noose,

Constrain them, tight and thick.

 

To me, though, as you might deduce,

My rhyming helps my thoughts flow loose,

So ‘til my brain runs out of juice,

It’s what will make me tick.

Five Years Ago

Five years ago today, we watched,

In horror, on TV,

As insurrectionists attacked

Our once-democracy.

 

We couldn’t really comprehend

The havoc we were seeing,

As worldwide outrage hit the waves,

Most normal folk agreeing.

 

The government held hostage,

While the president stood by

For many drawn-out hours,

Which was covered with a lie.

 

And all those brought to justice

Sadly pardoned and released,

Our Constitution, once revered,

Now tattered, stained and creased.

 

I thought we’d seen the worst of things,

But that was just the start

For we couldn’t know just how our country

Would be torn apart.

Back to School

Today the kids go back to school;

Employees head to work.

The new year’s not the greatest time

For anyone to shirk.

 

Vacation days are over;

Just the memories remain

And from procrastination,

Everybody must refrain.

 

A span of weeks needs filling up

With classes, chores and such,

Appointments, meetings, homework, tests;

It sometimes seems too much.

 

Yet right around the bend, there’ll be

A holiday or stretch

Of days when school is closed, so now

It doesn’t pay to kvetch.

 

Just buckle down and dive right in

To join this brand-new mix

Of all that you have planned to do

In 2026!

Or in the Head

“Tell me where is fancy bred,

Or in the heart or in the head?”

This quote from Shakespeare’s one I read

In high school, I would guess.

 

It came to me, and I won’t lie,

With Google’s help. You might ask why,

Since what it means can’t justify

What I’d like to express.

 

The origin of love’s the theme,

In Shakespeare’s poem, for it may seem

That some attraction, most extreme,

May over time, regress.

 

Yet what if symptoms of the heart

Quite unexpectedly do start?

Perhaps the mind might play a part

And add to building stress.

 

The head and heart, of course, connect

And feelings often intersect,

But there are ways to get things checked

So life can thus progress.

Kakistocracy

I’ve been taught a new word

Which describes to a T

The way that our country,

Right now, seems to be.

 

For those who believe

Our democracy’s gone,

There’s a noun that explains

What we’ve landed upon.

 

Not dictatorship, tyranny,

Fascist autocracy,

But – here it comes –

And that word’s kakistocracy!

 

Go look up the meaning –

So perfect, you’ll burst.

It’s a government ruled

By the absolute worst!

 

The least qualified,

Most unscrupulous leaders,

The stupid in charge of

The bottom-most feeders.

 

As a lover of language,

I’m glad to have learned

There’s a word that our government

Truly has earned.

Zen Color

I wasn’t up for a snowball fight

So my grandson took his screen

And clicked on an activity 

That I had never seen.

Although, in truth, it wasn’t far

From Venus Paradise,

A version done with colored pencils

Using no device.

Both Venus and Zen Color start

With scenes in white and black

Divided into numbers

For the colors that they lack.

On paper, we’d use pencils;

On the screen, a tap would do

And if you’d need help, a different tap

Would then provide a clue.

The Zen pic came out perfect

But I like the old-time kind,

Which allowed for mixing colors up,

If that was in your mind.

Also, Zen had background music 

Which was meant to help relax,

But instead, as time went by

It just annoyed me to the max.

On the First Day

So many view the year’s first day

Like it’s a brand-new start,

A time to take past problems

And to set them all apart.

 

Yet other first days differ –

At a job or school or class

Or a move to a new neighborhood

Where many strangers pass.

 

You have to find your balance

And make sure that you belong,

Maybe feeling that, no matter what,

Your actions might be wrong.

 

If you’re lucky, you will acclimate

And get into the groove

As you understand you’re fine

And needn’t struggle to improve.

 

On the first day of a year, though,

You are on familiar ground

So to shake things up within your world

This brand-new time around…

 

You must dig down deep and realize

You alone are in control

And despite your best intentions,

Life will somehow take its toll.

 

Still, it’s worth it to remember

A first day gives you a shot

To reach out to find contentment,

Using everything you’ve got.