Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 175
October 21, 2020
High School Hijinks
Smoking in the boy's room...
Kibitzing a test...
Peeping the girl's locker room,
A brash unwelcome guest.
Monday morning cutting class.
Off to "Mickey D's",
Sneaking peeks at skirts hiked high
Above the teacher's knees.
Empty hallways populate
And scurry off from harm,
'Til moments later someone yells
"It was a false alarm".
Wondering who the moron was
Who pulled the bitter joke.
Although thankful for the break,
We still hoped they would choke.
Waiting for the final bell,
The governor's reprieve.
Knowing if we ne'er returned,
Not one of us would grieve.
High school hijinks. What a blast!
A howl! A hoot! A wow!
If I had only known back then
Half of what I know now.
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October 20, 2020
Hiatus
Happily vacationing.
Inactive situationing.
Attuned to rationalizationing
To ward off logic's rationing and
Useless aggravationing.
Simplification bid "come in".
Hiatus...
Surely, not a sin.
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October 19, 2020
Gone but Not Forgotten
Sunday morning trips to Atlanta,
Grandpa would open his barbershop
For us rag-headed boys who would
Raid him of quarters
And drink up his profits in soda pop.
Calm, sedate and stalwart was he,
Keenly attuned to each sight, every sound.
Striding the sidewalks, leaving us children
Scurrying, trying to cover his ground.
Tall straight-backed rocking chair,
Front porch theater,
Cigarette rolling machine.
Don't disturb grandpa now.
He's much too busy.
Try not to make such a scene.
While granny fries bacon and ham
In the kitchen,
Grandpa has only one goal.
With tobacco and paper,
He sits in his rocker,
And gives a new meaning
To rock and roll.
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October 18, 2020
Getting Mugged
Suddenly, unexpectedly,
A flash of cold steel in you face.
Eyes transfixed on muzzle and trigger,
No time for logic,
No time to brace
Against evil surprise as it springs into gear,
Quickly confronting mortality's fears.
The bold perpetrator relies on surprise,
Sensing the terror he finds in your eyes.
Swiftly he moves in his dastardly deed,
His mind set determined on feeding his greed.
Leaving his victim a cold hollow shell,
Cast in the dark of their own private hell.
There won’t be many events on your life
That cause more grief,
Cause more strife,
Than the cold realization a mugging can bring,
That life, at it's worst,
Is a precious thing.Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
October 17, 2020
Games of Childhood
Cowboys and Indians,
Good guys and bad,
Coppers and robbers,
Hero and cad.
Fire engine driver,
Bull dozing man,
Tall tree top cropper,
Rock and roll band.
A young boy goes chasing
A young man's desire,
Socially teaching him
What to aspire.
Dollies and doilies
And playing at house,
Learning to screech at
The sight of a mouse,
Wild flowers forming
A lovely bouquet,
Tea party centerpiece
Proudly displayed.
A young girl goes chasing
Young women's desires,
Socially teaching her
What to aspire.
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October 16, 2020
Figments of My Imagination
Aaron and Curtis and Betty Mae,
Judy and Janice and Jimmy Ray,
Childhood companions from our congregation?
Or were they just figments of imagination?
Names from the past, from a youth thought forgotten.
Memories stolen, some fresh, others rotten.
Laughing and playing...
Running and fighting...
Learning our 'rithmatic,
Reading and writing.
Where are they now?
Are they living or buried?
Did they switch off the airwaves
Or just change the station?
Were they real?
Did I touch them?
Did they touch me back?
Or were they just figments of imagination?
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October 15, 2020
Echoes
Echoes of my mother's voice
Are always in my mind,
Bounding and resounding
In a melancholy way.
Sound advice is her forte,
Although she never presses
Or preaches or demands
That I obey.
Tolerance and temperament,
Patience, hope and faith,
Honesty and charity
And even-handed truth.
All will echo back to you
And be a faithful guide
If your mother's voice
Instilled them in your youth.
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October 14, 2020
Every Day Life
Morning breaks slowly
As eyelids peel upward,
Blinking and rubbing 'til fully alert.
Rising with dread of
The workday ahead,
Headaches and heartaches
And fingernail dirt.
Breakfast... A doughnut...
A fast bite or two...
Gulping down coffee,
A quick glance at news...
Skeptically donning the workday apparel
As daily routines help to keep us on cue.
Five days a week
The rat race continues,
Living for weekends and vacation breaks,
Hoping the golden years
Make it worthwhile,
That everyday life gives back
More than it takes.
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October 13, 2020
Experience: The Great Teacher
Books are filled with wonders,
Unbounded in their scope,
Filled with trinkets, tidbits,
Treasure troves of faith and hope.
Classrooms and instructors teach
The fundamental learning
Meant to give direction
And thus instill a yearning.
But doing is the only way
To find out where and whence.
The greatest teacher of them all
Is plain experience.
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October 12, 2020
Distant Relations
Remember the family reunions
You were dragged to as a child?
Aunts and uncles pinching cheeks
Until it drove you wild.
Cousins, first, second, third,
Twice removed or more,
In-laws, outlaws, closet-dwellers,
Relations rich,
Relations poor.
Roots run deep in family,
Surviving through both fire and ice.
Children often can't
Appreciate the sacrifice
Of those who went before
Too blaze the trail,
To give their passage ease
So they may sit in sun and shade
And just enjoy the breeze.
Do you still remember
All the distant names and faces?
Relations of our youth
Disappearing without traces.
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