The Saga of The Dumpty's

Seems that Henry Dumpty, son of Humpty Dumpty,
decided to follow in his father's fall.
He fell off a wall that was pretty darn tall,
only there were no king's horses or king's men,
only his horrified peers that stood by, shaking in their shells.
Not one of them would go over to help poor Henry
because he was yolking all over the place.

Premature

I am born of Spring
before my time
God had a plan for me
I will go forth and plant seeds

Red

White curtains blowing in the wind,
through an open great room window.
A lady adorned in white lace
sits on a white china twill couch.

A gentleman walks into this
picture-perfect white scene and sees
Merlot red painted on her lips.
And scarlet red painted toe nails.

To him, she is drop-dead gorgeous.
To her, he is a shinning knight.
She swings her long legs off the couch
and then slips her white spiked heels on.

Taller then the Eiffel tower
she strikes him with big hazel eyes.
He steps in close with Gumby legs
and has a thought but cannot speak.

She reaches over, grabs his tie.
Pulls him in swiftly to her lips.
Their eyes lock, she kisses him hard,
as her white lace dress turns to red.

They fall to a white shaggy rug
then roll from New York to Cali.
and back again on silver dust,
as the white roses turn to red.

When the smoke clears and settles down
She heads towards the kitchen and then
returns with two parfait dishes...
"There's always room for red Jello"

Not my poem, but awesome facts!...

ARLINGTON CEMETERY -

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the
tomb of the Unknowns and why?


21 steps: It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute which is
the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary..


2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his
return walk and why?


21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1


3. Why are his gloves wet?

His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.


4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time
and, if not, why not?


He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb.. After
his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to
the outside shoulder.

5. How often are the guards changed?

Guards are changed every thirty minutes,
twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?

For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be
between 5' 10' and 6' 2' tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30..


They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a
barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for
the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives
and cannot disgrace the uniform or the tomb in any way.

After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying
they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey
these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin.

The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the
heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the
top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt.

There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform... Guards
dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror.

The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone nor
watch TV All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable
people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery .. A guard must
memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are:
President Taft,
Joe Lewis {the boxer}
Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, the most
decorated soldier of WWII of Hollywood fame.

Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready
for guard duty.

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE
UPON THEM.

In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington , DC ,
our US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm.
On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from
the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding
the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the
assignment.
They respectfully declined the offer, 'No way, Sir!' Soaked to the
skin,marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that
guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor
that can be afforded to a service person. The tomb has been patrolled
continuously, 24/7, since 1930.


God Bless and keep them.

Meteor

"Yes" she answered him.
" I don't ever hang around too long.
I am a stream of meteors flashing
through the skies. If you are observant
you'll spy me as I pass by. But only
the early riser will catch my glow
and you will know it's me as I rain down
on you a storm packed with fifteen hundred
meteors that light up your desert sky.
Then and only then, when everyone else
is sound asleep, deep within their dreams,
I will captured your heart and take you in flight
across the constellation Andromeda.
It is then you will discover where I go and why.
So rest assure when I close a door, I open a galaxy."

Full Moon

The current moon is
one hundred percent full.

The current status of my brain
is one hundred percent empty!

Shame.

A challenge...

I challenge one and all to write a poem or short essay with the word "cuddle" in it.

Don't ask
: )

sotto voce

soft sounds of love
cradle beneath
a pale orange moon,

lifts eyes

whose desire curiously
opens soft pink
folds of love.

mouth searches…
an assuring touch
in the dark.

sepia shadows dance across
the dew-kissed September lawn,
hot plum wine breath inhales deeply

and then release a sudden whisper...

a confessional moment.

Closer to God

The closer you get with God,
the harder the devil knocks
on your door!

Never leave home
without the armor
of God on.

Choking on fear

I braved the waters today
and dove in head first
with no fear of drowning.

I have drowned before
many times,
choking on my fears
till they bled out.

No one ever noticed
I hid it well, still do,
as strong currents
wrap around my ankles
and drag me under.

I hold my breath
till I have no more breath
left in my lungs to hold...
I can't breath.
I gasp for air,
water fills my lungs
suffocating me...

But then I surface--
I always surface

leaving footprints
. . . at the water's edge.

Psychedelic

Today I pulled memories
out of the back of a closet.

Memories neatly preserved
on 45 RPM vinyl.

The psychedelic, mod design box
took me back to a time of innocence.
A time of a war that was ending.
A war I knew very little about.
But still I wore a POW bracelet
and prayed everyday for that soldier.

In a far away land,
the brave risked or lost their life.
In a small corner of America,
I was a girl, becoming a woman.
Trying to figure it all out.

Sheltered from the harshness
of the world,
by two loving parents.

Hell!...I didn't even know
about Woodstock till 1970,
when the album hit the stores.
And Crosby, Stills and Nash
sang of Woodstock.

The memory filled box
sings to me of a
"becoming of age" time.

Like it was yesterday,
when I was young.
The tender age of thirteen
and in love for the first time.
"Puppy Love" so they say.

Those were the days
that held me tight.
At times, chewed me up
and spit me out.

There was the Hurdy Gurdy Man
and Mrs. Robinson.
Hey Jude made a sad song better.
I walked through crimson and clover.
Had an Indian Giver for a best friend.
This magic moment made me dizzy.
I weaved a gum chain from
cinnamon gum stick wrappers.
Picked buttercups in
a field of lie that let me down.
No big surprise.

Hanky Panky was frowned upon.
But the river is wide, as
I raced off on a spinning wheel.
Someday I may get back to you
if you don't let me down.
I could have been your Heather Honey.

In the Ghetto, they don't
understand the Israelites.
Maybe in the year 2525,
persuasion will be crystal blue.
You can't always get what you want.
But just look into these eyes
to see that I adore you,
more today than yesterday.

Let me grow my hair
shoulder length or longer.
Swing through the trees
like Guitarzan.
In this world, only the strong survive.
So rock me, cause Eli's coming
and he seeks an Evil woman.

Holly Holy!

Baby, take me in your arms,
cause we're so good together.

Peace man! Groovy.
Flower Power.
Make Love, not War.

I still wonder...
How many people
can fit inside a bug?

un-red valentine

your love is like
wild winds whipping my heart
staining me blue

Somewhere, tea for two

Out of the shadows a romantic story emerges

of two souls destined to find love.

It's true, so many stories of romance have been written

that one could make a noose for the world with them.

But love is a very funny thing and as you know

you can hate someone you love

and love someone you hate...



Many times over and over again love is misunderstood

and many are stood up and many have missed the boat.

Still, can one live without it?

Men are driven to insanity over and by women...

and women, well, yeah, you already know the story.



So another love story to gag on is in the making...

did I lose you yet?

Perhaps I did, but a least my shadow is still here,

waiting right next to me as I sit at a quaint little

bistro table at an outside cafe just waiting to order.

"Madame, may I take your order?"

" Not just yet, sir, I am hoping to order tea for two"

Angel in the Park

Once upon a time
long before my birth,
under the cobalt sky of earth,
amongst the horse chestnut trees
and carpet of green in a park...

a man made a decision to
finally speak to the dark-eyed
beauty with the long blackish hair.
that he had seen for many days
in his daily travels to and fro.

The Spring air was crisp and
his step was lively as he
approached this lovely lady.

As space closed-in between them,
the lady quickly turned and walked away,
like that of a playful doe, gracefully
sprinting off into the thicket.

Puzzled, the man sat down on a bench
under a horse chestnut tree and thought
it odd that there were no lower branches.

Wispy, white clouds, low in the sky
drifted by as a strong wind swiftly
whipped through his dark wavy hair.
He jumped to his feet as
he heard an inner voice say
"She is the one, go to her."

Un-be known to him, 'twas the
voice of my guardian angel.

Meanwhile, still in the park,
was the dark-eyed beauty,
waiting for three o'clock.

Once again, the wavy-haired man
approached the lady and
once again, she sprinted off.

Dumb-founded, the man walked off,
wondering if he should give it one more try.
These thoughts smoked his mind.

The sky began to turn a radiant blue,
ethereal and divine.
A cloudy image of a heavenly messenger
hovered over the horse chestnut tree.
Deep, woody fragrance of evergreen
delighted the man's senses
as the aroma infused with
the glory in his heart.

It was now three o'clock and
'round the bend of the park
walking lively up the path,
was the dark-eyed beauty.

As he approached her, the distance
between them disappeared,
and they spoke to each other
for the first time and
many times thereafter....
I call this man and woman...Mom and Dad.

Long before my birth....
my guardian angel,
their guiding angel....

the Angel in the park.

A Beautiful Place

is where my heart soars
and my pen tries to follow.

A place where the sun warms
my skin to a golden bronze.

I could be anywhere and if a free
moment comes my way, I steal away,
sit back and close my eyes.

The swoosh of car tires become
the waves on a beach as they lull
me into my own little world.

All I need is but a few minutes
to last me through the day,
like a sweet little vacation
where the hot sun caresses my face
like passionate kisses
and the dry breeze feels good
as it cools down my hot skin.

I drift into a midsummer daydream--
gulls circle overhead,
screams of excited children in the distance,
salty ocean spray coats my skin and
glasses till the day appears to be foggy.
My toes dig for damp sand as the sun
intensifies its heat.

I daydream of a rocking sensation from
a time when I stood in between two
shoals in the shallow water of the ocean
as the tide came in.
I stood there for a long time.
It was so peaceful, so soothing.
I felt that rocking long after
I came out of the water,
kind of like the sensation when
your feet still feel like they are
ice skating, long after the skates are off.

I think back to long road trips in summer
when my kids where small and we drove
to Hershey where the whole town
smelled like chocolate pudding
cooking on a stove top.
Where it must have been a law
that everyone had to plant flowers
in that town.
It was so beautiful and sweet there,
and I miss those times when my kids
were small and loved me like I was the
most important thing in their world.
Perhaps it is a beautiful place
in their daydreams too.

I am tempted to put this daydream in rhyme,
but for most, that would be a crime.

I could free verse this daydream to death,
but it is saved by time.

Time to come back from a beautiful place.