Sunday, January 31, 2010

A-Muse A-Miss

After my last post, I was thinking about Muses. What if they existed, and somebody DIDN'T have one, and still tried to write. That inspired this poem.

I tried to write a poem,
But the words just wouldn't come.
I know it sounds quite silly,
And even a little--stupid.

It seems no matter how I try
To make the lines all rhyme,
That they don't work out as they should,
Perhaps they will in--a while.

I had so many topics
To choose on which to write,
That I was sure my poem would flow,
And all in a single--evening.

I could write about love,
Or perhaps joy, or desire--
For these emotions burn within,
Like the embers of a--blaze.

Or maybe my poem should plumb the depths
Of anguish, or of pain,
But all these thoughts were washed away
Like dust in a summer--storm.

I think I wasn't meant to be
A poet, or a Bard.
Who would have thought that writing thus,
Would turn out to be so--difficult.

Have a great day. Stick

Friday, January 29, 2010

My Poetic Muse has Been Waxing Again

I don't know why, but my poetic musings seem to run in spurts. Sometimes it just seems that I want to write something, and then, for a while, I don't write anything. When I am in the poetic frame of mind, I can be very prolific. I'm not saying it's always earthshattering stuff, but at least I'm writing.

The last couple of weeks has been like that. I have not only written a couple of new poems, but I have been finishing a few that had been just sitting in my notebook. I recently posted one of these on the blog here, and I think I will post another. This one came from an inspiration given my my youngest son--Lightning.

Wind Wisdom
By Stick

I woke up this morning to a howlin¹
Round the eaves of my old shack.
It rocked the doors and windows
So I thought of an attack.

I could feel a breeze a creepin¹
Round the cracks and seams,
And hear the willows slappin¹
'Gainst the water in the stream.

Now I knew that the wind here
Could work up quite a blow,
And it could get quite bitter
If it took a mind to snow.

So, I slipped my tired old feet
Into each battered boot,
Then I paused before the door
To plan my working route.

I buttoned my old coat
Right to the very top.
I opened up the door,
And then I had to stop.

It wasn¹t that I didn¹t
Want to continue on outside,
But it took all my strength
To push the door open wide.

Once I got the door opened
Past the halfway mark,
It ripped itself out of my hands,
And flew off towards the park.

It was all that I could do
To keep standin¹ in the gap,
And I looked out in awe and wonder
As I held onto my cap.

I didn¹t have to guess
If the cow was in the shed,
For she went sailin¹ by
Hooves and tail up over head.

The shed was right behind her
Along with all the hay,
And where it ended up,
I just couldn¹t say.

Leaves, twigs, and sundry
Were all flyin¹ in the gale
Causin¹ such confusion and destruction
That a weaker man would quail.

I saw no sense in checkin¹
If my flocks were in the coop,
'Cause it was on its way to town
With all my little troop.

The trees up on the hillside,
Were all blown down and lyin¹ flat
And with a final glance around,
I sat down and took off my hat.

I braced the table in the frame
From where the door had fled,
Then I kicked off my boots,
And climbed back into my bed.

I said to myself, ³Don¹t worry
³Bout the cow, and coop, and shed.
The wind¹ll blow again tomorrow,
And you¹ll have yer neighbors stock instead.²


Have a Great Day. Stick.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

A Demolition Two-fer

The other night, our third daughter, A, needed to go to the store to pick up some items for her upcoming trips. She is in basketball, and has been nominated to go to State Choir. She wanted to take our Yukon to the store, so I gave her the keys. Two minutes later, they were back in the house crying. "I hit the van." Great. We quickly went outside, and the first thing I did was look at the Yukon. No damage. Then I looked at the van. The front left fender and driver's door were all dented in. Then they told me she hit it with my truck. What? She was driving the Yukon. It seems that the truck was parked behind the Yukon, and she was quickly moving it so they could leave. The back right tail light--gone. Tailgate dented so it won't open.

Luckily, a two pound hammer, a crowbar, and some tape (colored and clear) got both vehicles up and running again. It's not pretty, but it was cheaper than a body shop. We hope she learned something.

Keep on keeping on. Stick.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Greetings from the Frozen North

We have had a cold snap here the last few days. There is nothing unusual about that at this time of year, but it has been cold. We have had temps down to -19 below zero, and wind chills much colder. The reason I mention this is that the other problem with this has been our furnace. Generally, it works fine, but lately, especially in the middle of the night, it will shut off, and not start up again. I have awoken the last two, or three nights, in a row to a house that is at 60 degrees or lower. So far, we have been able to restart the furnace simply by turning it off and on again, but last night that took several attempts. I finally went back to bed, and the furnace came on a while later and warmed the house up. I think we have a faulty thermostat, but I'm not sure. I may have to break down and call a repairman. Maybe we'll just tough it out for the winter, and fix it for next winter. :o)

Stay warm, be safe. Stick.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Thunder and LIghtning

Today, I have five teenagers, and a 20 year old college student. Five. Teenagers. Today is the birthday of my twin boys "Thunder" and "Lightning". They have been compared to the two weasels on "Ice Age: The Meltdown", Crash and Eddie. I always say that if these two survive each other, they will be ready for the UFC. Lightning got his name because he did everything first: crawl, walk, talk. Thunder got his name because when he learned to crawl, and later to walk, he did it like he was trying to pound his hands and feet through the floor.

When they were young, they would tag team destruction. One would hold the chair, and the other would climb to whatever they wanted. They would get out of bed in the night, while everyone was asleep, and get into the refrigerator. They would then proceed to break every egg available onto the floor, and open every stick of butter. For a while, we had to latch the fridge to keep them out, and food in.

Their greatest delight is to tease their sisters. Thunder considers himself a comedian (except he isn't that funny). :o) Lightining plays the trumpet, and enjoys being in the band. Both of them enjoy camping, and playing video games. My wife always said that if we had had twins first, we would not have had any more, so it's just as well they are the youngest.

Here's hoping thirteen is not an unlucky number for them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOYS! Stick.