Anne Wanda Twormore's Special Thing

Ann Wanda Twormore
Had always been looking for
Just the right thing
To place by her front door.

And though she’d found many,
None costing a penny,
For that special place
She didn’t like any.

She’d tried them all out
From the tall to the stout
And finally decided
She couldn’t do without.

So, as quick as an elf,
She took from the shelf
All of her things
And made one herself.

1981

Miss Tore

Janet Tore
Became awfully sore,
When day after day
She’d head out the door, and
Her mother would tell her
Time and again
“Please do not dawdle
And be home by ten.”

But Janet,
Whose mind was likely to wander,
Was one of a kind
For there were none who were fonder
Of a leisurely stroll,
For exercise sake,
With the statue
That stood in the park by the lake.

There was seldom a day
She would miss her preamble,
Keeping time by dear Janet
Was never a gamble,
But alas as she visited
Day after day
Her old friend, the statue,
Had nothing to say.

She would ask him,
And quiz him, and interrogate plenty,
But for all of her questions,
He answered not any.
He’d just stand there
And smile with a bird on his head
And listen intently
To all that she said.

1981

Marvin Maroon (a trip to the Moon)

Marvin Maroon
Took a trip to the moon,
Told all his friends
He would be back by noon.
He packed all this things
In a large carpet bag
Had so much stuff,
It made his back sag.

When he arrived,.
After such a long drive,
He was somewhat dismayed
To find no one alive.
But then from in back
Of some dust covered hills
Came a little old man
In a sign , said “EAT BILL’S”

He pointed the way,
A short little walk
In back of a dune
Where they both could talk,
And cupping his hands
In a secretive way
Said, “You’re the first person
That I’ve seen today.”

And then as he turned
And started to leave
A thought from his head
He seemed to retrieve.
To Marvin Maroon
Who stood there in wonder
Said, “I think that you
Might have made a small blunder.”

“if you’ve come to be
The man on the moon
You have arrived
Way, way, way much two soon.
I don’t retire
Till a hundred and three
And till then the man ]
On the moon is just me.”


1981

Lenard and Laura Leanon

Lenard and Laura Leanon
Were know as the King and Queen on
Every street of the garbage route
For when they took their refuse out
They wrapped it neatly as a pin
Each bottle and peeling and paper and fin.

Then both together and arm in arm,
With considerable grace and oh so much charm,
Would travel a distance of 39 feet,
Being so careful to keep themselves neat,
And upon a table, that was specially made
The package of neatly wrapped garbage they laid.

And without so much as a wink or a nod
They would tastefully turn and homeward would trod,
Without a thought or a backward glance
And knowing for certain there was never a chance
That anything packaged as neat as a pin
Would have nothing but waste and garbage within.

1981

Mary Meover’s Menace

Mary Meover
Is standing in clover
Her husband
Is standing in rye
Her children
Are standing down by the lake
Trying to make themselves dry.

Mary has told them
Just what they should do
When into the water
They dive
“Keep track of your cloths,”
She says with a grin,
“and be home at a quarter past five.”

“For lurking in weeds
As high as your knees
Is a menace
So fearful and strange
That the strongest of men
Will shiver with fright
And heroes to cowards will change.

“Some say it’s as large
As a house that’s on wheels,
Some say it’s as small
As a flea,
But those who have seen it
Down by the lake
Of one thing they all will agree.”

“That if to your mother
You do not heed
When at home
She bids you arrive,
The menace, that lives,
In the weeds, by the lake,
Will visit at quarter past five.”

1981

The We of Me

When I speak of myself
I speak of you, my friend
I am made up of little pieces of the people I love,
And we make me.

Every experience we have had together
Has left me with part of you
To make me richer, to change the way I look at others,
At you and at myself.

You are me and I am you,
And each part of myself which becomes part of you,
A part of you becomes me,
And we both grow.

So I share myself and you with everyone I love,
And I share everyone I love
With you,
And we make me.

1977

Stanley Dupp

Stanley Dupp
Had two holes in his cup.
Got himself wet
While trying to sup.

Cleaned himself off
With a dust covered cloth
Breathed in too much
And started to cough.

He quickly arose
Hit the bridge of his nose
Went forward in pain
And stubbed both big toes.

He turned around once
Let out some grunts
Hit his legs on a chair
Skinned both knees in the fronts.

He sat on the floor
Right next to the door
As his wife did return
From a trip to the store.

The door opened wide
Hit him square in the side
Threw him into the cupboard
And damaged his pride.

But then came the dilly
While going willy-nilly
He pulled over the iron
And knocked himself silly.

So if when you sup
You spill tea from your cup
Remember my friend and
Please don’t Stan Dupp.

1981