SWINGS

by LaRue Watts

Porch swings are calming things
Where one can sit and sigh.
But, playground swings
Can give you wings
And you can touch the sky!

 

MOVIES

by LaRue Watts

I now find out, in my research,
I loved the movies more than church.
Garbo, Crawford, Davis, Gable,
Hayworth, Cooper, Flynn and Grable;
All were Gods in my young mind.
I love them still and often find
Some solace in those icons, dear
That thrilled this child in yesteryear
With happy endings as a norm.
Those feelings left me cozy warm.
Cagney, Bogie and Bacall
Were in my dreams when dreams were all.
Garland, Kelly and the rest
Could make me feel that I was blessed.
Now, newer stars have joined their ranks,
Streep. De Niro, Depp and Hanks
At their premieres, in tux and gown
While Klieg lights shine on "Tinseltown."
Did I say tinsel?  Oh, I see.
My movies were a Christmas tree;
Each star upon the highest perch.
A wonderland of dreams.   A church.

MY SEASON

by LaRue Watts

The snows of winter, cold and deep
Make warm beds better when we sleep.
I love it.

And buds in spring can soon give rise
To sunny days and bluer skies.
I love it.

The summer winds have always made
It somewhat nicer in the shade.
I love it.

But better yet, above the rest,
The autumn puts me to the test.
With leaves of gold and crisp cold air,
It's hard to find what can compare
To all those bright October days
When chimney smoke and morning haze
Revives my soul
And I am whole.
I love it.

As seasons come and go, I find
That autumn lingers in my mind.
Though winter, spring and summer call,
I'll always be a fool for fall.
I love it.

MY DAD

by LaRue Watts

My dad was raised to rarely show
Too much emotion.  And although
I sensed it at an early age
I still suspected inner rage
Because he lacked that manly grace
And spared his feelings from his face.
Now, outwardly he always tried
To show that other, sunny side.
He'd laugh and joke with anyone
Except perhaps, his youngest son.
But being wise beyond my years,
I rarely cried unwanted tears.
I went away once I was grown
And suddenly, the years had flown.
Returning home, as a surprise,
I saw emotion is his eyes.
He spoke with just a trace of pain,
"I though we'd not see you again."
I heard him gulp and finally knew
Behind his words was "I love you."

DIVORCE

by LaRue Watts

In the battle of the sexes
And concerning birds and bees,
It  much better to have xxxxx's
Than to live a life with zzzzz's.

THE PAST

by LaRue Watts

Somewhere in my Kansas mind,
I treasure dreams I've left behind,
For city life and neon glare
Have made me mostly unaware
Of what was magic in my youth
Like fairy money for each tooth
Or river banks and camping sights
That teemed with fireflies many nights,
The flower beds my mother grew
With peonies and roses, too
And katydids that sang a song
On moonlit nights all summer long.
My childhood friends who knew me well
Would play till dusk, then mom would yell,
"Come on inside. It's time for bed."
And I'd lay down my sleepy head.
Beyond the prayer, the dreams would start
Of what I hoped for, in my heart.
My dreams today are still the kind
I treasure in my Kansas mind.

REVELATION

by LaRue Watts

I longed so for the limelight
When youth and I went roaming
But now my age and I are quite
Contented with the gloaming.
Though, sometimes, in an early morn
I wake my Lochinvar
And wonder if, indeed, I'm born
To still reach for a star.
I ponder it, a puzzlement,
And sleepless tears I weep.
I sniffle, and become content
And thus, go back to sleep.
Tomorrow is another day
Arriving all too soon.
But on that day I wish I may
Start reaching for the moon.

THE GIRL

by LaRue Watts

There was a girl that I once knew
Though not in 1922.
Back then with her Rapunzel hair
I'm sure that folks would stop and stare
And wonder how it got so long
Or was it brittle?  Was it strong?
I like to think she'd only smile
And knew she was a special child.
Her gifts were loving, being true.
And with a secret dream or two
That she would whisper to her doll
Who never told and kept them all,
She live and loved her childhood joy,
Until one day she loved a boy.
The two were wed and raised three more
And weathered storms that were in store.
They lost one son, one tragic night
But still her love stayed ever bright,
Remaining so throughout her life
As child, as mother, loving wife.
I know not what she called her doll
Or if she had another.
I know she taught me love is all.
That doll, I call my mother.

 .

TIRED

by LaRue Watts

I'm tired of those without a brain
Who slowly drive us all insane
With bad ideas, stupid thoughts
And idiotic callous shots
While others try to make things right,
And long to shed a little light
On what is wrong with how we live,
On better ways to take and give,
Who wish to change our sorry state
Of little love and too much hate.
Though I am hopeful someday soon
The land will sing a different tune
And rise above where we are mired.
Alas, for now, I'm really tired.

 

SHORT LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

by LaRue Watts

January.
February.
Mortuary.

ROLL CALL

by LaRue Watts

Some say Cinnamon are delicious.
Croissant, Brioche?  Too capricious.
Kaiser and Yeast are in the game.
Jelly and Tootsie have their fame.
But the best by far, on anyone's day
Is the good old proverbial "Roll" in the hay!

A LOST SMILE

by LaRue Watts

The other day I lost my smile.
I hadn't had it for a while.
I've searched for it, both high and low
And pondered where my smile would go.
It always seemed at home with me
Without a need for running free.
But now, it's gone.  I don't know why
Should sadness overflow my eye?
My smile is gone.  What's that you say?
I simply gave my smile away?
Oh, pin a rose on my lapel.
My smile is gone and where it fell
Was back with you.  'Twas meant to be.
For that's the smile you gave to me.
And now, we two are duty bound
To pass that friendly smile around.
It's only ours if we but use it,
And oh, the joy when we can lose it!

ODE TO JEROME

by LaRue Watts

I knew somehow this day would come
But even so, I ache.
By writing this, I'm feeling numb,
My heart about to break.
I try to dwell on happy days
When we were both so young
And all ahead was still a haze
Of many songs unsung.
We children played and dreamed our dreams
And grew close like no other.
He was my cousin, though it seems
He felt more like my brother.
He always kept me on my toes
And did so with great wit.
He has it still and heaven knows
It is a lovely fit.
Alas, our God has called him home
But there is no grim reaper.
He'll have to smile because Jerome
Has been his brother's keeper.
So comfort me with no sad songs
But give him hymns of praise.
Through all my rights and all my wrongs,
He gave me golden days.

HOW NOW

by LaRue Watts

We're all been told, so we should know
To keep our ducks all in a row.
And though I try, don't ask me how,
My ducks still end up in a row.
Perhaps if they could wear a bow
And not be in a line, you know?
If ducks could all roam free, I vow
They'd all line up to take a bow.
Is not our language odd to read?
You never know where it may lead.
Or is that word, the metal, lead?
Depends on what you read or read.

MISS JEWEL

by LaRue Watts

The breeding and southern aristocracy?
Misleading to cover up hypocrisy.
The true southern belle is a siren at heart
And told to conform but not be too smart.
You learn that in school at Ole Miss
If you have a sorority sis.

Everyone called her Miss Jewel.
She was privileged, wealthy and cool.
She sheltered girls under her arm
Instructing in manners and charm.
"A lady walks into a room
On clouds of magnolia perfume.
She offers her glove for a kiss.
That's the way it is done at Ole Miss,"
To quote the sorority sis.

"A lady wears virginal white
To gather in boys who are 'right'
Then carefully keep them at bay.
At Ole Miss, it's the lady-like way."
By watching the faux southern belle,
One learned what to do, how to dress.
And being unhappy as hell,
One knew so was she, more of less.
Descending the stairs, arranging bouquets
Was hardly the highlight of one's college days.

But wearing vermillion
To any cotillion,
You wouldn't be called a cliché.
To favor and flaunt
What Old Miss boys want
And, now and then, give it away,
You learned as a rule
That one's vestibule
Has "many a use," shall we say?
Now, don't think me cruel
But virgin Miss Jewel
Never learned and got burned in the fray.
I pray she's content
With a life so misspent
She's still an "Old Miss" to this day.

SEASONS IN FLORIDA

by LaRue Watts

We only have two, I was told by a purist.
The first one is Summer, the other is Tourist.

 

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO...

 by LaRue Watts

She opens the envelope with a smile
And as I'm halfway down the aisle,
I hear her read my name out loud.
My mom and dad will be so proud.
But as I reach the statuette
Fate steps in, to my regret.
The Oscar is not mine it seems;
Alarm clocks ruin all my dreams.

RHYMELESS

 by LaRue Watts

While trying to find a rhyme for "month"
I end up feeling like such a dunth.

HOMELESS

 by LaRue Watts

My belongings are few
And few of them are new.
A coat of my own.  A hat.
Things of my own like that.
I had a honey-colored cat
Who died or ran away.
It's very hard to say.
She just didn't come around one day.
She wasn't my own anyway.
My belongings are few.
I get by.  I make do.
But still, I look out for that cat
Praying someday she'll be there.
And fate can be funny.
While looking for "Honey,"
Today, I found a chair.
A folding chair.
My own chair.

THE TEST

 by LaRue Watts

He falls down.  It's a motor thing.
A disease that we both hate.
Parkinsons, that wretched sting
That's been too much of late.
If I am not at hand when he
Decides his fate is not a lock,
I'll hear a thud and sadly see
He tried and couldn't walk the walk.
We work to get him on his feet
And back into a nearby chair.
Unspoken words between us meet
And permeate the condo air.
For we both know that it's a test.
We struggle to survive
And fight on with out very best
To keep some hope alive.
For all he is, he's all I've got,
That silly ageless clown.
Without him, what would be my lot?
My own heart falling down.

TWO

 by LaRue Watts

Two  little boys went off to war
And didn't know what they were fighting for.
Now, it you think that act was strange,
Remember some things never change.
Two young men went off to war
And wondered what they were fighting for.
Two old men responded true,
"You fight for the red and white and blue.
Red for the blood that will be shed
And white for the hair on your mother's head.
Blue for the last sky you will see.
Now go, be gone, and keep us free."
The two old men will someday die
And two young men won't wonder why.
"It's in the stars," they well may say
As two little boys go out to play.

THE PET

 by LaRue Watts

A dog that I had
Would never act bad.
Her loyalty kisses were best.
Whatever the day,
She wanted to play
And never seemed ready to rest.
We frolicked in fields
And ran through the rain.
She lifted my spirits
And eased every pain.
I now have a cat.
That's that.

REFRIGERATOR DOOR

by LaRue Watts

All I want is ice.
I do not ask for more,
It spews out ice,
Not once, but twice
And mostly on the floor.