Poetry Monday: The Moon

It's Poetry Monday, and this week's topic is . . . THE MOON.

Join Delores, MotherOwl, Mimi, and me as we contemplate this heavenly marvel and pen our thoughts. The fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing has just been celebrated, so it seems like a good time to think about our closest celestial neighbour.

If you have a poem to offer, you may leave it in the comments or post on your own blog. If you do the latter, please let us know in the comments how to find you so we can come along and applaud. Use the topic, or not -- the object is to have fun and exercise our brain cells :)

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First, to set the mood for my poem, and because he is my hero, I would like to present a somewhat relevant poem by the great Ogden Nash:


A Caution To Everybody
   by Ogden Nash

Consider the auk;
Becoming extinct because he forgot how to fly, and could only walk.
Consider man, who may well become extinct
Because he forgot how to walk and learned how to fly before he thinked.

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If you think that sounds like rather faint praise for aviation, I think you're right. And I would take it one step further.

Although I found the moon landing fascinating, I do not approve! No, not at all. We cannot even take care of our home planet; what makes anyone believe that we will take care of any other body in space?

In fact, it has been estimated that mankind has, for various reasons, left 187,400 kilograms (413,100 lb) of material on the moon, including ninety-six bags of human waste.  You can read more about it here (total materials) and here (poop), if you have the stomach for it.

I'm shaking my head here. I'm shaking it so vigorously I bet you can feel the vibrations all the way to wherever you are, can't you?

It's not that I don't believe in science. I believe in science like anything, people. I just think we should first be doing science that repairs and advances what we have here on Earth before we start sprinting off to other places in space.

And it's not that I don't appreciate the mysteries of the universe, either. I appreciate them like nobody's business. My favourite time of day is dusk, when the curtain opens on the stars and the moon, and the vastness of all that lies beyond our planet starts to reveal itself. It leaves me in awe every single time, and sometimes in tears of wonder.

But our planet does the same. And shouldn't it? How can so many be so casual about the damage we've inflicted on our precious home?

Questions, people. I got 'em.

And a poem. I got that, too.



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The Moon Was Just The Beginning . . .

What have we done to our marvellous Earth?
We've starved it and scourged it and plundered its worth
We're killing the beasts of the land and the sea
And killing each other for power and money

The lessons are clear for the souls who dare look
But lost on the ones with no conscience to brook

And now we are focused on living on Mars . . . . . . . .

Shouldn't we fix first the planet that's ours?
 

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Yeah, yeah, I know - my poem wasn't really about the moon after all, was it? Even though I tried to cheat by putting "moon" in the title. But as the instructions up above say, use the topic or not, and I chose to use it as a stepping stone to what I found most important in my heart when I sat down to write.

Thank you, as always, for reading.

I hope you have a week full of wonder and awe, filled with natural beauty and quiet happiness.

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Next week's topic is ........... THUNDER AND LIGHTNING AND RAIN .... OH MY!




 

Poetry Monday: Things That Cool Us Down ........ and Funnies

It's Poetry Monday, and this week's topic is . . . . . . . . . . THINGS THAT COOL US DOWN.

Join Delores, MotherOwl, and me as we chill out over this topic. If we do our job well, you'll shiver with the thrill of a poem well made. (When was the last time a poem made you shiver?? Ah, well.)

You can leave a poem in the comments, or post on your own blog. If you do the latter, please let us know in the comments so we can come along and applaud. Use the topic, or not - your choice. Have fun!

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I am writing this in the final hours of Sunday evening because I had a busy week (and weekend) at work and didn't get around to "pome-ing" until now. The heat and humidity were overpowering here yesterday and the earlier part of today, so this was a great topic for this week.

Luckily, we had a terrific downpour a few hours ago and things are much cooler now. I guess "rainstorm" is one thing that cools people down.

But it's not as if you can just order up a rainstorm anytime the weather gets hot. So what are some other ways to get cooled off?

Oh, look, here's a poem to explain it all! It's a short one, because I'm running out of time, and also I stupidly just closed my finger in the door and it hurts to type :)

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Be The Coolest Cat Around

Sit in a kiddy pool
Swim in a lake
Slurp up a popsicle
Eat ice cream cake
Jump in the shower
Sit by a fan
Run through a sprinkler
Do 'em all if you can

And if you have plenty
Of money to spend
Go live somewhere cold
Until the heat ends! 

Also, sunglasses make you cool, but in a different way.

 

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Some of these funnies have snow, which is another great way to get cool. Except . . . if it's snowing, you're probably not feeling terribly hot. It's a conundrum, isn't it?

This is clearly how you can afford to move somewhere else.

Snowmen are cool. Snow dogs are cool too.

Kitty thinks the melted spot is a box. Or kitty does not like the cold snow. Or both.

Kitty is not happy. I think kitties in general like summer better than winter.

 

I just hope his humans appreciated his work.

 

Bill is so suspicious!! He's behaving just like a cat!!

 

Yum!

 

That is one cool bear.

 

But it would be so nice and cool . . .

 

Oh, all right! Five more minutes.

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I hope your weather is treating you kindly. 

Next week's topic will be . . . THE MOON (in honour of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, July 20, 1969) . . . a little late, but I had to wait for my turn to suggest a topic. lol

Good luck.

 

Poetry Monday: Notes

It's Poetry Monday, and this week's topic is . . . . . NOTES.

Join Delores, MotherOwl, and I as we scribble our thoughts on little scraps of . . . er . . . computer screen . . . er . . . *analogy falls flatter than a half-cooked souffle in a cold breeze*

Never mind. We all know what happens on Poetry Monday. You, too, can be a part of this. Leave your poem in the comments or post on your own blog. Use the topic, or not. Try a two line poem, a Haiku, a non-rhyming poem, an epic thousand word poem . . . . anything at all. Or just enjoy what we're offering.

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There were so many directions to go with this topic. Delores mentioned a few in her comment here last week. She suggested musical notes, notes to the butcher, hold-up notes . . . that last one really got my attention.

Imagine if bank robbers wrote their demands in rhyme. I wonder what those notes would look like?

Maybe:

Fill the bag with cash
Or your fingers I will mash

or:

Put the money in the sack
Or your head I'll surely whack

or, if they're trying to cut down on the violence:

Please fill the bag with money
And I'll thank you, honey bunny

I have to admit, I tried to write a poem that would incorporate the sad back story of the thief, who I imagined had earned a Bachelor of Arts and was trying to make it as a poet, but, being unsuccessful, was driven to a life of crime, and poured out his talent in his hold-up notes . . . but it wasn't jelling, so I turned instead to my own stacks of notes that I can't throw away because they're ALL useful or necessary (or are they?), and this is what came out.

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I Knew What It Said When I Wrote It

My stack of tiny notes is now quite dangerously high
Most of them embody things I wish to keep close by
Ideas, thoughts, and brainwaves that will never come again
Jobs to do, and names of books, and how to reach a friend
Crafts I'd like to research, and jokes I want to tell
Things I need to mail away and things I need to sell

But some of them are useless and of that there is no doubt --
My penmanship's so awful that I cannot make them out

It's okay, kitty. I'll read your notes to you, if you'll write mine for me.

(Photo: icanhas.cheezburger.com)

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Wishing you a noteworthy week, one and all :)

Next week's topic is ......... THINGS THAT COOL YOU DOWN.

Good luck!

Poetry Monday: Gardening

It's Poetry Monday, and this week's topic is ..........GARDENING........

Join Delores, MotherOwl, and me as we dig for inspiration, plant idea seeds, and tend our poems with loving care. Hopefully you enjoy the bloomin' good verses we come up with and also hopefully they weren't watered with tears of frustration :)

You can do it too -- leave a poem in the comments, or post on your own blog. If you do the latter, please leave a comment so we can find you and applaud. Use the topic, or another of your choosing -- the idea is to have fun and exercise our gray matter.


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I plant flowers each summer but it's been awhile since I had a vegetable garden. My place of work is busy in late spring, making it hard to find the time to plant early enough to harvest anything in our short growing season.

You may also remember that deer often visit our yard, and they consider young garden plants to be delicious appertifs.  This year they have even come up onto our front step to eat the blossoms of my geraniums -- the muddy hoofprints gave them away. I don't want to go to all the trouble of putting in a garden just to feed the deer.

But this year I had a plan.

The deck on the back of our house is too high for the deer to reach, so I decided to do some pot gardening. No no no, not that kind of pot; while marijuana is legal in Canada now, I have zero interest in growing it, smoking it, or eating it.

I meant the kind of pot you plants things in, of course.

What did I plant? A cherry tomato plant, a zucchini plant, three cucumber plants, some peas, some lettuce, and some micro-greens.

So ........ the crops are in, the crops are up, and in some cases, the crops already have fruit or vegetables on them. They're tiny, but they're there.

It just goes to show, you should never give up on your dreams.

Unless the squirrels and/or the birds get at your dreams and wreck them.

THEN, I might give up. Stay tuned.


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Never Throw In The Trowel 

(Sung to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands")

If you haven't got the time, never plant.
If the deer eat all your work, never plant.
If you haven't got the time and the deer eat all your work
If they drive you quite berserk, never plant.

If you get the urge to plant, squash it down.
If you want to buy some seeds, squash it down.
If you get the urge to plant and you want to buy some seeds
If you'd even welcome weeds, squash it down.

If the urge to plant gets strong, buy a pot.
If it's in you like a song, buy a pot.
If the urge to plant gets strong and it's in you like a song
If not planting just seems wrong, buy a pot.

Now your pots are full of plants: Hip Hooray!
Now your plants have grown a bunch: Hip Hooray!
Now your pots are full of plants and your plants have grown a bunch
Now go eat your home-grown lunch: Hip Hooray!

Bunnies could also be an issue, even if the squirrels and birds behave.

Thank goodness we have indoor cats . . . Wait, the neighbours have outdoor cats . . .

Six inches apart? That won't be enough!!

I wouldn't mind growing a cat instead of a cucumber; no, sir.

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Wishing you a week with good things springing up in front of your eyes as if by magic, and without any awful earworms such as "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" ......

Next week's topic for Poetry Monday will be ..... NOTES.

Good luck!

Poetry Monday: Drone

It's Poetry Monday, and this week's topic is ............ DRONE.

Join Delores, MotherOwl, and me as we take on this word that can mean such different things, including:
- a continuous low humming sound
- a part of a musical instrument that emits a constant sound (such as a pipe in a set of bagpipes or a string on a sitar)
- a male bee
- a remote-controlled pilotless aircraft

Surely to goodness it can't be too hard to dash off a few choice lines on this versatile word, right? RIGHT??

We'll see :)

You can leave a poem in the comments or post it on your own blog. If you do the latter, please leave a comment so we know where to find you and your offering. Use the topic, or another of your choosing -- just have fun and make those little brain cells work to earn their keep!

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My first thought when I see the word "drone" is a variation on the first of the meanings above.

I think we've all had the experience of being in a classroom or at an event where somebody at the front of the room has the rest of the people in the room trapped like bugs in a bottle while he or she does the talking.

That's real power, my friends.

A great speaker is a rare and pleasant thing. A poor speaker with uninspiring material and apathetic delivery, on the other hand, can make even the kindest and most understanding of souls think dark thoughts and wish for toothpicks to prop their eyelids open.

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Please Pass The Sledgehammer

Even speakers well-known
Have been oft heard to drone
Leaving listeners to moan
And organizers to groan

This is not to condone
Walking out on a drone
But I wouldn't bemoan
Being swapped with a clone



Here we all are, under those circumstances:

And for those who prefer pictures rather than video:

Video clip and meme found on icanhas.cheezburger.com.

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 Wishing you all a good week, free from the need for toothpicks :)

Over to you, Delores; what's the topic for next week??

Update:  GARDENING is next week's prompt. Good luck!