Saturday, December 20, 2008

BUTTERSCOTCH LIFESAVERS

It was our little secret
Those Butterscotch Lifesavers
He’d give me that slight wink
And, I would always know

Sitting there together
The shine of his brand new suit
As he reached in his pocket
For those rings of sweet joy

He loved to call me “Shug”
I loved it more than he did
Called himself “Dear Ol’ Dad”
He made me laugh a lot

When asked about birthday hints
Or, Christmas present hints
His answer was always the same
“After-shave lotion, I reckon”

I see his huge grin in a picture
I feel his big arms around me
I can still hear his voice
Long since gone from my side

Years don’t take away love
Or, the tears I still cry
The time we had together
Gets thought about so much

@2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all pictures and poetry on this blog cannot be reproduced on the World Wide Web or any other written form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Saturday, December 13, 2008

CHRISTY

It’s not that difficult to hear your laugh

Or, remember your winning ways

I was right there in the palm of your hand

Watching you take on the whole world

It IS difficult to put in these lines

All that you were to so many

Your family, your friends and your co-workers

Remember the spark that you were

The work you did at Channel 4 lives on

Foundations were formed in your name

It would embarrass you and please you

To know that people remember

Mention your name and a smile will appear

As memories and stories are told

Like the World’s Largest Zucchini contest

Or, the great Bridge games over lunch

Raising money for others was your life

Good-naturedness was a prized gift

Your family and friends will never forget

Your days were well spent, my dear friend

Scarlets Rhymes @2008 - The above and all poems and pictures on this blog cannot be reproduced on the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Sunday, November 16, 2008

The Sixteenth Birthday

The old home movie jittered a bit sometimes

But, you could see her walk in the room

The birthday girl in all of her finery

Thinking she owned the world and she did

Three-inch pointy-toed heels and a dark pink dress

Not a hair out of place on her head

The brightness of the film made her likeness fade

But, she had left her impression

Spoiled by two parents who loved her more than life

She was smug and still shy all at once

It was her birthday and she was sweet sixteen

No one ever looked better, she thought

The film flutters again and we see her face

Smiling at her adoring family

This sixteen-year old girl was so very lucky

Everyone understood her so well

It’s quite an experience to see yourself

The way you were and how you acted

Funny, I don’t even remember the pink dress

Just the huge curlers for that hairdo

I sit and watch this film over and over

Wondering about the day and times

Crying over the parents who looked so grand

I’m that girl again .. and, still .. sixteen

@Copyright Scarlet Rhymes - The above and all poems and pictures on this blog cannot be copied and used on the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Friday, October 24, 2008

The Economy is bad. . or, is it?

The economy is in a tailspin
Or, maybe it’s not so bad
This recession is really quite normal
Or, the worst we’ve ever had

I should buy stock while the price is so low
Or, sit on my mattress filled green
Plan now to spend less for the holidays
Or, order online like a queen!

I should take out a loan to buy a new house
But, no one will give me a loan
I shouldn’t fret ‘cause the gas price is down
But, it would be wise to stay home

Maybe I read too much in all of this
Or, perhaps I don’t read enough
Maybe I should trust all the pundits
Or, are they’re just calling my bluff?

Spend cash! It’s great for the economy!
Are there any lessons offered?
Go out for dinner to a fancy place
Stay home and micro some Stouffers

There are lots of boarded up factories
Coffee shops wherever you go
Where drones stand in line for over an hour
Paying big bucks for all that “joe”

Some say wait until we get a new Prez
Some say it doesn’t quite matter
Actually, I’m not sure what I should think
I’m leaning towards the latter
@2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all poetry and pictures on this site cannot be reproduced onto the World Wide Web without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Thursday, October 16, 2008

AFTERNOONS WITH A HIPPIE

She wore a long skirt down to her ankles
I don’t recall her wearing shoes
She spoke of some man who loved a seagull
I had a parakeet named Spot

She kept hard candies in small crystal bowls
Offering me one everyday
When I tasted it, I cringed on green peas
No.. the taste was just like broccoli

She spoke of a green witch near New York City
Where the drummer’s beat was different
I thought of my next Halloween costume
As a witch I would be in black

She made tea from bark and leaves off of trees
Mama called her a flower child
And, said I shouldn’t eat or drink with her
I thought of my own tea party

To me she was just a strange old lady
Who was kind of weird and stuff
Folks said she’s a barren hippie
I thought she was from Chicago
@2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all poetry and pictures on this site cannot be reproduced onto the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Saturday, September 27, 2008

The Purple Sweatshirt

I fell in love in a purple sweatshirt

When my life began to take flight

Trips to the beach and my favorite rock songs

Made everything really alright

I wore that shirt til it wasn’t purple

I could never throw it away

Not really thinking a lot about it

Or, all the lives that it portrayed

It was there when I needed it to be

I wore it for chores and to bed

Kind of like a habit I couldn’t break

My life spinning around each thread

Maybe it’s time to clean out my closet

Yet one last wearing wouldn’t hurt

The ups and downs of my life it has seen

Not bad for a tattered old shirt

@2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all poems and pictures on this site cannot be posted on the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Write Myself An Email


sung to the tune of

I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter with apologies to lyricist Joe Young

I’m gonna sit right down and write myself an email

And, make believe it came from my bank!

I’m gonna write words oh so fine

Saying I hope that I don’t mind

That an error just discovered

Means my car loan will be covered!

I’m gonna grin and say

I hope that makes my day now

I’ll close with thanks for being me

I’m gonna sit right down and write myself an email

And, make believe it came from my bank

One more time!!!!

I’m gonna sit right down and write myself an email

And, make believe it came from my bank

I’m gonna write words oh so fine

Saying I hope that I don’t mind

That an error just discovered

Means my car loan will be covered

I’m gonna grin and say

I hope that makes my day now

I’ll close with thanks for being me

Oh yeah…..

I’m gonna sit right down and write myself an email

And, make believe it came from ….

Think I’ll include the home loan..

Make believe it came from …. my bank!

@2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all poetry and pictures on this site cannot be reproduced on the world wide web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Saturday, July 19, 2008

A Flatlander's Happy Point

For a flatlander, this was my Mt. Everest
To climb a Smokey Mountain trail
Seen many times in the bright light of day
Carefully walking now at dusk

Reaching towards the spot called Happy Point
Where many a hiker had been
Looking down on the valley of fresh fog
Expertly painted clouds below

With flashlights in hand on a night mission
Happy Point was a step away
When over the mountain a bright light peeped
A rush to find the perfect spot

The full moon rose in all of its glory
Breathing stopped atop Happy Point
A name perfectly conceived and given
A place that will always be so

@2008 Scarlets Rhymes - All poetry and pictures on this site cannot be copied and reproduced on the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Pop's Tampa Nuggets

It was not in the best of shape as he
Retrieved it from the desk drawer
Yet when he opened the box to show me
All that he had saved – he grinned

Bands were in the Tampa Nugget box he
Held firm with both his hands
Cigar bands from dozens of cigars he
Smoked over the days and years

He handed me a new catalog of great
Items that he could receive
All he had to do was mail in some of
Those bands to Tampa Nugget

As I child, I thought how lucky it was
To be Pop and get free gifts
I even offered to start smoking them
So that I could win something

Pop patted me on the head and told me
To get on outside and play
But, I lingered long enough to get a
Good look at that catalog

I think about that old box of cigar
Bands every once in awhile
Wondering what Pop bought over the years as
It got too full to close

The real truth is - Pop was a lot like
That ol’ box of cigar bands
Wishes and dreams were right there at his finger
Tips to do with as he pleased

Just maybe that box was filled with more than
I realized way back then
Shared grins and whispers with his granddaughter
Could have kept it more than full

@2008 Scarlet Rhymes - The above and all pictures and poetry on this site cannot be copied and duplicated on the World Wide Web without the written permission of the arthor/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Saturday, June 28, 2008

MAKING CENTS OF NO MONEY

I rubbed two dollars together
Trying to make some cents
Clearly this was not the best way
For my time to be spent

I stretched a twenty-dollar bill
Until it snapped in two
Does that mean I now have two tens?
Please help me hear won’t you?

I pinched a penny hard and fast
It hurt my fingers sew!
Maybe blood out of a turnip
Would be the way to go

Confusion over money now
How do I keep me sum?
Bills for gas that won’t ever last
Has turned my wallet numb

I think I’ll take up gardening
Grow rows of dollar weed
Then, no matter what else happens
I got my mouth to feed

@2008 Copyright Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all poetry and pictures on this site cannot be copied onto the world wide web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Sunday, June 01, 2008

We'll Be Servin' Vittles

A small print ad in an urban paper
Announced a rural wedding
“Frank and Jane are marrying Friday night
Then, we’ll be serving vittles”

I smiled at the thought of Jed Clampett’s grin
As Grannie served possum stew
“It always tastes better the second day”
I can hear Jeb’s “eee-dawgies!”

Vittles is a word most folks don’t know
Except as “tender” cat food
But, to turn one down who offers vittles
Would be considered quite rude

From black-eyed peas to biscuits with honey
Throw in a ham hock or two
Fried chicken, corn bread and sweet potatoes
And, a table just for cakes!

Vittles warms your stomach and hugs your heart
Those in the know will sure grin
Watching you earn your vittles “braggin’ rights”
As you become one of them

Pull up a chair with Jed Clampett and me
There’s always room for one more
You’ll hear the stories of home-style cooking
That serves up much more than food

@2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all poems and pictures on this blog cannot be reproduced on the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Sunday, May 18, 2008

THE WIVES CEMETERY

Wandering down an old moss covered pathway
The trees bring the murmurs of the sea
Stories that are lost and yet linger on
Spoken in breezes and rustling leaves

Widows who were really never sure if they were
Wait on for their captain’s sweet return
To tell of the pirates and his near death
While his lover, the sea, calls him home

Weeks and months and the years of their whole lives
Shrouded in a sea of wonderment
No news ever came, was he lost at sea?
Or, were the seas’ charms stronger than hers?

The stories of all captains are buried here
Made up, expounded or tall dark truths
The wives wait on for word at the next high tide
Buried together yet all alone

@2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all poetry and pictures on this blog cannot be duplicated on the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Saturday, May 10, 2008

I'M A QUARTER

I’m a quarter and I’m a nothing
I use to be a big deal.. way back when
When I bought five people a soda pop
When I paid for a gallon of gas

Ah, life was good all those years ago
I would be a part of everything
“Got a quarter?” and, there I would be
People were always calling my name

‘Course, those were the ‘good ol’ days, weren’t they?
When me and my pals were popular
We paid a toll and bought a paper
And, we were much better than those dimes!

Now, I’m not good for much any more
I’m forced to hang out with other coins
No longer the independent one
Just part of a jingle of some change

@2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all pictures and poems on this Blog cannot be reproduced on the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Thursday, April 24, 2008

POOR PAULETTE


Here’s the sad story of poor Paulette
Who was never really proud
If anyone looked twice at her
She would simply cry out loud

Sad about her poor pitiful life
And, if that isn’t enough
When her daddy wasn’t noticin’
She would sneak a pinch of snuff

She never had any friends at all
Who could put up with her mess?
Sobbin’ day and night for weeks
‘Cause she hated her new dress

She had herself a Pity Party
Invited a few from town
Cried as she made pimento cheese
I’m telling ya that girl was down

No one was there by three o’clock
Paulette had herself a fit
Pity Party’s are made for one
Poor Paulette didn’t know … that

@2008 Scarlet's Rhymes - The above and all poetry and pictures on this site cannot be reproduced on the world wide web or another other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecrek.com

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

THIS IS WHY I WRITE

To share my own thoughts of now
To tell of way back when
To even write of nothing
Fills my own special need

To touch someone with my words
To make them smile or cry
To help them find their own words
Makes my writing worthwhile

To send thoughts that encourage
To remind them of love
To race toward memories
After reading my rhyme

To reach their inner feelings
To make the thought shine through
To find a note that I did
Oh! This is why I write

@2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all poetry and pictures
on this blog cannot bereproduced on the World Wide Web or any
other published form without the written permission of the
writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Sunday, March 30, 2008

The Empty Building

The eerie echoes of voices long since gone
Bounce around like the flash of fame
Once filled with minds who worked themselves to death
The notion of winning the game

Floor after floor of the nine to five’ers
Thought they’d be here until they died
Filled with joy that they brought home the dollars
Refueling their family’s pride

It has been said that the walls do have ears
Too bad they can no longer speak
No words of what was or what might have been
When the future turned to the bleak

A chill in this tall, human-less building
With the For Sale sign on the door
Tells the story as loud as you can hear
The world has changed forever more

@Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all pictures and poetry on this site cannot be reproduced on the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Saturday, March 15, 2008

The Flim-Flam Man


He says all the right things and makes you smile
He's looking for help with hat in hand
Talks up the fact that he knows a few things
Asks for aid where others would not

Such lengthy conversations he offers up
It's tough not to appreciate his thoughts
He's done his homework as some would say
Knows the right heart-strings to tug gently

Who to trust in this ever-changing world?
Just because he said it's true, is it?
He even mentions a name that you know
A town and a road. He's good.

A door is opened and the deal is done
He gets what he wants and more
Scratching deep into the annals of time
Twisting words and making his own

Gone to take on the next grand prospect
With new words and dirty deeds
The smile of the strange will kill again
As he gathers his fool collection

@2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all poems and pictures on this site cannot be copied and placed on the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Blur of Impressions

You don’t require much of me at all
I don’t need a brain
In fact, it’s perfectly acceptable
If I don’t even move

No searches deep into my morals
Just show up, you say
Then, I must feast on your banquet
Telling those who ask

You, in turn, leave your brand
Slogans of evil or fun
That will stick in my head so much
That I sing them often

Believing that what I say is true
Yet never thinking
I repeat because I heard it
You told me everything

There in that colorful box in my room
You spread society
I learn, repeat and come back for more
I have no useful brain

When will I ever wake up to find
There is a way to stop
I will move and be myself again
I can turn the TV off

@Copyright 2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all poems and poetry on this page cannot be reproduced on the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.net

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Moonshine On The Dashboard

It’s not homemade in a still
It’s doesn’t have a kick
You’ll be wise to watch it, though
‘Cause it’ll be gone quick

It’ll take your breath away
When ya let it seep in
You’ll talk about it for days
And, bore all of your friends

Ya gotta git up early
I’m talkin’ before dawn
I’d hate to see ya miss it
Sunrise, it’ll be gone

Climb into your car real slow
And, watch it all begin
Ah! Moonshine on the dashboard
My celestial best friend!

@2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all poems and pictures on this site cannot be copied and used on the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Sunday, January 13, 2008

THE LOVE AND THE LOSS

They are so easy to love and adore
Time spent together is grand
Watching every movement that they make
Helps you become a big fan

As time rolls along you see the bad times
But, that doesn’t change a thing
The fun they have every single day
Keeps your life on the upswing

Oh, there will be days when you can’t stand them
You try not to yell at all
But, it seems they do better when you yell
My my.. how love does enthrall

Then, one night, comes the ultimate test
Lives may never be the same
The love, the hate, the wonder of it all
When your team loses the game

@Copyright 2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all poems and pictures on the blog cannot be reproduced on the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhymecreek.com

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

LET ME

Let me write better in this new year
Let me create a few smiles
Let me know that what I try to do
Reaches out over the miles

Let me find the gathering of words
Let me know how to say it
Let me send out the best of my best
So that my friends can weigh it

Let me improve just a little bit
Let me improve even more
Let me step up to a new challenge
It’s a small wish I implore

Let me attack this resolution
Let me be proud in the end
Let me write as I’m sure that I can
May this be a new year’s trend

@Copyright 2008 Scarlets Rhymes - The above and all pictures and poetry on this blog cannot be copied and used on the World Wide Web or any other published form without the written permission of the writer/creator at scarlet@rhmyecreek.com