I was given the challenge of writing a non-rhyming poem, using a template based on the poem "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon.  Here it is.

Where I’m From  - April 12, 2024

I am from upright Kirby vacuum cleaners,

From Nestle Quik (chocolate) and hula hoops.

I am from mostly junky little houses

Filled with hand-me-down furniture.

I am from the perfumed lilac bush and

The blackberry bush hideout.

I’m from sitting in the backseat on long trips to see relatives,

Or because we were moving once again.

I’m from J. D. and Rhea,

From salted watermelons and salted apples

And from angel-hair Christmas trees with blue lights.

I’m from “don’t tell me no” and “you make a better door than a window”

And “Little Scrawny Teacher”.

I’m from moving without getting to say goodbye.

I’m from Idaho and every European country,

Homemade fudge and lemon meringue pie,

From Rhea’s leprechaun who chopped wood in the forest,

Her crocheted doilies and tablecloths, Valeda’s poems and songs,

Stored in cabinets or boxes in the shop.

I’m from Corene’s quilts made from scraps,

From J.D.’s work ethic and his

M I crooked letter crooked letter I crooked letter crooked letter I humpback humpback I.

 A Lesson From Nature - March 2012

Heads bowed low beneath the rain, 

But strong enough to rise again,

The yellow daffodils arise

And face the wind, the stormy skies, 

And you and I can learn from them, 

These hardy blossoms on their stems, 

To face our trials, big and small, 

And rise triumphant over all.

Things I Wonder About and For Which I Should Probably Take Science Courses

April 8, 2024

Let’s start with that flaming orb we call the sun.

Where does all the fuel it burns come from?

After eons and eons of burning hot and bright

Surely by now it should have fizzled out of sight!

And also in the sky, that glorious night time sphere,

Which somehow pulls the sea from over there to over here!

How can an object so high up in the sky

Control the boundless ocean’s endless daily tide?

Now my mind turns to the earth’s molten core,

Where, I’m told, iron has burned forevermore.

With no oxygen, how does it keep on burning?

For that matter, how does the earth keep on turning?

What about the wind? Sometimes gentle as a child,

But other times it can blow so ferociously and wild!

All these thoughts and more my mind can’t comprehend,

But, I can turn to Google, my well-informed friend.