Shut-Eye Lullaby

Shut-Eye Lullaby
20 May 2016

Today was so much fun,
But it’s all over and done.
Tomorrow you’ll play and run
All day out in the sun.
Jamison, good night.
Jamison, sleep tight.

Now it’s time to dream
About when you jump and leap
Splashing in a stream,
Dream it all in your sleep.
Jamison, good night.
Jamison, sleep tight.

Your dreams’ll be a pretty sight
As you make everything all right.
Now it’s time to say “good night.”
Now it’s time to sleep tight.
Jamison, good night.
Jamison, sleep tight.

Lay down and close your eyes.
Breathe deep and relax to sighs
As Daddy starts to rhapsodize,
Harmonize and sing lullabies.
Jamison, good night.
Jamison, sleep tight.

Labor Day on the Bay

Labor Day on the Bay
8 Sept 2015

To celebrate Labor Day
We went to play in the sun,
Splashing in the bay,
And building a sandcastle for fun.
Our castle was shapeless.
The sand resisted conforming.
Shaping battlements was hopeless.
Water and kids performing
Their best to undermine
Building efforts by adults.
Their joint forces did combine
To give suboptimal results.
Amid all the fun and recreation,
The sun's ever churning fusion
Emitted ultraviolet radiation,
Giving the kids a burning conclusion.
From a parental point of view
Perhaps nothing was accomplished.
But there was no emergency rescue
And for the time “work” vanished.

Decision Vision

Decision Vision
8 March 2015

My logical side says,
“Something needs to be done.”
My emotional side says,
“Let’s have some fun.”
The internal struggle
Of trying to juggle
And give a little to both,
Makes me swear an oath.
In the end I choose
What I can best use
To strike pay-dirt
From of my effort.

Hard-core Chore

Hard-core Chore
24 Jan 2015

Looking at the task to be done,
Didn’t look like very much fun.
Setting about with determination
And stimulated by imagination,
She dug in where there was need.
Concentrating on doing the deed,
Incrementally making progress
While ignoring any stress,
Soon she could see results.
Double checking for faults,
The job didn’t seem megalithic.
Doing her best with a work ethic,
With what she knew and what she had
The final outcome wasn’t half bad.

One Horseman's Son

One Horseman's Son
16 March 2014

On paper my father was a farmer
But that's something of a misnomer.
Although he spent time pulling plows
I never knew him to own any cows.
Proving as a groom that he was a generous gent,
He gave my mother a horse as a wedding present.
Around the time I came along
His horse herd was a dozen strong.
Among canyons and hills renowned
For expansive outdoor spaces,
Were acres and acres of playground
And an all-around view of faraway places.
I grew up riding horses on our days off.
We would see the them from a ways off
And approach with grain in a pail,
Shaking it to make the sale.
With their noses in the bucket, distracted,
It was easy to slip a loop around their neck
Before they caught on and reacted.
Just reins were all you needed, by heck,
To ride bareback and race with the wind.
Nothing more fun could be imagined.

How pleasant to wallow in the sentimentality
Of remembering youth in less than its totality.
I now live hours away in another state.
Growing up on a ranch didn't determine my fate.
My current lifestyle is different from then,
Very different from what might have been.
Hoeing beans and getting sunburned.
Was the very first money I earned.
I carefully accounted for every penny that came.
The values learned then are now lived the same.
Yes, much has changed over the many years,
But I'm still the horseman's son, my dears.

Winner Grinner Spinner

Last Sunday after dinner at my nephew's, I played Star Wars Monopoly with him & his 2 oldest boys. Eventually I won and got to recite this poem.

Winner Grinner Spinner
21 June 2013

I won, I won!
I'm number one!
It was hard won
But so much fun.
When all was said and done,
I'm the favorite son.
I won, I won!
I'm number one!
It was hard won
But so much fun.
When all was said and done,
I'm the favorite son.
I won, I won!
I'm number one!
It was hard won
But so much fun.
When all was said and done,
I'm the favorite son.
I won, I won!
Ad nauseam.

After all the action
I'm getting traction
From the satisfaction
Of your reaction.
From the composition
Of your disposition
It's an imposition,
I'll supposition.
In addition
I have a premonition
You'll commission
My verbal rendition
As future ammunition.

Bedtime In Rhyme

Bedtime In Rhyme
25 April  2013

Shoot today in the head
And trundle off to bed.
Today was work and fun;
And what's done is done.
Tomorrow will be here soon enough
Bringing its own challenges and stuff.
Let's hope sleep comes on quick
And lying in bed will do the trick.
I just hate tossing and turning
When my brain keeps on churning.
With a yawn I said,
"Shoot today in the head.
It's time to hit the bed."