By Dennis Patton
A VISIT
Chatting with you, tales of forgotten years gone by. Chatting with you, people, places and points of view, days well spent when we were quite spry.
Now we sit on porch. Time does fly, chatting with you.
—Lydia Cheatham
Benton
CONTEMPLATING
(touched by something unseen)
A quiet stillness pervaded the air Anticipation – everywhere
Suddenly, the sound of wings Something flying, but did not sing. Pressure felt upon left shoulder, very strong.
Paused for a second or two,
Then silently, (the wings) they flew ....
—June Waymire Pruitt
Deceased
KNOWLEDGE FOR GOOD HEALTH
There once was a lady named Lana Who said, “Each day I have a banana For they’re delicious
As well as nutritious and I learned that in Texarkana.
— Howard Nobles
Deceased
THE MIRRORED MIME
Frightened
Songbirds took flight
Finch, wrens, and chickadees. He claimed the seedy stash and ate With greed.
Lively
Eyes caught a faint
Image dancing on glass He scampered up the deck to dare The foe.
His talk
Flicked side to side,
He sat with ears erect
And stared, but heard no chucks Or moans.
To save
His ill-gained spoils
He’d fight the mirrored mime,
But then he leapt the deck in swift Retreat.
— Karen Kay Bailey Blanchard, Okla.
A LOVE POEM
How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways, Better yet, I’ll show you each and every day. In everything I say, In everything I do;
I will love, honor and cherish the girl who hung the moon. — Mike Pafundi
Deceased
A BRIGHT HELLO
Speak to the night
And dare its face to mar The approach of dawn.
Lift your sights toward The east and stretch Your arms in a gladsome Welcome and wait . . .
Here’s the sun! — Jane Hutto Pensacola, Fla.
HAIKU
summer drought in the tool shed coiled hose
— Dennis Patton Alexander
To submit poems for publication, please send poems of 16 or fewer lines to Dennis Patton, 2512 Springhill Circle, Alexander, AR 72002, or patton_dr@ hotmail.com. The Saline County Branch of PRA is scheduled to meet September 23, 1:00 pm, at the Parkview United Methodist Church, 514 North Border Street, Benton.