Funny PAD 12-1

 There once was a poet name Sunny

Who tried to write something funny

His thoughts in his room

Were somber as a tomb,

“I’m glad it’s not how I make money.”

Memory PAD 11-3

First Time West

 

When we arrived in Wyoming

from Pennsylvania,

I remember my sister saying,

“Whoever wrote Population Explosion

has never been here.”

I thought Wyoming looked unfinished.

 

It was my first time west.

My sister’s speedometer was stuck on 55.

I had my driver’s permit

and couldn’t tell if I was going 55 or 95.

It made for some hair-raising moments,

particularly for the passengers.

memory PAD 11-2

 Summers in Delaware

 

Every summer, the seven of us would cram into our station wagon with our belongings stored underneath a row boat on the roof and escaped into the night like a band of refugees to travel from Pennsylvania to Delaware. Dad would never drive during the day because of the traffic, but mostly because his five daughters would sleep. We’d wake up and it was like magic to be in grass, trees and hills one moment and sand, water and flatlands the next. We’d spend the week in a little cabin by the lake---swimming, fishing, playing hide-n-seek, having water fights and cookouts. We’d go to the ocean a few times, and despite Mom’s best efforts, we’d get sunburnt. Over the years, we got to know the locals and my oldest sister almost married one of them. That was the summer only four of us girls went down and slept in a tent on an island, which we learned had a large population of raccoons and that you shouldn't keep food in your tent unless you want visitors. Eventually going to Delaware was only a memory—well actually, many memories.

 

The seven of us

Fun, magical memories

Sand, sun, ocean, lake

Memory PAD 11-1

  We Went by One Name

 

We went by one name, where Dad was concerned
KathyJudyLindaConnieKaren
Or sometimes Sassafras, Smokey or Sam
Over the years, we got with the program

Answer to anything is what we learned

As Dad got older, his memory churned
By little discrepancies we were warned
We all realized we were in a jam
We went by one name

Gradually the situation turned     
He didn’t know us and we felt burned
But he could still say, this great refrain,
KathyJudyLindaConnieKaren
We are Shannons, the name given, not earned
We went by one name

(A Rondeau mutant)

Blank Better PAD 10-3

 Nothing Better

 

Than a hot drink

A comfy chair and a page-turner

On a quiet day

Blank Better PAD 10-2

 Nothing Better

 

Than buckling up your seat belt

After jumping through all of the airport hoops

And knowing your off to great adventures

Blank Better PAD 10-1

 Nothing Better

 

Nothing better than a long, spring hike in Colorado

Viewing rugged mountains highlighted by the bright blue sky

Feeling the uneven terrain under your hiking boots

with the occasional scrunching of snow patches.

Breathing in the fresh pine-scented air

Delighting in the multitudes of wild flowers—

Indian Paintbrush, Silvery Lupine, Fireweed, Columbine

Hearing the whoosh of the spring runoff

Hiking up the mountain until legs can go no further

Resting by a sparkling, blue lake

Then using the muscles,

you didn’t know you had

for the return trip.