THE GREAT AMERICAN POEM

THE GREAT AMERICAN POEM

Roger A. Davis

Native Americans’ oral traditions
First of this country’s poetry renditions

Walt Whitman’s 'Leaves of Grass'
Some critics claimed it obscene and crass

Yet, his elegy 'When lilacs last in dooryard bloom’d'
Had better acceptance done for Abe’s doom

On a Minuteman Statue, nicely done
Was 'Concord Hymn' by Ralph Waldo Emerson

'Annabel Lee' that love saga by the sea
By Edgar Allan Poe moved me extremely

'Snow and Ice' about anger and the world’s end
Author, Robert Frost, John F. Kennedy’s friend

'The Great American Poem' is done
"Hey, out there, you write the next one!"

ROADS

ROADS

Roger A. Davis

There are rocky roads that come with dips
Others that are so bumpy, passengers bite their lips

Some have forks in them that divide
The less traveled one, have you tried?

The Ceil one is for the sharp kind
A scholar with a smart mind

Man is an off-road being, born that way
Yet we, as a majority, from roads hardly stray

Switchbacks and hairpin curves
These unsettle my nerves

So after a mountain ride
My next favorite road
Is the one to where I abide

MELT

MELT

Roger A. Davis

Icicles on roof eaves drip
Snowman’s twig arms starting to dip

Smores’ marshmallows and chocolate do their thing
Grilled cheese sandwich does it during cooking

Ice cubes in a drinking cup
Rocks turn to lava when volcanoes erupt

Greenhouse Effect, major news
Earth’s ice caps paying pollution dues

Tar roof of my gym melts black drops
School children bring in snow requiring mops

The wielding of steel is a powerful melt
Yet more so, a hard heart becoming softer than felt

CANDLE POWER

CANDLE POWER

Roger A. Davis

Under a bushel basket don’t hide
This is no place for it to abide
Your life and light were made to shine
This done by our Heavenly Father Devine

We love to watch flames of a campfire
Supposedly connected to our need of light desire
Sunshine, skylights; outdoors and in
Done in moderation, good for health and skin

If no fireplace to burn logs and sticks
Set out some candles and light their wicks
Remember Smokey the Bear’s warning with these
Houses can ignite, just like trees

Candles come in all shapes, sizes and scents
Just like He did with us human tents
Let your candle power shine aglow
Again, it was put into us not to hide but to show

ARGOSY THEATER

ARGOSY THEATER

Roger A. Davis

On the stage, having a front row seat
I could almost hear Gordon MacDonald’s heart beat
It was not a one man play by this Scott
There were others around in the background plot

He quoted poetry by heart with zest
A player on life’s stage, he’s among the best
So absorbing, like he was performing just for me
And on a scale of 1-10, he’s 9 in being witty

An oval table prop commanded some of his attention
As Gordon adlibbed with others with words of fiction
Stealing the show not as a ham
It’s just in his blood, a wearer of the tam

I had to leave before the third act
But a Two Thumbs Up rating, a true fact
One day to the Argosy Theater again I’ll go
Hoping Gordon MacDonald will be starring in the show

ANTENNAS

ANTENNAS

Roger A. Davis

Martian ears on TV shows
Aliens in the main seem to be foes

Ants have feelers with this name
But carrying heavy loads is their fame

Radio, TV and cell phones need this device
No antenna, no communication, easy to suffice

They have tall towers with blinking lights
Dishes that can receive computer bytes

G.P.S. technology from space
I guess, can help you locate any place

Yet, when it comes to placing one under my skin
Antenna, you will no longer be my friend

Ants need theirs to feel and to smell
But, for us, it would be the beginning of hell