Poems

The Tortoise and the Hare (Revised edition)

Everyone knows the story
Of the Tortoise and the Hare.
But I happen to know
It wasn't quite fair.

That Tortoise was a fool
He knew he couldn't win.
So he put a bit of sleeping tonic
In the Hare's pre-race gin.

Because of his dastardly deed
The tortoise easily won the race.
All of the animals to this day
Remember the look on the Hare's face.

The Hare was furious with himself
He did not want to be thought a fool
So he went up to the Tortoise and said,
"I challenge you to a duel."

"A duel?" The Tortoise asked with a grin
He hadn't had this much fun in a while.
He pulled out his switchblade
And began to sharpen it, with a file.

The Hare pulled out his own blade
And gave the Tortoise a wink,
"You'll soon find out," He said,
"I'm faster than you think."

The other animals created a circle
With many murmurs and cheers,
The Tortoise and the Hare stood in the middle
Trying to conceal their own fears.

The Hare lunged at the Tortoise
Forgetting his blade was blunt
The Tortoise blocked his blow
Without even a grunt.

The Hare danced around him
The blade glancing off of his shell,
The animal crowd grew larger
As they continued to yell and yell.

The Tortoise decided that
It was time for the Hare's demise,
He plunged his blade deep into his chest
And revelled in the glazed look of his eyes.

The crowd looked onward
With many gasps and grins
The tortoise then whispered in the Hare's ear,
"Slow and Steady, always wins."

-Done with a friend as an LA assignment

Untitled [help with a better name?]

The Ocean roars and twists
Like a raging fire

Treasures hidden beneath
Of which we cannot desire

For what if we knew of these treasures
What would come of it?

If only we could desire
only a part of it.....

If the ocean blue is vast
Treasure beneath it's waves

Would we not, searching for it
Send more men to their graves?


Mount Kilanda

A volcano belched it's flames
Across the southern sea

And so its ashes then became
A blot on history

Some may find what moves there hearts
Within that firey blaze

Journeys that they long to start
Beyond the shadow's gaze


One Door Away from Heaven

One door away from Heaven,
We live each day and hour.
One door away from Heaven,
But it lies beyond our power
To open the door to Heaven
And enter when we choose.
One door away from Heaven,
And the key is ours to lose.
One door away from Heaven,
But, oh, the entry dues.

The Bungaloo

The Bungaloo is a friendly thing
They'll gather around you if you sing
But if an angry thought you think
They'll disappear within a blink

Smart

My dad gave me a one dollar bill
'Cause I'm his smartest son,
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
'Cause two is more than one!

And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes---I guess he don't know
That three is more than two!

Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just 'cause he can't see
He gave me four nickels for my three dimes,
And four is more than three!

And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool gave me five pennies for them,
And five is more than four!

And then I went and showed my dad,
And he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his head---
Too proud of me to speak!