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Monthly Archives: March 2008

Gettysburg, July 1863

March 28, 2008 – 1:57 pm

It was the darkest  period in American chronicle,
brothers pitted against brothers clearly ironical.
The side fought for depending largely on birth,
they donned gray or blue to prove their side’s worth.

From the North and the South, Americans all,
thousands of brave young men answered the call
of the grim and gruesome days of the Civil War.
And thousands died in the blood and the gore.

Some weren’t even of age, merely boys
who not so long ago still played with toys.
But these were ghastly times of innocence lost,
and for far too many on both sides, life was the cost.

The number of Civil War battles is of dispute
but, counting skirmishes, 10,000 seems astute.
None more deadly and bloody by any degree,
than the famous Battle of Gettysburg in July, 1863.

The South’s General Robert E. Lee, on a scorching day,
crossed the Mason-Dixon line with his army in gray.
Into Pennsylvania they marched with persistence,
hoping they could crumble all Northern resistance.

This is a preview of Gettysburg, July 1863. Read the full post (886 words, 0 images, estimated 3:33 mins reading time)
By Eugene Wells | Posted in Poems, Rhyming Poems | Comments (4)

The Trail by the Lake in the Wood

March 21, 2008 – 3:08 pm

It’s a time of green grass and colorful flowers,
a time of growth, renewal, and new life born.
Winter’s snow melts under warm Spring showers,
disregarding their spray I hike for hours,
my mind relaxed, free from all thoughts forlorn,
on the trail by the lake in the wood.

To my right, the narrow strip of new and tender lawn
is dotted with wild blooms of mixed vivid hues,
and just beyond, the crystal lake mirrors the light of dawn.
I wave at a couple engaged in a chess match, she moved a pawn,
both are sprawled on a blanket with kicked off shoes,
near the trail by the lake in the wood.

The drizzle has stopped now and I continue on my way,
tying the arms of my flimsy jacket around the waist,
as the sun emerges from behind clouds in warm display.
I hike less than 1000 feet more, and marvel at my lucky day,
as I spot 4 new ducklings behind their mother, with one displaced,
and watch gleefully from the trail by the lake in the wood.

This is a preview of The Trail by the Lake in the Wood. Read the full post (548 words, 0 images, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)
By Eugene Wells | Posted in Poems, Rhyming Poems | Comments (10)

Flight to Anywhere

March 16, 2008 – 4:34 pm

He was at the airport, the ticket counter,
said “I’d like a ticket” without further banter.
“Of course, sir” replied the agent with flair,
“Now will you please tell me to where?”

“Humor me” he muttered, “I’ll let you choose”,
the agent sniffing the air for the scent of booze,
and finding none, told the man that was impossible,
“We fly the world over, your request is impractical”.

The man realized he was put on the spot,
he just wanted a ticket and wondered why not.
“Sir”, said the agent, “there’s a line behind you,
if you don’t tell me now, I bid you adieu”.

Knowing he must act, the man suggested the North Pole,
it would fit his mood, barren, lonesome, and cold.
“Sir, you’ve picked a place that we just don’t travel,
think of another quick before I slam down the gavel”.

“OK, you win” was the man’s forlorn reply,
saying he wanted a ticket to France but not knowing why.
He’s getting much warmer thought the agent named Mike,
“Any idea at all which town you might like?”

This is a preview of Flight to Anywhere. Read the full post (417 words, 0 images, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)
By Eugene Wells | Posted in Poems, Rhyming Poems | Comments (6)

Rain

March 15, 2008 – 1:54 pm

Inborn with mystery is nature’s mind,
ever since the birth of time.
For long before the dawn of man,
our waters were taught to water the land.

The task at hand was one of great girth,
how to quell thirst for all life on Earth?
The answer was reached with help from on high,
when God advised nature to shoot from the sky.

So dutiful rivers and lakes and ocean
mailed their mist skyward with unseen motion,
where moisture bonded and blue heavens turned gray,
’till pregnant clouds burst forth their spray.

Then came rain, showers, drizzle and pour,
and living things sighed when parched no more.
The process continues, some billions of times over,
is that a recycled lake greening your clover?

Permanent link to this post (62 words, 0 images, estimated 15 secs reading time)
By Eugene Wells | Posted in Poems, Rhyming Poems | Comments (4)

Tree Story

March 14, 2008 – 9:50 pm

The property belongs to John now,
a bequest of his dear parent’s will.
It was also his home when he was but a child,
so the frustration of today he couldn’t still.

He gazed sadly at the dark gray Holly Oak,
where he spent fond Summers of days long past,
in the tree house his dad had helped him build,
playing “make-believe” as if it would forever last.

This backyard tree is large, some forty feet tall,
with the canopy width not very far from the same.
But it’s terribly ancient now, untold years old,
and disease and oak moths have laid their claim.

John, in his fifties now, grew up with this Oak,
and refers to it unabashedly as almost a friend.
Even as an adult he greatly admired it’s smooth bark,
and each Summer, on yellow flowers and acorns depend.

But on this day John knew he had no choice,
and picked up the phone to call a tree service.
He could easily tell his tree was surely ailing,
doubts it can survive making him somewhat nervous.

This is a preview of Tree Story. Read the full post (297 words, 0 images, estimated 1:11 mins reading time)
By Eugene Wells | Posted in Poems, Rhyming Poems | Comments (0)

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