»
Archives
»
Open Poetry #3
»
My Home Town....Community Poem
| Open Poetry #3 |
|
My Home Town....Community Poem |
|
|
Balladeer
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-05
Posts 25505Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA 
|
My warmest thanks to all participating poets who have graciously allowed us a glimpse into their lives through their poetry.... R O N ----- Michigan Summer My road is sun baked dirt and stone, my yard a field of wild grass grown, and at my furthest boundary, tall rows of corn stand guard for me. At dark the stars become a torch, the brightest light from my back porch, and fireflies mime the stars in flight; I find I see much more at night. My neighbors are the maple trees and swooping wrens and bumble bees, a snowshoe rabbit running wild, a tawny doe with freckled child. We share a home near glacier's gift of arctic waters left adrift, one lake of many lakes around a place called Colon, my home town. N A N ----- The bridge is for Ron...      The waves roll on and gulls above soar high, Lone foghorns chanting Cape Cod's solitude. The dunes at rest beneath the autumn sky Envelop peaceful beaches once imbued. Bright foliage adorns the countryside, Surrounding sundried bogs of cranberries. This summer tourists' verdant welcome tide Now boasts majestic hues of burgundies. Synthetic lakes spew forth from each bog's moat Releasing berries for the harvest day, And bouyant crimson carpets lie afloat In just abeyance to be scooped away The ferries from Wood's Hole to Edgartown From Falmouth's harborfront over a mere Resplendent view of Martha's Vineyard Sound - "America the Beautiful" born here.  SUNSHINE -------- Hometowns are very special, by that now you know. Each one or more can and will, on you certainly grow. I’ve lived and stayed in many towns, traveling east to west now I’m in the middle, and certainly loving it best. Grew up in CA, where seasons failed to come, lived awhile in Illinois, then that time was done. Really enjoyed good ol’ Michigan, for the apples galore; then returned to CA ‘cause death was at the door. Happenstance and circumstance sent us then midwest now living in a “small town” where I really like it best. Have my cows out in the country, can know folks by name; truly not Chicago, but we’re very far from tame. We can travel not too far, visit one-horse, one-lane towns; watch to love kids play in yards, always horsing around. There’s magic in all seasons, you’ve certainly read of them; each month is so very precious, each season is a gem. This little town I live in, has me by my roots; ladies of all types, I go from heels to cowboy boots. Men in trucks and limos; kids with spiked hair and not; I’ll come visit your home town, and return happy to what we’ve got. CRAIG ----- Blackburn Beside the burn black she lies, this cotton kings smoke layered town With tired red bricked terraced eyes, each street ranked and falling down This valley perched upon a hill, which owes it’s shape and dour form To each empty dark satanic mill, once echoing to the sparked clogs worn Gone now the chimney stacks, that belched forth smoke to stain the rain Removed the trams silver bright tracks, yet cobbled stones left still remain And gone all hope and pride, disused and demolished or worn down Leaves me living at the graveside, of a long dead Lancastrian town. LUCIE ----- I Hate My Town I’m sitting here with pen in hand beside the apartment pool kids laughing, splashing, playing generally acting just a fool. I wrote a pretty good poem about the town where I grew up but Balladeer says not to post it here, I said why.. "its good enough!" But he is really bossy so I’ll let him have his way and write a poem about the town in which I’m forced to stay. OK you want a poem about the town where Lucie lives about the feeling of the city and the culture that it gives. Well I’m not gonna write of that instead I’ll let you see the city as I see it filled with crime and poverty. The children who run down the streets littered with trash of man find the beauty of my city in these few words if you can. The bums on every corner holding up their signs to view "I need a beer give me a buck" at least they don’t lie to you. The Metro bus that’s packed so full of people on their way to every corner of the city at any given time of day. The heat that makes you sweat the moment you step out the door though you just took a shower doesn’t matter any more. The fact you plan your life around the setting of the sun don’t get caught outside at night unless you’ve got a gun. Cause there are things outside my door that I don’t care to face the city where I live you see is not the safest place. But as I sit and watch kids splashing, what really amazes me are the things as adults they’ll pull to mind from childhood memory. They won’t remember the crimes on TV or the murder down the street just all the friends who came to play in this big pool where they meet. They’ll remember friends with which they all played ghetto basketball. "Oh you don’t know how to play that game? Well let me tell y’all." You take a grocery basket and you hang it upside down on the dumpster, now don’t laugh its a popular game here in my town. I guess we all have memories of the places where we live though I will paint no pretty picture here’s the one thing I will give. Houston is a city just like LA or New York the place to go for money if you have the skills to work. So please don’t let my poem keep you from visiting this city It is a place that’s filled with people and great human diversity. So Balladeer here is the poem about this poet’s town and I am going inside now cause the sun is going down. But before I end this poem, though I know that you don’t care I’ll dream about my small town life and that other really good poem that you wouldn't let me post, that took me there.  HA HA JULIE ----- Home Is Where You Hang Your Heart There's so many place I've called home, Some say I have roamed and roamed, For a space to call my dome. For where I was born, is where I ended up. A place so hot, everyone carries a cup; Even my dog, he's actually a pup. It' humid most of the time, Sanity comes with my rhymes, People talk like they don't have a dime. Flat land and erratic seasons, Not to fear there is rarely a freezin', In Fall, people do their sneezin'. At night we walk in fright, for ya' never know who's out of sight, prepared to take your last bite. This isn't the only place I've been, Colorado and Oregon with a grin. Beauty as much, should be a sin. I miss the mountains and the lakes, climbin' so high with all it takes, only to feel an occassional quake. I may live in Houston, but my heart is in confusion, among these lost souls...usin'. I chose a home where I'm kinda safe, away from people that will take; I don't know if tommorrow I will wake. It's hard to be where you are, wishing upon that twinkling star, Passions In Poetry, in 1st so far. POET DEVINE ----------- Out of ashes, a Phoenix was born, that bird gave us our name ashes are the desert sands, southern winds fanned the flame Famous for our dry heat and searing summer sun ‘snowbirds’ migrate in the winter, to have a little fun We’ve got Rattlers, Diamondback, Cardinals too got a giant wave to ride and a we have world class zoo Cultural diversity is fostered in this place every religion, every age and certainly every race Colleges and old folks homes exist side by side the cleanliness of our city, is a source of our great pride Not too far from winter snow, nor from lakes in northern clime We even hope to have a beach, if an earthquake comes sometime While driving home from work, you can fry an egg on your hood Burn your hands on a steering wheel, don’t tell me this sounds good? The engine heats up, your car explodes, tempers begin to run short, Pools are full, the fans are on, so we move to a northern resort. We may sweat and we may moan, and ask ourselves why, Why we stay when it’s so hot! But remember, the heat is dry! Natural rivers flow as summer rains pour from the sky But don’t worry, we don’t get wet! Our rain is also dry!    CHRISTOPHER ----------- My hometown... a place that's in need. Overrun by dirt, by crime and by greed. Dealers walking streets, they're everywhere. Even with kids around, they just don't care! Staying up all night, the tweekers aren't rare. Taking out razors, and cutting up their share. Our government's come, "to clean", they say. Come here to purge all of the slime away. And yet I know the truth, of this too common tale. Learned what can happen, when drugs are for sale. I watched my brother, every time he would fail. Fearful of the day, when he would end up in jail. Often he'd falter, really never that tough. Rail at his demons, until he just had enough. Now he's back with us, though life still is rough. I still worry though, about those out there still. All over the world, it's not just here that it kills. WILD CHILD ---------- My hometown is not so different than any others. I've been everywhere this side of the Missouri Stink It's a town of trees and mountains and oh brother! It's got a river right thru town where I used to sit and think. Or surf on the raft that was tied up to an old gnarled oak. The train depot sits at the top of Vista and its red paint is turning pink. The college is expanding like some big balloon I'd like to poke. But they gotta have somplace for students who pay to think. The park is still downtown amidst the roses and the zoo. Used to party there years ago and listen to amps blaring from the 'shell Things have changed so much in the last decade or two. Can't party at the park, cops said it's now illegal. What the hell!? They put a Greenbelt in though the path was always there. Goes from Boise now to Lucky Peak and the other way to Eagle. They paved it now so joggers can go safely anywhere. Or so the older folks can walk their yorkies and their beagles. But all in all I must say that I'm happy to be home in my town With all the changes it has gone thru and its growth expansions I find myself grinnin' like a stupid foolish clown Living large in Treasure Valley. Boise Idaho is what they this bastion. MIRIAM ------ -There's never any silence, With all these cars passing by. At night there's some violence, I hardly see a sunny sky. -Armenians everywhere, With their fancy new rides. No one ever smiles, Everyone always hides. -The mini mart next door Is where the kids run to. This town is such a bore, There's nothing ever to do. -I want this all to end, I'll marry a rich man if i have to !I have a few friends, They're what makes it all worthwhile. TARA SIMMS ---------- Donalds, SC Bubbles floating through the air that small hands try to catch. The glow of a philly blunt lit up with a match. Little girls calling rhymes as they jump their rope. An old weather beaten face, eyes that lost all hope. Crickets sing their song scattered in the trees. A sweet scent lingers: honeysuckle on the breeze. The sky is void of the moon, there is no heavenly glow to cast its light as night falls on my home in the ghetto. PUFALOVE -------- As I sit down to write this, I tremble in fear For all my previous attempts have ended with a tear But as I read your challenge, oh ellusive Balladeer I begin again, pen in hand, maybe the time is near. My home town was like non-other you will read At a tender age of 6, mom died,leaving 5 from her seed I recall the snow so deep and the bitter wind did blow Leaving us to fend in the world,little did we know! So off we went from place to place Shuffled with each relative in hase Were WAS the next town, the next open door? Would they have a bed or would it be the floor? As we ventured into every cozy little town I recall one year we got to see a clown Mr. Johnsons hardware had big things hanging from the wall "here's a sucker", a kindly smile, "be careful you don't fall!" The buildings and the schools were all the same to me Each town, each street,27, before I was set free. So your challenge I have met, oh lofty Balladeer My home town was all the places in my heart that only I hold near. And the strangers loving hands who helped me on my way Take me back to my hometown each and every day. DSNYDER ------- So many thoughts come now to mind -Reflections of the fondest kind Fun happy days of childhood Spent in my town - my neighborhood. Familiar faces - some still here- Some only dwell in yesteryear Familiar spots, a sound, a scent Can take me back to days since spent. My town's one full of history- Fair birthing place of liberty Her patriots of ages past Have built a land that's unsurpassed. Miss Betsy Ross - who sewed so well George Washington and William Tell Ben Franklin, too and many more Shall dwell here always - evermore. My town's called Philadelphia And though it's not Utopia There's nowhere else I'd rather dwell Than right here with that cracked old bell! CAROLINE -------- Get Me Outta Here! I traveled to the River and left behind the Lake I wish I'd never come here my homesick heart still aches Nearly a year I've lived alone in this rather blue-haired town I was starting my life over but its only brought me down I found real quick if you need a job Its not what but who you know and if you don't go to bars at night you've got no place to go The local businesses will screw you out of every cent you've earned If their service is bad its YOUR problem as far as they are concerned For now it seems I'm stuck here it feels like I'm buried alive Give me back the lakes and pine trees Where I know I can survive (Somewhere in Florida) DUMBLON ------- I live in Erie,PA. "Eriesistable" "Dreary Erie Mistake on the lake" Don't know who said it or who wrote it But truth be told I certainly believe it. My life these past years Has turned right around. I am facing concrete walls which make unnatural sounds. I yearn for the times When I was a kid. The days in the fields with the grass as my bed. I played outside, Never once had to worry, If the man down the street Would do something "dirty". I loved the country, My parents encouraged it. I climbed every tree. I was a free spirit. Now I am grown And moved into town. My spirit is wilting These walls tear me down. The gray of the pavement Saps me of my powers. Like Superman and Kriptonite, I no longer can flower. I yearn for the green, of dirt and of trees. I look to the sky, Was that all in my dreams? Did I not run once With boundless freedom? Just to see what I could My memories, I feel them. My family watches in horror, I know. They beg me to move, to go. My finances are begging To be rescued from me. I can't afford the move. It's wait and see. Till that day that I run in the fields, I run with the memory of my spirit in my head. BALLADEER --------- I'm right here in Ft. Lauderdale One of the few not out on bail. The city of fun in the sun. I saw it once - in '91. I see palms swaying in the breeze And watch for swimming refugees Who've risked it all - all that they own To come and make our town their home. The snowbirds chase the early birds, Attack the Rascal House in herds. We have a big state lottery And Indians sell smokes, tax-free. Each year the tourist hoards invade, Wear yellow shorts...drink Gator-Ade. Though they invade our beach like leeches We smile at all those sons of beaches. Why do we smile? The simple fact is Thanks to them, there's no state taxes So we just smile and say hello Then cheer the day they finally go. Our bird - the plastic pink flamingo Our slogan - "Hot damn! I've got Bingo!" With Spanglish our official lingo And foreigners are known as "gringo". If one can disregard the lootings, Pay no mind to the drive-by shootings, Laugh at corruption in city hall, This is a great place, after all!!! [This message has been edited by Balladeer (edited 10-17-1999).] |
||
| © Copyright 1999 Michael Mack - All Rights Reserved | |||
|
Lucie Senior Member
since 1999-06-20
Posts 1077Houston |
Having joined in this community poem it is nice to see it finally come to light in the Open Forum. It was a wonderful idea and shows in the overwhelming participation. So whats next Boss Balladeer??? |
||
suthern
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723Louisiana |
What a wonderful visit To places good and bad Thanks for sharing memories Both delightful and sad. I feel that I know each of you Better than before. Be sure that you'd be welcome If you showed up at my door! Well done, poets... each and every one of you! |
||
|
hoot_owl_rn Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750Glen Hope, PA USA |
Applauds all the poets here...what a wonderful trip I took today to many poets home towns......but after the long journey, it's good to be home. Ramey, Pennsylvania Not one single stoplight No malls, no fancy stores No need for a police department We don't even lock our doors Everyone here knows you By face, if not by name And family or not They treet you all the same The school itself is not real big The students know each other Each one there is treated Like a sister or a brother On Friday night at football games The hometown spirt shows The town comes out, supports the team Of players everybody knows Sure there's entertainment A carnival or two Wildlife and baseball games I've even seen a few As towns go, we are not large But boy, we sure are grand Let one neighbor need some help And all will lend a hand So you folks can keep your cities Full of drugs and crime When it comes to towns to live I think I'll just keep mine ------------------ This is courage...to bear unflinchingly what heaven sends. ~Eurpides [This message has been edited by hoot_owl_rn (edited 10-17-1999).] |
||
|
Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191Cape Cod Massachusetts USA |
This is TERRIFIC - I think I'm going to visit every single one of you... Where shall I begin... Let's see.. |
||
|
Munda Member Elite
since 1999-10-08
Posts 3544The Hague, The Netherlands |
Ahhhh, I've seen this grow and hadn't seen the last poems yet ! Applause to all of you, this is wonderful ! : ) |
||
|
Pufalove Member
since 1999-08-18
Posts 119Houston, Tx. USA |
Well, I love my big city, Houston.....YES, and after being gone for 4 week and finally getting the bugs out of this pc, (Nebraska bugs, LOL), the first poems I get to read on this new, wonderful, fast server, (YES!) are all the great places we all know and love. The pictures are great and the so are the ones painted in such great poetry. Better than a canvas! ------------------ O all ye powers that he implanted, Arise, keep silence no more; put forth the strength that he hath granted, your noblest work is to adore. |
||
|
Pepper Member Elite
since 1999-08-19
Posts 3079Southern Florida |
Bravo Poets!! Absolutely wonderful work!! Enjoyed this immensely!! ------------------ May your days be filled with lots of sunshine and your nights lit up by golden moonbeams |
||
|
Toerag Member Ascendant
since 1999-07-29
Posts 5622Ala bam a |
Okay, so Balladeer left me outta the Community...I understand...my feelings aren't hurt..besides, it wouldda probably been hard to make something sensible that rhymed with; "There's goes the neighborhood".....No problem, I'll just go get yet another damn beer....yanno? This is getting expensive!!! LOL...nice job, as usual you old *****! Okay Ron....can I use fart? [This message has been edited by rcarnell (edited 10-18-1999).] [This message has been edited by Toerag (edited 10-18-1999).] |
||
|
Toerag Member Ascendant
since 1999-07-29
Posts 5622Ala bam a |
deleted [This message has been edited by Toerag (edited 10-19-1999).] |
||
|
Pepper Member Elite
since 1999-08-19
Posts 3079Southern Florida |
a boost to the top so the others can enjoy!! |
||
|
Iloveit Senior Member
since 1999-09-02
Posts 1121NM |
well didn't get mine ready for this post so am gonna tack it on here make this 501 for me *g* young and old and in between cars, low down, too low, scraping blacktop, grinning boys adorn the interior very proud of the effect. cars hopping, up and down hydraulically flirting with the painted girls in the next car, making time, all the drag long. stands of fruit, chili red and green hats shading wrinkles from the sun, passing the day, their pride is set for sale, best chili in the state you know? gambling and bingo, take the social security checks it was for the best, to benefit the state, I'm told, when they legalized gambling for the poor and the old. and in the middle is me and you, too old to cruise and too young for being too old in my prime, with nothing to do. not rich enough to ski the slopes, and sure enough don't own a boat, we work from paycheck to paycheck to go to the grocery stores. there's a brand new Walmart that's open 24 hours. mountains on all sides, a gem for sure. there's old adobe's since the founding, but with envy I watch the tourists because eventually, they get to leave |
||
|
Sally S. Senior Member
since 1999-06-07
Posts 847Ohio |
Applauds loudly!! Great work, guys and dolls!!! Nice view. (even the ones who hated their town  ) I missed this one....on purpose. LOL My hometown isn't much to write about....at least I didn't think so at the time. But, when you really consider all you've seen and done...it's not so bad. |
||
Mysteria
since 2001-03-07
Posts 18328British Columbia, Canada |
Wow! Glad you brought it to light Michael, I never read this before. Good on you all. |
||
Alison
since 2008-01-27
Posts 9318Lumpy oatmeal makes me crazy! |
I love the community poems. A |
||
|
|
⇧ top of page ⇧ |
|
| All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format. | ||
