navwin » Archives » Open Poetry #18 » Oh no !, Not Again !!!!
Open Poetry #18
Post A Reply Post New Topic Oh no !, Not Again !!!! Go to Previous / Newer Topic Back to Topic List Go to Next / Older Topic
Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269
Pennsylvania

0 posted 2002-02-02 07:49 AM


OH NO!, NOT AGAIN!

OH, NO! today is Groundhog Day
Now we’ve got to hear
That same old groundhog story
That they feed us every year

We’re in a war, we’re in recession
Joblessness abounds
And yet the networks focus on
A shadow on the ground

It seems they never get it right
The legend is not fact
Your better off consulting with
The Farmers Almanac

I’d trust a caterpillar over
Groundhogs in a squeeze
If the wooly ones get woolier
You know we’re going to freeze

His name is Punxsutawney Pete
And people gather round
A ground hog who for more than
Fifty years is still around

That’s probably two hundred
In a man’s life, as a whole
So who’s to say he’s still alive
To pop out of his hole?

We’ll soon find out, the evening news
Will surely be replete
With the life or the misfortunes
Of our Punxsutawney Pete

Dan Rather, you are off tonight
And every newsroom crew
Tomorrow’s paper’s in the trash
Cause Pete, I’m tired of you!

I’m going to go out in the yard
And check it on my own
If I see my shadow on the ground
I'll let the news be known

Elizabeth Santos

© Copyright 2002 Elizabeth Santos - All Rights Reserved
Rex Allen McCoy
Member Elite
since 2000-01-30
Posts 2863
Sippin a Timmy's in London
1 posted 2002-02-02 09:12 AM


If you don't see your shadow ... jump up and down and make a sound like a groundhog ... ok?

Great poem

ethome
Member Patricius
since 2000-05-14
Posts 11858
New Brunswick Canada
2 posted 2002-02-02 09:17 AM


He he this is a cute one Elizabeth!
Oh well, back when they concocted this silly fable there wasn't a lot to do!
I enbjoyed this very much!

strbbux
Member Elite
since 2001-12-19
Posts 3859

3 posted 2002-02-02 09:18 AM


HAHAHAHA  SUPERB.. I also am so sick of this story. I mean how long can it go on? and who cares? And who believes it. Great write Liz, I enjoyed it with my morning coffee..floria

Floria

"Alas for those that never sing,
But die with all their music in them"
(Oliver Wendell Holmes)

NewEnglandlazurlu
Member Rara Avis
since 2002-01-04
Posts 7470
A Mountain Paradise
4 posted 2002-02-02 09:26 AM


Watching the news this morning and this whole thing with the critter and his shadow certainly did make me laugh. What is so incredible though, 40,000 people show up to this event! I must be missing something. LOL!  :-)

" My wrinkles are badges of courage and reveal that I am a Mother."

Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354
Listening to every heart
5 posted 2002-02-02 09:31 AM



YOU gave me the first laugh of the day, Elizabeth! [Ok, I admit it, I slept in for the first time in a decade...]

And I RARELY SEE YOU SHOUT your titles, so I KNEW something was up!  So glad I didn't miss it!  TV "click"! OFF!

I'll check the next SANTOS report right here in the blue pages...

catalinamoon
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Rara Avis
since 2000-06-03
Posts 9543
The Shores of Alone
6 posted 2002-02-02 10:55 AM


Ha Ha I was thinking of writing a funny groundhog poem, and you did it first!
I have had news on in the backgrond while on the computer, and they have mentioned Pete about 4 time in the last half hour. I think the people of New England are too bored. (I know I am)
Sandra

Silver Streak
Member Elite
since 2002-01-02
Posts 3625
FL, USA
7 posted 2002-02-02 10:57 AM


Terrific! Just terrific!

Sharing God's Love through perfectlovepoetry.com

Copyright: 2002 Newell Elsworth Usher

Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049
California
8 posted 2002-02-02 11:06 AM


So Liz, did you see your shadow??  Loved this smile from you..thanks!
Startime
Member Ascendant
since 2000-10-03
Posts 5918
Canada
9 posted 2002-02-02 11:56 AM


*giggling* well one thing is sure...I love the movie Groundhog Day....This is a great poem and put a smile on my face. Thank you. **big hugs**

Love I leave with you whether it is in your life now or yet the essense of your dreams.

sodpossom
Senior Member
since 2001-06-15
Posts 723
N.C
10 posted 2002-02-02 12:16 PM


Very cute and a enjoyable read!
Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269
Pennsylvania
11 posted 2002-02-02 01:07 PM


Ye, I saw my shadow! So that means 6 more weeks of bad weather (Now does that make any sense? NO, it doesn't) It never did and never will. Groundhog Day is even printed on my calendar! Well, my opinion is, if it is sooooo impotant to so many people, it should be deemed a national holiday (Until Pete dirs, of course)
Thanks for your comments.
Liz

Mistletoe Angel
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 5 Tours
Member Empyrean
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816
Portland, Oregon
12 posted 2002-02-02 03:09 PM




(smiles) Uh oh, I see my shadow too, I guess it's back to snow-shoveling for me at least for 6 more weeks! (giggles in delight) This is such a wonderful poem that not even Dan Rathers could interpret, sweet freind, we all love you so much! (kiss on cheek) You have such a beautiful heart, sweet Elizabeth, thank you for sharing!



May love and light always shine upon you!

Love,
Noah Eaton

Pilgrimage
Member Elite
since 2001-12-04
Posts 3945
Texas, USA
13 posted 2002-02-02 03:17 PM


Dear Liz,
It's gray and nasty and cold and I just saw three drops of rain hit the window? Does it mean anything? Yes, it means I don't want to go outside. Sigh.

Nan

Enchantress
Member Empyrean
since 2001-08-14
Posts 35113
Canada eh.
14 posted 2002-02-02 04:13 PM


Good write Liz.  Thanks for the chuckle today!

~Hugs, Nancy~

~Time has cast a spell on you,
  So you won't ever forget me~

Denise
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-08-22
Posts 22648

15 posted 2002-02-02 04:35 PM


Hysterical, Elizabeth! Let's hope that the groundhog is wrong! I'm ready for Spring right about now!
Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354
Listening to every heart
16 posted 2002-02-02 09:15 PM



Shoot Denise!  Winter JUST got to my neck of the woods...I could take a couple of more snowfalls before my back says "enough!"

doreen peri
Member Elite
since 1999-05-25
Posts 3812
Virginia
17 posted 2002-02-02 09:32 PM


hehe.... this is wonderful, Liz!!!

i'm laughing.... really terrific!!

and guess what? my daughter keeps asking me if he saw his shadow or not and i don't know and i don't want to know because i KNOW you saw yours! and that's good enough for me.....

fine humorous writing here., Ms. Poet!!

Bec
Member
since 2001-02-23
Posts 475
Canberra
18 posted 2002-02-02 09:33 PM


Elizabeth...

I love this! I'm actually kinda intrigued (sp??) with the whole groundhog thing, what it is, why it is, all that sort of stuff. I'm going to have to do some looking around to find out something about it!

Bec

"Poetry and Hums aren't things which you get, they're things which get you. And all you can do is to go where they can find you."
-Winnie-the-Pooh

Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269
Pennsylvania
19 posted 2002-02-02 10:36 PM


Thank you all for your great remarks to this poem. Bec , let me explain. This "tradition " of ground hog day has been with us for a long time. I still remember my 2nd grade teacher reading the story to us. and that was 50 years ago!. How this got started I dopn't know, it could even go back to my parents time, which would make Pete 75 years old (in ground hog years) They say if he sees his shadow (in othe rwords if Feb 2nd is a sunny day), we will have 6 more weeks of cold weather. I saw my shadow, but the watyher has been so warm this winter where I live, we may have 6 more weeks of warm weather. I don't think groundhogs make good barometers anyway. So I din't watch the news tonight. Sorry, Pete
I hope that explans it, Bec
Liz

Toerag
Member Ascendant
since 1999-07-29
Posts 5622
Ala bam a
20 posted 2002-02-02 10:57 PM


I ain't seen no groundhog
I saw fat Balladeer,
I saw a pig, or so I thought
Twas LongJohn drinkin' beer

I know I haven't seen a rat
Nor that pawkawhat groundhog
But Balladeer's sure gettin' fat
Like a St. Bernard type dog!

Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269
Pennsylvania
21 posted 2002-02-02 11:31 PM


You are too much, Mr Toerag man,and I've missed you. Thanks for the laugh.
Love ya
Liz

Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269
Pennsylvania
22 posted 2002-02-02 11:33 PM


I understand his name is phil, not Pete. WEll, maybe Pete died and Phil took over.
Sorry for the error, now I've got to rewrite my poem
Nuts!

Madame Chipmunk
Member Rara Avis
since 2001-12-05
Posts 8296
Michigan
23 posted 2002-02-02 11:36 PM


Hey Liz...don't go insulting my cousin, Mr. Groundhog now.....Chipmunks and groundhogs are related.  We are both the grandchildren of THE GREAT RODENT!!!!!!
But chipmunks are too small to see their shadows and too smart to come up out of their burrows in the winter.
I liked your poem anyway...even though you insulted my cousin!

copyright2002 Lyra Nesius

"poetry is life distilled"  Gwendolyn Brooks

Larry C
Deputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Patricius
since 2001-09-10
Posts 10286
United States
24 posted 2002-02-02 11:37 PM


Liz,
Bravo!! I'm with you. So give me a report... Fun, fun write.

Never mind...I got the report.

[This message has been edited by Larry C (02-03-2002 12:49 AM).]

amigo
Senior Member
since 2001-10-12
Posts 520
the earth school
25 posted 2002-02-02 11:42 PM


Enjoyed reading this, Elizabeth...i'm also springing 'cause spring is here....thanks for sharing...
LngJhnAg
Member Elite
since 1999-07-23
Posts 3508
Boot+Kitty=Poetry in motion
26 posted 2002-02-02 11:55 PM


Amen, Sister Liz.  It's great to read your wittier side.  Nicley done, Lady.
peaches73533
Senior Member
since 2001-11-04
Posts 981
OK, USA
27 posted 2002-02-03 12:34 PM


What a playful write.Great job here.
peaches

Mysteria
Deputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 10 ToursDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 TourDeputy Moderator 1 Tour
Member Laureate
since 2001-03-07
Posts 18328
British Columbia, Canada
28 posted 2002-02-03 01:53 AM


YES!  Way to go Liz, you tell 'em.  It is about time that that little pest goes.  Love seeing your humorous side Liz.  Actually the little guy got his start this way....(from http://www.groundhog.org/history/tradition.shtml, which is history about groundhogs.  Can you actually believe they keep this stuff? LOL)

Fact:
Pennsylvania's earliest settlers were Germans and they found groundhogs to in profusion in many parts of the state. They determined that the groundhog, resembling the European hedgehog, was a most intelligent and sensible animal and therefore decided that if the sun did appear on February 2nd, so wise an animal as the groundhog would see its shadow and hurry back into its underground home for another six weeks of winter.

The Germans recited:

For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day,
So far will the snow swirl until the May.

~* Carpe' Diem  *~

passing shadows
Member Empyrean
since 1999-08-26
Posts 45577
displaced
29 posted 2002-02-03 05:11 AM


This one had me rolling on the floor! Thanks!
Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269
Pennsylvania
30 posted 2002-02-03 06:50 AM


I apologize to Mdm Chipmunk - no offense intended as I realize now tis is a sensitive matter. Mysteria has given the intellectual side of the story, and since I am Pennsylvania German, there must have been a lot of unhappy ancestors yesterday. They may come back to haunt me on Halloween
Thanks all for your comments
Liz

Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191
Cape Cod Massachusetts USA
31 posted 2002-02-03 09:58 AM


LOL... I'm giggling... I think that if the truth be known, it's Punxsatawney Phil and Pottstown Pete... They're second cousins, I believe.  Legend has it that Phil and Pete just couldn't get along, and Phil ran Pete outa town.  So Pete, not to be outdone by his wayward cousin, found a far better place to reside... a stoney countryside where Phil wouldn't ever bother him... and Pete has his OWN ideas about the coming of spring... He's even got his own TV crew... I'd pay more attention to Pete, if I were you... He's much less pretentious...
Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269
Pennsylvania
32 posted 2002-02-03 11:27 AM


Nan

Oh ye of sonnet fame, great conquerer of the English language, master of phonetics and queen of word usage, whose realm of linguistic knowledge far surpasses my modest skills, may I, a mere pawn, be so bold as to correct the spelling of the queen of vocabulary, a wizzard of the word? In great humility I offer the correct spelling of Punxsutawney, which should be in everyone's vocabulary, everyone whose head gets hammered with this groundhog story every year.Bowing to the royal queen of poetry,I thank your highness for your comments to my poem
As for your creative story of Pete and Phil, which is slightly incorrect, as I have now offered to the National Weather Service to actually be a groundhog, and since they depend on this critter for the accuracy of weather forecasting, I am going to get paid to be a groundhog.
Liz

[This message has been edited by Elizabeth Santos (02-03-2002 11:33 AM).]

inot2B
Member Elite
since 2000-09-18
Posts 2205
Arkansas
33 posted 2002-02-03 04:42 PM


Phil may not be the best weather forecaster but he is alot more accurate than our weathermen in South Texas. Loved your poem, brought a smile on a cloudy, dreary day.
Post A Reply Post New Topic ⇧ top of page ⇧ Go to Previous / Newer Topic Back to Topic List Go to Next / Older Topic
All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format.
navwin » Archives » Open Poetry #18 » Oh no !, Not Again !!!!

Passions in Poetry | pipTalk Home Page | Main Poetry Forums | 100 Best Poems

How to Join | Member's Area / Help | Private Library | Search | Contact Us | Login
Discussion | Tech Talk | Archives | Sanctuary