Day 272 (Delayed): Potatoes

Potatoes
By Batsheva 8/30/10

Serve them scalloped or au gratin
As a chip or as a tot
There's really hardly anything
This vegetable is not

You can boil, fry or bake
Make some flour for a cake
Stuff them, mash them
Skin them, hash them
Only promise you won't trash them

You can roast them or shoestring them
Just please don't forget to bring them
Because as Heaven knows
Everybody likes to eat potatoes!

Day 271: Riddle

Riddle
By Batsheva 8/29/10

What has lots of eyes
But never can see?

It's called a potato!
What else could it be?

Day 270 (Delayed): Dolphins

Dolphins
By Batsheva 8/28/10

A dolphin swims and leaps and jumps
It's smooth and sleek
It has no bumps
It lives in water
As it oughta
In the ocean or the sea
Never land like you and me
But a dolphin is a mammal
Like a person, cat, or camel
And they really are quite smart
Dolphins have a lot of heart
Not like a silly fish
Which is just a tasty dish
And this is why it seems to me
Dolphins are a mystery.

Day 269 (Delayed): Moving in Twos

Moving in Twos
By Batsheva 8/27/10

Don't sit there all alone
Like a statue made of stone
You know how to move
So get into the groove
Find a friend
Go for a run
Dance beneath
The midday sun
Or simply just go for a walk
And have a friendly little talk
You can bike
Go for a hike
Or jump some rope
Now, don't say nope!
Exercise is always wise
And moving in twos
Can beat the blues

But if you do not have a friend
Please don't think that is the end
Trust me when I say
That it really is okay
As long as you're awake
A friend is something anyone can make

Day 268: Climbing

By Batsheva 8/26/10

You can climb a tree
Or climb a ladder
You can climb a mountain
But does it matter?

If you enjoy it
Climbing's fine
Though climbing's not
A thing of mine

My sole advice
Is when you get to the top
Try to remember
You have to stop!

Day 267 (Delayed): Pretty

Pretty
By Batsheva 8/25/10

So and so's a pretty girl
You hear it all the time
It doesn't really mean much
Not achievement nor a crime

If someone is born pretty
Then all that really means
Is that she's very lucky
Fate gave her pretty genes

Pretty cannot ever make
The world a better place
No matter how much people like
To see a pretty face

So if you think you're pretty
Then I say good for you
You've been blessed with being pretty
Now, let's see what you can do

Day 266: Recipes

Recipes
By Batsheva 8/24/10

Following a recipe's an easy thing to do
But when you do it carefully
You can't make something new
You'll make a dish exactly
As someone's made it before
And if that's what you want
That's great
But I want something more

I'll read a bunch of recipes
To get ideas and clues
For how to choose ingredients
And different ones to use

I read so many cookbooks
To learn new cooking styles
But when I'm in my kitchen
I must do my own trials

Sometimes it's great
Sometimes it's not
Sometimes it's simply fine
But no matter what I make
I know it's truly mine

Day 265 (Delayed): Stuffed Animals

Stuffed Animals
By Batsheva 8/23/10

How many stuffed animals
Do you have in your room?
They keep you cozy in the dark
And snuggle 'way the gloom

But do you need a kangaroo,
A monkey, and a horse,
Two frogs, four dogs, a penguin,
And six teddy bears, of course?

Do you need seven rabbits?
The elephant? The sheep?
And does that purple hippo
Really, truly help you sleep?

You might want to give some away
For when the day is done
You have so many animals
And there are kids
With none.

Day 264 (Delayed): To Eat a Fig

To Eat a Fig
By Batsheva 8/22/10

You don't have to be very big
To eat a fig
You do not have to know trig
To eat a fig
You need not wear a wig
To eat a fig
Nor do you have to dig
To eat a fig
Just pick one from a tree
Or from a store
I'm certain that it's something
You'll adore
When that sweet, fresh fruit
You try
With pleasure you will sigh
Or maybe do a jig
When you eat a fig
(Just try not to be a pig!)

Day 263 (delayed): Mobile Phones

Mobile Phones
By Batsheva 8/21/10

Tell me, what can your mobile phone do?
Can yours take a picture?
Mine can too!
Does it have lots of games
With fancy frames?
And super cool apps
Like puzzles and maps?
Can it tell you exactly
Where you should go
If you're looking for pizza
And maybe a show?
Can your phone go online?
That really is fine
But mine can do the coolest
Thing of all
It actually lets me make
A telephone call!

Day 262: Coming Home

Coming Home
By Batsheva 8/20/10

When loved ones go and leave you
For a month, a week, a day
It doesn't matter all that much
How long they are away

Whether they're at work, school
Or some "Stately pleasure dome"
It's still a magic feeling
When you know they're coming home

You might not know it
'Til you see them walking in the door
Or at the airport
Maybe on the phone the week before

But in that perfect moment
When you really, truly know
You feel immensely better
'Bout the fact they had to go

Combined with such relief
And joy, and giddiness
It's true
Because you know the one you love
Is coming home to you

Day 261 (Delayed): A Camera

A Camera
By Batsheva 8/19/10

What does a camera see
With its one eye?
It can focus on
A butterfly
Or a plane
Up in the sky
A frilly little flower
Or a gentle summer shower
It can focus on most any face
Any kind of space or place
A house
A tree
Or you
Or me
But what does a camera
See?

When you stop and think
I think you'll find
Without a human eye
A camera's blind.

Day 260: Chicken

Chicken
By Batsheva 8/18/10

Don't be a chicken!
People say
When someone is frightened
And running away

But what does being scared
Have to do
With that delicious bird
We love to chew?

You can eat them roasted
You can eat them fried
You can eat them stewed
Or even pot-pied

Eat chicken soup or chicken wings
As a snack or as a meal
Almost anyone will eat them. . .
Wonder how that makes them feel. . . .

Why are frightened folk called "chicken"?
Now, don't you think it's true
That if you were a chicken
You'd feel like running too?

Day 259 (Delayed): Smoothie

Smoothie
By Batsheva 8/17/10

Throw some sweet fruit in a blender
Yogurt, ice, and then--voila!
You have a most delicious treat
To make you shout, "Hurrah!"

They say smoothies are good for you
I really wish they wouldn't
Somehow it just seems much more fun
When you tell yourself you shouldn't

Day 258: Rodeo

Rodeo
By Batsheva 8/16/10

Broncos and bulls
Calf-roping too
A cool rodeo
Is a fun thing to do
For us anyway
I don't mean to condemn
But somehow I don't think
That it's much fun
For them

Day 257 (Delayed): Screen Time

Screen Time
By Batsheva 8/15/10

Do you spend all your time
In front of a screen?
How much of your world
Have you not really seen?

Are you so very crazy
About your TV shows
That you never even notice
When it storms and when it snows?

Or is it the computer
Or the smartphone that's your thing?
Do you ever smell the flowers
When they're blooming in the spring?

I'll bet you it's those games
That you always love to play
Do they let you learn life's secrets
Or are they in the way?

Amazing things are happening
And I'd hate to think you missed 'em
Just because you were so focused
On a silly gaming system

Day 256: Capybara

Capybara
By Batsheva 7/14/10

Rodents are animals
That include mice
Guinea pigs, hamsters, and
Gerbils are nice
Rats, voles, and muskrats
Chipmunks and squirrels
Are some of rodentia's
Most interesting pearls
Porcupines, ground hogs
Prairie dogs, beavers
Could be called
Rodent over-achievers
But the champion rodent
None larger, none fairer
Is the handsome, majestic,
And sweet capybara
They grow to a size
Near as big as a pig
Though capys are cleaner
'Cause swimming, they dig
Their hair can be prickly
But people don't mind
Since a more unique house pet
You never will find
So if you have land
Where capys can play
And a nice spot to swim
In the heat of the day
Get a capybara
They're loving and fun
The world's greatest rodent
Is second to none!

Day 255: Raining Cats and Dogs

Raining Cats and Dogs
By Batsheva 8/13/10

It's raining cats and dogs
That's better than bats and logs
And it could have been rats and hogs
I much prefer cats and dogs

Day 254 (Delayed): Stripes

Stripes
Or The Tiger and the Skunk
By Batsheva 8/12/10

The tiger and skunk both have stripes
Both creatures have caused many gripes
The skunk does smell bad
But a tiger who's mad
Will really put you in a funk
So if you're choosing stripes
Take the skunk

Day 253 (Delayed): Money

Money
By Batsheva 8/11/10

What is money really?
Just pieces of paper or metal
So why do we all work so hard for it?
That question is easy to settle.

Money is called currency
A matter of some urgency
Each country must arrange
Some thing folks can exchange
In order to get food
And clothes and toys
And all the other things
That one enjoys

So when you have no money
You've got a problem, honey
'Cause you can't get any stuff
Which makes things very tough

And now you can see why
Almost everyone will try
To keep on earning more
Although their backs are sore
And work is sometimes rough
No one ever thinks their money
Is enough

Day 252 (Delayed): To the King and Queen

I wrote this for my brother and SIL on their wedding day (All these poems are delayed because I couldn't post poems while I was out of town.)

To the King and Queen
By Batsheva 8/10/10

How can you write a poem 'bout love
Without sounding trite and cliche?
How can you speak about marriage
When the sages have all had their say?
I can't.
So I think that it's best not to try
(I actually did, but it just made me cry).

Instead I'll just write about Mike
And my new sis.
It's challenging
But I wanted to do this.
**********
My baby brother
I do love him so
He was quite a geek as a kid
You should know
But now that he's grown. . .
He's become. . .
The GEEK KING!
Which really is great
Because geeky's his thing
But every good king
Must have his own queen
So Mike searched for years
With results we have seen.

Tonight Mike crowned Hillary
Queen of his world
Making her my new sister
And one lucky girl!

She's qualified for Jeopardy
More times than a few
But they never choose her
So what could she do?
She had to find some other
Game that she'd like
Now she's having lots more fun
Playing with Mike!

This King and this Queen
Both so smart and so sweet
A more perfect couple
You never will meet

At home, on the town, and at Powertrain
Together these Kotlers will joyfully reign
And though I suppose
It did take some gall
I think I wrote a poem 'bout love
After all.

Day 251 (Delayed): Equal

Equal
by Batsheva 8/9/10

2 + 2 equals 4
5 + 5 equals 10
But if you and I are equal,
What does that mean, again?
Equal means the same, I think,
6 + 3 is the same as 9
But people aren't all the same
We're different and that's fine
Then how can folks be equal?
If you circle the whole earth
You won't find any two the same. . .
Except in what we're worth
Ah, that must be the secret
It's our value that's the same
No matter your country or color
No matter your age or your name
No one is worth more than another
No father or sister or brother
And here is one last bit of niceness
The worth of each person
Is priceless

Day 250 (Delayed): Whales

Whales
By Batsheva 8/8/10

A blue whale can weigh
300,000 pounds
And I have to say
That's as big as it sounds
But imagination fails
When I wonder
Where do they get the scales
For weighing whales?

Day 249: The Ape

The Ape
By Batsheva 8/7/10

Have you ever seen an ape
Eat a grape?
They do not contemplate
The contents of a plate
Or say a blessing
On their fressing
They just pop it in and chew.
That's the ape.
Now, how about you?

Day 248 (Delayed): Worry

Worry (A Limerick)
By Batsheva 8/6/10

There is a young fellow named Dwight
Who worries all day and all night
If he'd conquer his fear
And be of good cheer
His future could really be bright

Day 247: Smile

I'm all caught up and early today! It's amazing what 3 consecutive nights of almost no sleep can do for you. . .glurble blargle dluurrp. . . . Happy birthday, almost married baby brother!

Smile
By Batsheva 8/5/10

If you ever lose your smile
I have plenty to spare
It's all right
Please help yourself
I really like to share

Don't worry that I might run out
For one thing I have found
As I give, I also get
Each smile comes back around

Day 246: Dreams

Dreams
By Batsheva 8/4/10

Where do dreams go
When you're not asleep?
Do they spoil like milk?
Or like honey, keep?
Do they fall from your head
When you get out of bed?
Or hide in your mind
Waiting to be fed?

Day 245: Clouds and Sun

Clouds and Sun
By Batsheva 8/3/10

Stand beneath
A cloudy sky
Ask a question
Wonder why
Why are we here?
What should we do?
What should we believe
And who?
Are there answers?
I don't know
This gray sky
Makes me wonder though

The sun comes out
The sky is blue
And I still
Don't have a clue
But when all
Is said and done
That's fine
Beneath a shining sun

Day 244: Luck

Luck
By Batsheva 8/2/10

If you're feeling down
And really stuck
All you need
Is a little luck

But there's never been
A lucky charm
That can keep you
Safe from harm

No amulet
Will save the day
Just work and study
Plan and pray

Remember this
For goodness sake
The luck that's real
Is the luck you make

Day 243: Sandwich

Sandwich
By Batsheva 8/1/10

Did you ever eat a sandwich
That was bigger than your head?
I wanted to
But wisely chose
The salad plate
Instead.

Day 242 (Delayed): Radishes

Radishes
By Batsheva 7/31/10

Radishes come in many a shape
Some long like your forearm
Some small as a grape
Many folks like them
(Though some don't a bit)
And they're easy to eat
With no rind, core, or pit
But there's one funny thing
About this healthy snack
At the moment you bite it
It really bites back!

Day 241 (Delayed): Jump

Jump
By Batsheva 7/30/10

You can jump for joy
If a jump rope's your toy
You can jump through hoops
Or wear jump-suits
Jump on
Or Jump in
Or jump out of your skin

Could a train jump the track
If I do a jumping jack?

You can jump up and down
Like a jumping bean

Is this the jumpiest poem you've seen?