Illness

Having a teen is not quite a sickness,
nor does insurance chip in for payment.
Still, you might claim reduced mental quickness,
citing your kids as causing the ailment.

But, the prognosis looks fairly healthy,
only ten years to full restoration.
You will get smart then, if not quite wealthy,
soon as your child completes education.

Copyright ©2018, Paul H. Harder II

This poem is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 License.

Night

Sounds of the night

differ from day.

Distractions are few in number.

‘Though I’m awake, rest has its way –

Clearing my thoughts without slumber.

A SPECIAL TREAT

just before dawn –

Hearing the early birds’ chirping.

What do they say, out on my lawn?

Are they worshipping or flirting?

Copyright ©1986, Elva May Harder

Sent to me on a post card, August 9, 1986

Words!

They line up, on paper, commanding attention –

Just squiggly, wiggly, odd looking marks!

Transformed by reading, they stimulate thinking and

Thus become useful, workable tools.

Passed on to others, these very same words can be

Badly twisted or misunderstood.

So it isn’t the words but how they are taken

That destines them to be junk or jewels!

Copyright ©1986, Elva May Harder

My mother sent this to me in July, 1986.  We just rediscovered it in a box in our garage.