Not Madison County

Quintessential
Is a big word
For a silly poem
You might think it absurd

But Vermont has so many
Of these everywhere
Quintessential says it
It’s really quite fair

Covered bridges span
Rivers, brooks, and streams
Yes, of these things
The state really teams

To visit a few
We took a long drive
In this land where
Covered bridges thrive

Cows, farms, and woods
Down dirt roads we raced
To get to each bridge
To see where they’re placed

Of course we got lost
That was part of the vision
Of our covered bridges
Motor tour mission

But as these photos attest
We found quite a few
The most fun part of all
Is when you drive through

Wood planks above, below
Sound of water rushing under
Like much of Vermont
It fills me with wonder

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No Accounting For Taste

Arlene, who is
A summertime friend
Reads my bad poems
From beginning to end

Every Sunday she says
Need it or not
She opens my blog
To see what I’ve got

Mom-in-law has
This bad habit, too
Her Sunday isn’t over
Completed, or through

Until she has read
The poem I have written
Of the insanity bug
She must have been bitten

And of my Twitter buddies
Ian comes to mind
He reads my poems weekly
Lest he fall behind

Twitter buddy
And author to boot
Pam say she finds
My poetry a hoot

For a bad poetry fix
These kind people know
That my silly blog
Is the place to go

Are there more of you?
I ponder, I wonder
Who tune in weekly
For my new poetic blunder?

If so, please tell me
Please fill me in
And some extra stanzas
Next week I might spin

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Character Flaws

I‘ve been writing about Cassie
For many a moon
Her character came to me
But not a second too soon

Sometimes a personality
Pops out of thin air
Some characters are easy
But sometimes, I swear

Sometimes they’re stubborn
They hide back in my brain
And refuse to come forward
No matter how I complain

Cassie’s been like that
What makes her tick?
She finally has told me
But like I say, none too quick

Cassie’s been coy
On her background, she’s been shy
I kept writing her anyway
Kept asking her why

Yesterday she finally
Took pity on my plight
She told me all about herself
Much to my delight

So Cassie’s the star
Of this book I am writing
And finally she’s talking to me
Oh, how exciting

I like Cassie a lot
And think you will, too
Her story’s called Unbelievable
I’ll tell you when I’m through

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Rock People Rock

Every year
I dig in the dirt
I wear old jeans
And a raggedy shirt

With enough water
This I do know
The flowers will bloom
The garden will grow

As much as the plants
I like other stuff
And of pretty rocks
I can’t get enough

Some folks like snowmen
But that’s not for me
I build rock people
As you can see

They stand in my garden
They like it a lot
And last time I counted
Fifteen I have got

Some are big
Some are small
Some are short
And some are tall

They offer some whimsy
To my garden décor
Visitors laugh at them
They’re a big hit, for sure

With a bad storm
They can tumble down
But of this hazard
They never do frown

Unlike Humpty Dumpty
Rock people are resilient
I re-build and re-balance
If I do say so—brilliant!

So this here is my
Garden population
I really do like
My rock people nation

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Duckling Dearth

 

Every year
When I come back
To my Vermont
Summer shack

I know the ducks
Have survived
Because their ducklings
Have arrived

After mama
They follow along
On the lake
Where we all belong

But this year,
What a shock!
Nary a duckling
Near my dock

Have they found
A better lake?
That’s impossible
For goodness sake!

Maybe a late spring
Caused a duck dearth
And we must wait longer
For ducklings’ birth

Whatever the cause
I keep waiting and hoping
I don my binoculars
To do some lake scoping

Maybe this week
They’ll finally appear
But no ducks thus far
Is really quite queer

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