#30in30... Done

My farewell to the POET Spotlight seemed a fitting completion of the #30in30 Challenge

 

April's turning in to May... The Spotlight's moving on.
Silly rhymes won't clutter up this page, 'cause I'll be gone...
But, before I leave the stage, I'd like to thank you all.
I don't know about you guys, but I have had a ball.

If, perchance, you liked my rhymes and want to read some more
Google Dr. Seussilitis... There are rhymes galore.
And, to the real poet that this page will now appoint,
Let me - please - apologize for messing up the joint.

Unsolicited Advice for Senator Elizabeth Warren

Available now in bookstores and on Amazon.

Massachusetts' Senator (of whom we're rather proud)

On a tour to sell her book's begun to draw a crowd.

There are calls for her to run for President next time

But, as her constituent, my free advice (in rhyme);

Dear Elizabeth; May I suggest that you should wait.

Keep on doing what you are - a credit to this state.

Build up more alliances and stick it to the banks...

Something that you're doing well at now, Ma'am.  Many thanks.

Hillary is gonna run for President, I'd bet.

She will get the nomination; you're not ready yet.

Not to say that, if you ran, that you would not be great.

But the best that you could hope for?  Clinton's running-mate.

Senate needs a leader who will do the People's work -

Someone who knows where the money merchants tend to lurk...

Work that you are doing now is vital to us all;

If they try to draft you Senator? Don't take their call.

Dear @StephenAtHome...

(Image/Courtesy of freewallpaper4.me)

Please forgive my selfishness, but I did not rejoice

When I heard about the Letterman replacement choice.

As a faithful member of the Stephen Colbert Nation

Shouldn't I be happy at his recent elevation?

I, instead, am mourning because Stephen won't be doing

His new show in character...  The one where, when reviewing

News and issues of the day, he's acting like a twit;

Meanwhile, making brilliant points with keen and clever wit.

What am I supposed to do without Colbert's Report?

Why should I be happy that this program I adore

Doesn't have that long to run and, once the country knows

Just how funny Stephen is, there'll never be more shows?

LGH Limerick

Thanks so much to the kind and professional staff on the 11-7 shift in the E.R. last night.

We went to the E.R. in Lowell;

A cure for a headache our goal.

I've been up all night

And now I can't write...

Not sleeping has taken its toll.

Behind the Curve

30 poems, 30 days...  I've posted 24 -

Meaning that I'm 3 behind (in case you're keeping score.)

Now I'll have to double up on rhymes; write 2 a day

If I want to meet my goal before we're in to May.

I might even cheat a bit and post an interview

Which an honor I received required me to do.

Answered questions with a rhyme and, if I counted those,

You could say I've passed my goal of 30, I suppose.

Spotlight Interview

Facebook's POET Spotlight fell on me this month.

Who am I?

Also known as Mrs. Smeej; a mother and a wife.
Live in Massachusetts and enjoy suburban life;
Sister, daughter, golfer, and a junky for the news.
Sufferer of Seussilitis - hence, I rhyme my views.

I have got the rhyming bug. I caught it years ago.
(Pity the afflicted; we could be someone you know.)
It is very catchy so be careful or, like me,
You'll find there's no cure for this back at the CDC.

Why do I love poetry?

I'm a fan of poetry though, poet I am not.
(Seussilitis symptoms caused my mind to start to rot)
Poems are like gourmet meals. My rhymes? A junk-food snack.
Poets have great talents... What I've got's a silly knack.

So, I envy poets - they are thoughtful and profound.
All my rhyming does is prove I'm mentally unsound.
What I do to language poets must regard as crime.
Poetry seeks deeper truths; all I can do is rhyme.

When did I start writing?

Once I was a normal person, then I caught this bug.
Started with the Red Sox (before they had beards to tug)
Back on Steve King's Message Board is where it all began;
Got into a rhyming duel against a Yankees fan.

Other people started rhyming; it began to spread.
Seussilitis outbreak messed with everybody's head.
I felt very guilty that I'd made so many sick;
Figured I would spare them - hoped a blog would do the trick.

What are my goals?

Only goal I have right now is making rhyming pay;
Haven't got it figured out but, surely, there's a way.

Poets I love?

If you're from New England, educated in our schools,
There are poets you must like... It says so in the rules:
Dickinson and Emerson and, always, Robert Frost.
When I'm reading Whittier, however, I get lost.

Where do I get my inspiration?

I get inspiration when I'm driving in my car;
Usually I'm listening to local NPR.
Sometimes it's the Patriots or other local sports,
Sometimes it's my children or the nightly news reports.

I don't really pick the thing that sparks the latest rhyme;
Something clicks inside my head in its own damn good time.
Once I have the topic then the words just seem to flow...
Diarrhea of the mind (as you, by now, should know.)

Do I have any advice?

I'm not very comfortable with offering advice;
Don't know what I'm doing and, besides - it isn't nice.
Rhymers shouldn't try to tell real poets what to do...
I think it's more likely I'd get good advice from you.

Other forms?

When I'm feeling pressured for time,
My blog still requires a rhyme.
A poet, like you,
Might offer haiku
While I find the limerick's sublime.

The ideal environment to write in?

Seussilitis symptoms only seem to manifest
Early in the morning; once the gang is gone is best -
Or, depending on the way you look at things, the worst -
I'm not really sure if it's a blessing or I'm cursed...

Which brings up the final question; Where would this world be
If it didn't have the room for lunatics like me
Or for those of you who open windows into souls?
Life without such poetry would leave some gaping holes.

Thank you for the honor of this Spotlight, Mr. Stark.
I am very flattered and, for me, it's been a lark.

Going to the Registry

Youngest wants his learner's permit; says he's born to drive.

That's the goal towards which my teenage son's begun to strive.

I have said I'll take him to the Registry today.

If he doesn't pass this test, next time he has to pay.

We will spring for Drivers' Ed. I'll teach him all I can;

Praying, as he takes another step from boy to man,

He remembers cars can kill you.  They are not a toy

And, although he's 6 foot 2, he's still my little boy.

Dr. Seussilitis Does The SCOTUS Blog - Affirmative Action Editon

The Supreme Court of the United States voted to uphold Michigan's ban on Affirmative Action. (Cartoon/Courtesy of instruction.blackhawk.edu)

SCOTUS ruled, at 6 to 2, that voters get to choose

If there's a protection that minorities should lose.

Michigan decided that Admissions at a school

Cannot factor race when they're selecting from their pool.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor strongly disagreed;

Said the program's one that some minorities still need.

On this issue, I am still unsure how I should feel:

Knowing that the evidence for racism is real,

Wanting to be helpful (it's the Irish Catholic guilt)

Being proud of the protections that the 60s built.

Is that condescending to a person 'cause they're black;

Just assuming I've got some advantages they lack?

That's where I'm uncomfortable. I don't know which side's right,

And I'll never, really know the answer, 'cause I'm white.

All I know is most of color think the program works

And, in their experience, the voters can be jerks.

Aren't we all about protecting the minority?

Not as if they're asking for a lot, it seems to me...

Just consideration of a little more than grades

'til the scar our history has inflicted on them fades. 

Unsolicited Advice for Hillary 2016

Were I Mrs. Clinton, you could not pay me to run,

Even were I certain that I'd be the chosen one.

Tea Party Republicans and other Right Wing nuts

Have already made it clear how much they hate her guts.

Even now, before she's thrown her hat into the ring,

Limbaugh's claiming she arranged to have some loony fling

(At a speech) a shoe that almost hit Hil in the face...

Snidely adding Chelsea's child's a ploy to win the race.

Look at poor Obama, who's been hounded by the Right;

You would have to be insane to want that kind of fight.

If you think he's had it bad however, wait and see

What would happen if the President were Hillary.

Dear CDC... There's Something Wrong at FOX

It's time to stop playing games. (Card/Courtesy of Allseeingeye2012.blogspot.com)

I've begun to worry that there's something wrong at FOX;

Something in the air that leaves you dumber than an ox.

Maybe it's the water - but the toxic atmosphere

Puts the friends of FOX at risk.  The evidence is clear.

Look at poor Sean Hannity...  The man has lost his mind:

Interviewing any crazy person he can find,

Calling for an insurrection by the nuts with guns

If they grow unhappy with the way the country runs.

I fear it's contagious 'cause I've watched the symptoms spread,

Permeating sufferers with governmental dread,

Causing paranoia and a blindness to the facts.

It is time the Centers for Disease Control team acts.

There's still hope for Hannity's recovery... Look at Beck.

By the time that Glenn left FOX the poor man was a wreck.

He's improving - slowly - though his brain was, almost, mush.

CDC must find the problem's source. (I'd start with Rush.)

Car Woes

Car's at the mechanics, with my youngest home from school,

Stranded 'cause his older brother acted like a fool.

Drove the car into a ditch and so, until it's fixed

All the plans we'd made for this vacation must be nixed.

No-one's hurt (except the car) but, if you're keeping score,

With this latest accident my oldest has had 4.

Guess who won't be driving in his mother's beat up car.

Parent's grow unhappy when their kids push them too far.

The 118th Boston Marathon

Congratulations to men's winner Meb Keflezighi of San Diego, CA

Praying Boston's Marathon is run without a hitch.

Weather's looking perfect; 'though our winters are a bitch

There is nothing prettier than Massachusetts' spring.

Still, you wouldn't catch me running. Not for anything.

Not because the terrorists have made me too afraid;

It's because I couldn't run...  Not even were I paid.

Why does someone choose to run until their feet have bled?

First to run a marathon (Pheidippides) dropped dead.

Why would runners put themselves through agony like that?

My knees hurt just thinking of it.  I'm too old and fat.

If I go I'll bring a chair and cheer as they go by

But I guarantee that's not a sport I'm gonna try.

The Day Before Easter Limerick

 

Today I am not in the mood.

Forgive me. I know that sounds rude.

There's too much to do;

Can't write rhymes for you.

I have to go shopping for food.

Unsolicited Advice for Polar Plungers

 

Oldest son, in college, soaks up knowledge like a sponge

And was smart enough that he declined the Polar Plunge.

Several friends have called him out ('though I'm not naming names)

And, 'til someone dies, I'm sure it's all just fun and games.

Sadly, in New Hampshire, yesterday, somebody did...

Jumped into the water as the on-line challenge bid.

Now his friends and family grieve the loss of this young man.

Prompting local colleges to institute a ban.

Just because your friends jump off a bridge, it doesn't mean

You should dive in with them and be dead before 19.

Find another stupid thing to challenge friends to do;

One that doesn't leave you dripping wet and turning blue.

Taking the Polar Plunge (Photo/Courtesy of WMUR)

Question Authorities

The mother of one of the missing victims of the ferry disaster in South Korea. (Photo/euronews.com)

Ferry full of high school students overturned and sank.

Hundreds are still missing and the hopes for rescue shrank

As a second night descended on the tragic scene.

I feel my heart breaking...  I'm the mother of a teen.

There are some survivors.  They ignored what they were told;

Left their cabins, put on vests, and braved the bitter cold.

Those who were obedient went back into their room;

Listened to authorities who sent them to their doom.

On the day the towers fell they also said to wait.

Those who listened to instructions left it 'til too late.

Maybe we should teach our kids the first thing to be done

If the shit has hit the fan - drop everything and run.

Don't let someone tell them things are going to be fine.

When the threat is serious don't meekly fall in line.

Question the authorities 'cause they're not always right.

Run goddammit! Save yourself - and me - from such a plight.