Kitchen Reno - One Giant Leap

On the day I wrote I thought my builder 'd disappeared

He stopped by to meet with me.  It wasn't what I'd feared;

What with all the winter damage everyone has had

He's been working night and day. The poor guy's looking bad.

But, we got a lot accomplished; called the flooring guy.

Now I have a counter-top and tile I've gotta buy.

I went to A Touch of Tile in Westford where I found

What may be the best selection of fine tiles around.

Bought my new appliances at Hunter's down the road.

Howie worked the numbers and he's saving me a load.

If you live near Littleton it could be worth your while;

Hunter's carried all appliances in every style.

(I owe an apology to those who read my rhymes

As a Seussilitis version of The New York Times;

Here expecting news yet some reviews are all they find.

Sorry...  I don't choose the rhyming voices in my mind.)

Three Cheers for Toya Graham

My new hero, Toya Graham. (Photo/Courtesy of thehill.com)

Fellow moms of teenage boys should offer our applause

To a mom from Baltimore who's in the news because

When she recognized her son out rioting at night,

Caught him on the local news - red handed - at the fight,

She marched down and kicked his ass and dragged her son away;

Didn't give a damn what her teenager had to say.

Peaceful protest in the streets is justified, but not

Burning down the too few stores your neighborhood has got.

Sometimes though, with teenage boys, a mother has no choice;

If our sons don't listen when we use our "angry voice"

We might have to go ahead and slap them in the head...

Teach them that it isn't just police they need to dread.

Kitchen Renovation Crazy

Shopping for appliances, a faucet, kitchen sink;

I've done so much research that it's getting hard to think.

Signed up for Consumer Reports.  Read on-line reviews.

Checked the prices everywhere...  It's still too hard to choose.

Builder hasn't called me back, although he said he would.

(Neither has his flooring guy so we can't pick our wood.)

I'm afraid I've scared him off - he finds me hard to please -

'cause I wanted him to switch our lights to LEDs.

Thank God my designer's great or I might lose my mind.

Lisa Green's Design Group, Concord, Mass., has been a find.

I would highly recommend her services except

I've got other rooms for her.  The secret's better kept.

Flying Pigs?

(Image/Courtesy of www.nickpeall.com)

If you're watching Congress then you've noticed something strange;

Senators and Members have been working (for a change.)

They confirmed Loretta Lynch and even passed a bill.

Maybe they've remembered why we sent them to the Hill.

Maybe easy votes will get the Congress on a roll,

Help them focus on their jobs and not on how they'll poll.

Could it be they're ready to give compromise a try?

Maybe Congress isn't broken...  Maybe pigs can fly.

Dear EU; Good Luck With That

(Photo/Courtesy of english.ahram.org.eg)

As the thousands try to flee the hell holes where they live;

Put to sea upon a boat that's leaking like a sieve,

Drowning by the hundreds...  Know the dangers - do not care.

Willing to risk anything to get away from there.

If you were in their position, you would flee as well.

They've come from a situation that's a living hell.

Half the region's population is a refugee.

Many leave from Libya and try for Italy.

The Italians say they need more help from the E.U.

They're now meeting, trying to decide what they should do.

Nothing that the E.U. does will change the basic fact;

Staying in the region's the more death-defying act.

No one wants to see more over-crowded boats go down.

We can't stand aside and watch more desperate people drown.

We might stop the traffickers exploiting human prey,

But we won't persuade those refugees to want to stay.

Touring Becker

(Photo/Courtesy of www.yelp.com)

Going on a college tour today. Our youngest son,

In his Junior year of high school, hasn't chosen one.

Looks like it's a pretty day and, hey, you never know,

This might be the place where he decides he wants to go.

Dragging My Feet On TPP

(Illustration/Courtesy of sarah-janeevans.blogspot.com)

President Obama wants to pass the TPP

(That's the Trans-Pacific Partnership to you and me.)

Says it levels playing fields for U.S. companies

In the Asian markets but not everyone agrees.

Unions fear it lowers wages; workers earning less.

Some say new rules will leave the environment a mess.

Wiki-Leaks has pages showing bankers get a break...

I think that a "fast-track" for this bill is a mistake.

I agree we need a deal but this might not be it.

Don't we want more time to stop and look at it a bit?

NAFTA killed the middle class so, though I favor trade,

There are problems I want fixed before this deal gets made.

Justice Served

 

One-time, rising football star for my New England Pats

(Feared he might be trouble when I saw his "gangsta" tats)

Will spend all his days in jail for killing Odin Lloyd;

Quite a different life-style than he, formerly, enjoyed.

Two more murder cases pending for Hernandez still;

Solid evidence connecting Aaron to the kill.

Some believe the justice system didn't work. Not me.

I think he's too dangerous to ever set him free.

Aaron thought he'd get away because he played a game

Well enough it brought enormous wealth and growing fame.

All of which he threw away.  Now justice has been served.

I believe Hernandez got the sentence he deserved.

Sincere Apologies to NaPoWriMo-2015 Participants

Photo/Courtesy of www.fitbodyfifty.com

I was so enthusiastic when the month began;

"30 poems, 30 days?" I thought, "Of course I can."

I'd already done it twice before and it was fun,

Loved the feeling of accomplishment when I was done.

Registered my blog on-line...  The next day I got sick,

Thus I fell behind on my commitment pretty quick.

I tried writing 2 a day in hopes of catching up.

Is the challenge harder than I had remembered? Yup.

I salute the many poets who are still on track

(Thanks to those who "Followed" me...  I  tried to"Follow" back.)

But, I think it's only fair that I should let them know;

Will I be amongst the people still competing? No.

I am now so far behind that there is not a prayer

I will reach the goal I set and so it's only fair

That I warn real poets, I'm withdrawing...  I'm a jerk.

30 poems, 30 days is simply too much work.

I believe I'll stick to silly rhymes 5 days a week

Lest the rusty gears inside my head begin to squeak.

I don't want to work that hard - unless they offered pay.

Best of luck to those of you still writing once a day.

Lines In The Sand

The Middle East and northern Africa circa 1914. (Courtesy of/www.clas.ufl.edu)

Middle Eastern borders, once imposed, are breaking down.

Saudi forces bombed another Northern Yemen town.

Libya has splintered; there are Syrians "in hell."

I can't name a single country where it's going well.

ISIL's killing refugees who've fled from Palestine.

It's not safe no matter where you draw some borderline.

Mix religion, history and tribal loyalties

And you get a situation where no side agrees.

I predict it won't get better 'til it's gotten worse

Meanwhile, we're the common enemy that many curse.

Every time we pick a side we make the others mad,

Angering established allies we might once have had.

 

We aren't winning hearts and minds and I have little doubt

Only if the countries in the region sort it out

Will they make a peace that has a chance of being kept.

Wish we'd thought of consequences there before we leapt.

Kitchen Reno - In Praise of Experts

(This isn't actually it, but I haven't figured out how to share mine with you, yet.)

I just got a look at my new kitchen elevations;

Green Design Group's well exceeded my high expectations.

Lisa Green is knowledgeable, funny - very kind -

Didn't miss a beat at a last minute change of mind.

She is making sure there's not a space that goes to waste

And, to my great fortune, Lisa has outstanding taste.

She has been here twice already and she stays in touch;

Answers all my questions and has helped me out so much.

Now I need appliances; I may buy them on-line.

Lisa said some other clients did and they were fine.

Helping smooth what's bound to be a pretty bumpy ride,

Nice to have an expert like her working by my side.

Netanyahu's Demands

Israel's demanding that we do not sign a deal

With Iran.  It's no surprise that's how Israelis feel.

Netanyahu says the deal's an "existential threat"

Even though 6 nations think that it's the best we'll get.

Israel is rumored to hold stock-piles of their own;

Since they've never granted an inspection it's unknown

Just how many they now have - how many they can make.

Frankly, this hypocrisy is getting hard to take.

Nations shouldn't make demands when they are also wrong

So, although the ties between our countries are still strong,

Bibi needs to tone it down; stop acting like a jerk.

He's got troubles right at home that sure could use some work.

The Boston Marathon Bomber

Jury found Tsarnaev guilty on all 30 counts.

Sentencing's next week, when his defense attorney mounts

Her case why the jury shouldn't send him to his death;

Why the State should not insist he draw his final breath.

By a huge majority more people than I thought

Feel his execution is devoutly to be sought.

I have said they ought to spare his life 'cause he's a kid,

That he only followed what his older brother did.

But, with public sentiment against the kid so strong

I have had to reconsider...  Maybe I was wrong.

I was not in Boston on that truly awful day,

Therefore, I don't have the right to choose the price he'll pay.

If it gives the victims closure maybe he should die,

But I still can't help it.  I feel sorry for the guy.

Either way, his life is over just like those he killed.

He had better pray that his attorney's very skilled.

Keep Congress Out Of Iran

With the framework for a way of dealing with Iran

President Obama's busy talking up the plan,

Saying that the deal's the best one that we're gonna get...

He has not convinced U.S. Republicans quite yet.

He can keep on talking but it won't do any good.

They insist they want to vote but I don't think they should.

If Barack Obama were to say the sky is up

Would there be Republicans in disagreement? Yup.

I don't trust they won't be playing petty politics

And it's too important that this new agreement sticks.

If we don't give peace a chance - don't trust and verify -

We could watch a chance to re-engage Iran slip by.

47 Senators have made their feelings known;

Give them all a chance to vote and this deal will be blown.

Let Obama do his job and try diplomacy,

Speaking with one voice on Middle Eastern policy.

Alternative Cure

 This month I signed up to write a poem every day...  Less than one week in and I've already gone astray.

Years ago (still not sure how) I caught the rhyming bug;

A disease at which the CDC's inclined to shrug.

What's the problem, they have asked, with people spouting rhymes?

Victims are annoying but their rantings aren't crimes.

No one's working on a cure for Seussilitis yet

But, if symptoms grow severe, the fellas with the net

Come to take the sufferer somewhere that they can rest,

Quarantined from normal people - which is for the best.

Happily, I think I've found a much less drastic cure.

It has worked for me the past few days, and that's for sure;

Get so sick with something else 'til all that you can do

Is to sit and wallow in the misery of your flu.

Not Feeling It

30 poems, 30 days; the challenge has begun.

In the past participation has been lots of fun.

But today I'm feeling sick so it's become a chore.

Hope it's not a preview of what April holds in store.

April Limerick

I didn't write new verse today;

There's nothing I wanted to say.

And thus you are spared

But be very scared...

Tomorrow, it's likely I may.