Last Light

Last light
loosens its grip slowly
trailing long fingers,
caressing the day.
Illuminating trees
measuring the sky
too wide to hold -
it fades to gold.
Touching the children
who linger on the lawn
it sighs, and is gone.

                                       Susan McLeod

Granddad

There are a number of things
Never spoken out loud,
Important things …
That make a man proud.
Things that bring him
Happiness and joy,
Like a handsome,
Strapping, baby boy.
Of course, this may be
Just the way of life,
But when his daughter
Becomes a wife …
And gives Old Dad
A fine grandson,
They can romp and play
And have lots of fun.
This is an example
Of things often unsaid:
The pride of just living,
And being called Granddad.

                                       Hiram Montgomery Bayless

Mid-Town Elementary

Sun peers through cloud like a blurred and weary eye.
Leaves cling to boughs like birds too tired to fly.
It's the slow sad prelude to a year's goodbye.
Then recess: and the schoolyard comes alive
with color and vibrant sound: a blossoming
of the irrepressible energy of life.
Where there are children it is always spring.

                                       R.H. Grenville

The fair tastes of summer

Summer is a thing of smells and tastes:
Hot brick in the sun, fields turning gold,
Candy apples that are hard to hold,
Barbecue the plump cook turns and bastes.
Summer is a thing of tastes and smells:
Funnel cakes in powdered sugar clad,
Lemon shakeups making dry mouths glad,
Ozone that a thunderstorm foretells.
Summer is a thing of smells and tastes:
Horses in the barn beyond the track,
Saltwater taffy bought by the sack,
Booths with samples of jams and nut pastes.
The magic lies in seasonal tastes:
Summer is as fleeting as its smells.
Enjoy it quick, before autumn knells -
Time, like an ice cream cone, melts and wastes.

                                       Elizabeth Barrette