Poetry and Potpourri .... November 19-20, 2003

11-19-2003 | JustAmy, St.Louie1 and Mama_Bear

[JustAmy]

.................................................................

The Poetry Branch has been in limbo since the prior hostess left FreeRepublic April 15th 2003. We've since learned that said hostess has lost her posting privilege. That being the case, and Jim Robinson having given his ok, I wanted to renew the thread.

FreeRepublic is blessed with many fine poets, and we look forward to seeing their poems posted on FR once again. There were many non-poet FReepers who visited the Poetry Branch for the camaraderie; we hope they will return.

I would like to invite everyone to visit and relax at Poetry and Potpourri. Hopefully you will renew old acquaintances for chatting, sharing jokes, telling stories, posting cartoons, etc. Everyone needs a place to escape from the everyday news, make Poetry and Potpourri that place.

...................

The Belvedere's Guardian Wolf ~
the always charming, lovable, huggable,
LouieWolf.

[JustAmy]

To be added to or removed from the Poetry and Potpourri ping list, please notify me via FReepMail.

Prior Threads:

September 22, 2003	September 24, 2003	September 26, 2003	September 27-28, 2003
September 29-30, 2003	October 1-2, 2003	October 3-4-5, 2003	October 6-7, 2003
October 8-9, 2003	October 10-11-12, 2003	October 13-14, 2003	October 15-16, 2003
October 17-18-19, 2003	October 20-21, 2003	October 22-23, 2003	October 24-25-26, 2003
October 27-28, 2003	October 29-30, 2003	Oct. 31 - Nov. 1-2, 2003	November 3-4, 2003
November 5-6, 2003	November 7-8-9, 2003	November 10-11, 2003	November 12-13, 2003
November 14-15-16, 2003	November 17-18, 2003

[JustAmy]

She Walks in Beauty

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

George Gordon, Lord Byron

[JustAmy]

Two factory workers were talking.
"I think I'll take some time off from work." said the man.

"How do you think you'll do that?" said the blonde.

He proceeded to show her...by climbing up to the rafters, and hanging upside down. The boss walked in, saw the worker hanging from the ceiling, and asked him what on earth he was doing?

"I'm a light bulb" answered the guy.

"I think you need some time off," said the boss.

So, the man jumped down and walked out of the factory. The blonde began walking out too. The boss asked her where did she think she was going?

The blonde answered, "Home. I can't work in the dark."

[Alamo-Girl]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Thank you!

[JustAmy]

Snowflakes

Out of the bosom of the Air,
Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken,
Over the woodlands brown and bare,
Over the harvest-fields forsaken,
Silent, and soft, and slow
Descends the snow.

Even as our cloudy fancies take
Suddenly shape in some divine expression,
Even as the troubled heart doth make
In the white countenance confession,
The troubled sky reveals
The grief it feels.

This is the poem of the air,
Slowly in silent syllables recorded;
This is the secret of despair,
Long in its cloudy bosom hoarded,
Now whispered and revealed
To wood and field.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

[JustAmy]

THE OLD HOUSE REMEMBERS

The old ranch house is alone with its past,
The windows are closed and the doors are fast;
The windmills are hushed, a desolate pall
Of silence and heartbreak broods over all.
Only the wind in the cottonwood trees
Tells off its rosary of memories.
Once around the wells were cattle that milled
And cooled themselves in the water which spilled
From the brimming tanks and trickled away
To a wet weather stream which trees betray;
There the willows dip their long lacy plumes
Over low marsh grass where the smartweed blooms.

Now the cottonwoods murmur, the willows weep,
And all else is silent, the place asleep,
But above the stillness when soft winds blow
Are the phantom voices of long ago ...
A lone cowboy as he rides down the trail
And yodels to drown out the coyote's wail.
While the walls reecho with rhythmic beat
To the merry tunes and to dancing feet.
So the old house lives again in its past,
Lives in the joys that the years have amassed.
And the full rich life that its loved ones knew
Is wafted back when it comes into view.

By Laressa Cox McBurney
Published in Prairie Panorama in 1938

[JustAmy]

A-G ... thank you for stopping by tonight. : )

Hope to see eveyone tomorrow.

[Alamo-Girl]

This could make a girl homesick ... in the most pleasant way! Thank you!

[Dubya]

A Special Friend

Did you ever have the feeling that you were all alone... Alone in a world of make believe no one to call your own... Well I've had that feeling many times and I thought it would never end... Then I lay here thinking about you and it starts all over again...

Life's full of surprises some good and some bad... Over the years there's many some happy and some sad.. Well I sure have had plenty of both and the good outnumber the bad... But without someone to share them with it doesn't matter what you've had...

The days they pass so quickly but the nights they last so long... I try and think of good times we'd have and wonder if maybe I'm wrong... I know you have your own life and I have my life too... I don't have much to offer, but I'd give everything for you...

This may sound kind of strange to you after all who am I to say... Try and get yourself together cause tomorrow's another day... Dreaming is something we all can have and I hope my dream comes true... Because I have a dream of a special friend and that special friend is you...

[Dubya]

FUNNY :^)

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody ! Happy Wednesday !

Have a cup while you Freep !

[MeekOneGOP]

ha! ha!

The Talking Dog

A guy sees a sign in front of a house "Talking Dog for Sale."

He rings the bell, and the owner tells him the dog is in the backyard. The guy goes into the backyard and sees a black mutt just sitting there.

"You talk?" he asks. "Sure do." the dog replies. "So, what's your story?" The dog looks up and says, "Well, I discovered my gift of talking pretty young, and I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA about my gift, and in no time they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping.

I was one of their most valuable spies eight years running. "The jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger and I wanted to settle down. So I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security work, mostly wandering near suspicious characters and listening in.

I uncovered some incredible dealings there and was awarded a batch of medals. "Had a wife, a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired."

The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog. The owner says, "Ten dollars." The guy says, "This dog is amazing. Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?"

"Cause he's a liar. He didn't do any of that stuff."

________________________________________________

ROFL !!

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanksgiving Poem

When I was a young turkey, new to the coop,
My big brother Mike took me out on the stoop,
Then he sat me down, and he spoke real slow,
And he told me there was something that I had to know;

His look and his tone I will always remember,
When he told me of the horrors of..... Black November;
"Come about August, now listen to me,
Each day you'll get six meals instead of just three.

"And soon you'll be thick, where once you were thin,
and you'll grow a big rubbery thing under your chin;
"And then one morning, when you're warm in your bed,
In'll burst the farmer's wife, and hack off your head;

"Then she 'll pluck out all your feathers so you're bald 'n pink,
And scoop out all your insides and leave ya lyin' in the sink;
"And then comes the worst part" he said not bluffing,
"She'll spread your cheeks and pack your rear with stuffing."

Well, the rest of his words were too grim to repeat,
I sat on the stoop like a winged piece of meat,
And decided on the spot that to avoid being cooked,
I'd have to lay low and remain overlooked;

I began a new diet of nuts and granola,
High-roughage salads, juice and diet cola;
And as they ate pastries, chocolates and crepes,
I stayed in my room doing Jane Fonda tapes;

I maintained my weight of two pounds and a half,
And tried not to notice when the bigger birds laughed;
But 'twas I who was laughing, under my breath,
As they chomped and they chewed, ever closer to death;

And sure enough when Black November rolled around,
I was the last turkey left in the entire compound;
So now I'm a pet in the farmer's wife's lap;
I haven't a worry, so I eat and I nap;

She held me today, while sewing and humming,
And smiled at me and said "Christmas is coming..."

(Author unknown)

[JohnHuang2]

G'morning, my friend, y'all :-)

[The Mayor]

Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. -Psalm 119:97

Spiritual strength requires a training program of Bible reading and prayer.

[The Mayor]

November 19, 2003

Fitness Training

Read: Psalm 119:97-104

Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. —Psalm 119:97

Bible In One Year: Romans 1-4 My wife is an avid exerciser. She walks, rollerblades, and bikes to keep in shape. Because of her
interest in exercise, she has encouraged our children to participate in sports activities at school
and to exercise along with her.

Why does she feel this is so important? It's simple: When she doesn't exercise several times a
week, she doesn't feel physically fit. She feels sluggish and lethargic. She feels that her heart
is not being strengthened as it should be.

But she doesn't stop with the physical part of her life. She also participates in spiritual exercise.
She knows that in our walk with God we need "heart exercise" to stay fit.

The writer of Psalm 119 saw the importance of daily spiritual exercise. He loved the Word of
God, meditated on it throughout the day, and obeyed it. His prayers were from his whole heart,
and his hope for each new day came directly from God's Word.

How much more spiritually healthy we would be if we engaged in a godly fitness training
program that matched that of the psalmist! Do you read the Bible, meditate on its truths,
and pray each day? If not, begin spiritual fitness training today. —Dave Branon

Increase your knowledge of God's Word, For in it you will find The wisdom that you need for life, Which comes from God's own mind. —Sper

Spiritual strength requires a training program of Bible reading and prayer.

[MeekOneGOP]

One more yoke, hot off the press this mornin' ...

Mr. Smith went to the doctor's office to collect his wife's test results.

The lab technician said, "I'm sorry, sir, but there has been a bit of a mix-up and we have a problem. When we sent the samples from your wife to the lab, the samples from another Mrs. Smith were sent as well and we are now uncertain which one is your wife's. Frankly, it is either bad or terrible!"

"What do you mean?" asked Mr. Smith.

"Well, one Mrs. Smith has tested positive for Alzheimer's, and the other Mrs. Smith has tested positive for AIDS. We can't tell which is your wife."

"That's terrible!" said Mr. Smith. "Can we do the test over?"

"Normally, yes. But you have Blue Cross Health Care, and they won't pay for these expensive tests more than once."

"Well, what am I supposed to do now?" asked Mr. Smith.

"Blue Cross Health Care recommends that you drop your wife off in the middle of town. If she finds her way home, don't sleep with her ...

[Calpernia]

"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality never fully understanding the necessary plan. "

from The Once Again Prince by Irving Townsend

[JustAmy]

Thank you ..... When someone enjoys her work, it makes me happy.

[JustAmy]

Good Morning, Dub
Thank you for posting that lovely poem.