The Arrow and the Song

This poem is called The Arrow and the Song, and it's by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I chose this poem because lately I've been feeling extra appreciative about having the friends I do. I don't have crowds of them, but it's about quality - not quantity. One true friend is better than a million fake ones.




The Arrow and the Song
I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to Earth, I knew not where
For so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to Earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

Dad's Haiku

Here's a poem by my dad, that he wrote in sixth grade - I found it in an old class poetry book from his school. This one is a haiku! From my dad to you, a special haiku.

Rain falling way down

From the high clouds above me

Hitting the wet ground

Plummy Tree

In my backyard, there are two plums trees facing towards each other and creating a shady arch. Today, I sat in between them and wrote this poem; dedicated to the Plummy Trees.


Plummy Tree
The glowing tree
Stares down at me
With a caring look
In its plummy eyes
With one slight roar
They're on the floor
But the blossomed fruit
Is revived.
In the spiteful wind
The world it spinned
But the tree, right here,
Did not budge.
So long, they say,
We'll see you soon,
But the tree just waves
Beneath the moon.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite poets of all time - He writes all sorts of stuff, and can control your mood with a single word. His poems always seemed sort of alive to me, instead of just words on paper. His sentences wiggle around with ink and and they splash off the page to fly away and read to someone. This one, Where The Sidewalk Ends, is one of my favorites, and I always loved the the phrase "peppermint wind." Here is his poem, for you.

Where The Sidewalk Ends
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where asphalt flowers grow 
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, the children they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
- Shel Silverstein 

Caged Bird

Maya Angelou is one of the most inspirational people in my life. She has many, many poems that I treasure and will keep with me, but Caged bird is one of my very favorites. This beautiful women was a poet, a writer, a dancer, an activist, and many other things in her long and treasured life. Most of all, she had a  beautiful heart, and that heart has inspired me beyond belief. 

Caged Bird

A free bird leaps

on the back of the wind

and floats downstream

till the current ends

and dips his wing

in the orange sun rays

and dares the claim the sky

But a bird that stalks

down his narrow cage

can seldom see through

his bars of rage

his wings are clipped and

his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

Sings of freedom 

The free bird thinks of another breeze

and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees

and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn

and he names the sky his own

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams

his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream

his wings are clipped and his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing. 

The caged bird sings

with fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard 

on a distant hill

for the caged bird

sings for freedom.

- Maya Angelou 

THE JABBERWOCKY

This poem is one of the best I've ever read, and from an excellent book; Alice in Wonderland. Please enjoy the magic:

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
  And the mome raths outgrabe.


"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
  The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
  The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
  Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
  And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
  The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
  And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
  The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
  He went galumphing back.
"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
  Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
  He chortled in his joy.



`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
  And the mome raths outgrabe.

Ten Minutes

Whenever I come home from the store, from the dentist, and practically any time I leave home, both of my dogs are always there waiting. My pit bull, Tinkerbell, is always staring at me with the sweetest look in her eyes as her gorgeous spotted coat brushes against me. My Yorkie, Romeo, has his paws up and balanced on my legs, with his fluffy ears poofed up and a hopeful gaze in his eyes. Here is a poem by me, dedicated to every dog, because even though we were only gone for ten minutes, they're still there waiting like it's been years.

Ten Minutes
The light shown through
In the gentle noon
As my people went to walk
I paced and paced
I jumped and raced
I watched the clock-
Tick. Tock.
Years and years
Of endless waiting
I miss them so
It's irritating
I hear the deep rumble
Of a great broken garage
I run into the oil puddle
With a big oily splosh
They come back inside
As I wag my tail
They rub my back
I give out a wail
Why were you so sad?
We'll pet you with no limits
We're home, now, be glad
We were only gone for ten minutes