Writers Corner for July 15, 2011

Wordsmiths unite!

Send us your poems, your stories and essays. We'll publish them here.

Now, another round from The Press Writers Corner.

•••

SOLSTICE

Shafts of wheat,

tall and yellow;

Fresh fall air,

clear and mellow.

Towering oaks,

red aglow;

Calling forth,

expected snow.

Falling flakes,

blinding white;

Piling high,

brightening night.

A longer sun,

thawing ground;

Buds appear,

greens abound.

Ah sweet summer,

away too long.

- Tim Metcalf, Dalton Gardens

•••

LEGACY TO OUR CHILDREN

We could not give you a royal birth,

A name renowned throughout the earth;

We gave you seeds and a garden spot

And shade trees when the sun was hot.

We could not give a silver spoon

Or servants waiting night and noon.

We gave you love and a listening ear

And told you God was always near.

We could not give you ocean trips

Abroad some grand majestic ship;

We gave you books and a quiet time,

Adventures found in prose and rhyme.

We could not give you worldly things

But what we gave was fit for kings,

For with our faith and books and sod,

We made you each aware of God.

- Helen Mitchell, Hayden

•••

BIRTHDAYS

It starts out

When we're very young

The birthday wish - you see.

Where every year

We envision

The age, we want to be.

Each year it gets

More emphasis

The nearer to IT, we get.

The perfect age

We've waited for

When all our

Dreams are set.

But wait, OH NO

There's another side.

Just past that awaited age,

When all of a sudden

There's a down hill slide

To a more "mature" stage.

It's funny how all

Of a sudden

Time DOES NOT stand still.

As we race past

Our perfect age

To another age - OH HELL!

It's the age of our parents

When we were young

And they - so- very old.

Now it's really not that bad

To our younger at heart selves

We're told.

And so we adjust to middle age

Don't like the sound I hear,

As we race through

But not as bad

As here's you're

Senior discount, dear!

And lo, here comes

Another sound

An age - I had not sought.

An age I do not embrace

As I step across its bow.

Happy birthday - 60's

Here come the Young set now.

Oh YES,

I am the young set

In my minds' eye

I choose to be.

Never getting old

Just better (at life)

You see!

- Gayle P. Darrigan, Hayden

•••

Send your Writers Corner submissions to Maureen Dolan, [email protected].

We prefer e-mail submissions, and we ask that you limit the length of your stories and poems. Please include your hometown with your submission.

You can send hard-copies by mail to Maureen Dolan at The Press, 201 Second St., Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 83814.