My Poems, By Melisa

I have given myself a good chuckle AND creeped myself out simultaneously by opening this book for the first time in years, even though it has resided on the bookshelf–mere steps from me–in our family room for absolutely forever.

I wrote in this book of poems from May 10, 1978 until February 23, 1981.

No, no…don’t be impressed. There are only eleven pages full of poems. The rest of the book? ENTIRELY BLANK.

Because I enjoy giving my readers a good laugh and don’t mind making fun for you at my own expense, I will now share some of these works of art with you. Please note the obvious impact that both Dr. Seuss AND Shel Silverstein had in my early life as a writer, and don’t mind the one that is overly angst-y, please: I was nearly ten. The silver lining is that I can definitely see my growth as a poet at that young age, even though I ventured into different kinds of writing (thank goodness!). Enjoy!

June 24, 1978
Friends

Today my friend got back from camp.
My brain was sloping like a ramp
With all the things I had to say,
Like “This is my very lucky day!”

July 26, 1978
The Storm (Dedicated to the storm that came)

The storm came rumbling toward us
Boom, Boom!
There was not time to make a fuss
Boom, Boom!
All of us came running quickly home
Without even a grumble or groan!

October 13, 1978
Fish

Fish are fun,
Fish are nice,
Sometimes you store them
In very cold ice.

October 13, 1978
All Alone

All alone today.
Nobody wants to play
With me.
Nobody will come
If I count 1-2-3.

Then Somebody came
When I was on three
She is very nice
Not paid a fee.

(and in a weird prediction of the future…)
May 22, 1979
Names

Mary, John, Joe
Those are good names, you know.
Steve, James, Tom, Kerry
Those are names of people I’d like to marry.

January 15, 1980
Weather

Cold weather is very bad,
Sometimes very nice.
With your partner down you go,
Falling on the ice.
Very very cold weather
At nine or ten degrees,
You might as well go in the house–
Before you start to sneeze!

Hot weather is summertime
Very hot indeed,
As soon as summer starts,
You see–you’re pulling weeds! (haha, wink to my sister)
With the weather at 101,
You’re always outside swimming,
Or laying in the sun.

I think warm weather is the best.
It’s always in between.
In warm weather people are nice,
Very rarely mean.
So take this lesson with you,
Keep it by your side.
Take it on the train,
And have a very nice ride!

Februrary 23, 1981
Untitled

A Book
Fictional or Non-fictional
Interests and Intrigues
Suddenly…
A pleasure.

17 Comments

House of Jules

July 2, 2010 at 12:08 pm Reply

Oh, JAYSUS! Classic…

Tom

July 2, 2010 at 12:13 pm Reply

My favorite line: "my brain was sloping like a ramp"

Great stuff!

Ashley T

July 2, 2010 at 12:14 pm Reply

Too cute! I bet I can find some of my own.. but I'd be too scared to post them. Something about being dorky. LOL
Thanks for sharing!

Mom24

July 2, 2010 at 12:14 pm Reply

🙂

I think my very favorite is Fish. Classic for sure.

WeaselMomma

July 2, 2010 at 12:15 pm Reply

Wow, You were never a published poet laureate?
Things that make you go hmmm.

Thanks for the laughs.

Tara R.

July 2, 2010 at 12:57 pm Reply

*wipes a tear* priceless!

Liz@thisfullhouse

July 2, 2010 at 1:04 pm Reply

I will NEVER look at fish the same way, ever again 🙂

LceeL

July 2, 2010 at 1:19 pm Reply

The best one was "Fish". I think I'll remember that one, always. The Doctor would be so proud.

nycgirl0501

July 2, 2010 at 1:36 pm Reply

That is so cute! Love them all!
I used to write poems too but I never kept them. I wish I had. I do have an old journal from 5th grade that has an entry that read "I got married to Julio today" LMAO! That's news to me & probably to him too. He was an 8th grader I had a crush on! Too funny!