I'm a Poet

Some of you might be aware that I am an unpublished poet, but I guess I haven't done a lot to advertise that fact. "Well, what good is poetry that doesn't get read?" I'm asking myself. And I'm telling myself that I ought to share some of my favorites with you. So feel free to give me some feedback. I don't really know if my poetry is appealing to others, so if you like it, leave me a comment, and if you don't...I guess you can leave me a comment anyway.

The Wide World
Linda Katwijk

From winter months of indoor play
Viewing the world behind the glass
A toddler on a clear spring day
Unleashed into the world at last

Wanders out with big eyes bright
As if released from some dark cell
Excited, squealing with delight
To see and touch and taste and smell

Amazing wonders everywhere
Grand discoveries to make
Feel the fragrant, cool fresh air
Lift this branch and see a snake

Taste a handful of this dirt
Throw these rocks, and find a bug
Mommy, help me when I’m hurt
Let me go to pet that slug

Hear the birds up in the tree
Smell the flowers gold and red
Grass feels cold and prickle-y
The gutter dripped upon my head!

Splash the water in this pail
Kick around the soccer ball
Feel an old corroded nail
Walk this board and do not fall

See the pretty butterfly
Orange cat has come to play
Hear the airplane in the sky
Glorious, splendid, awesome day!

Space TravelerLinda Katwijk

I am a merry space traveler
I cannot stop to rest
On and on and on I go
I must be on a quest

Five hundred eighty four
Million miles I’ll clear
That’s the distance I will go
Each and every year

My spacecraft never needs refueled
And never needs repair
I never worry one small bit
‘bout running out of air

The passengers are plenty, but
The food will not run out
I always have a lot to do
And room to move about

67,000 miles per hour
Is the speed we go
I do not notice it at all
It seems we travel slow

By now I should be weary
But I’m just getting started
Twenty nine billion miles I’ve gone
Since the day that I departed.

The journey may seem pointless
I keep going ‘round the sun
But, for the mission I’m assigned
It’s clear, I am the only one

I know I have been learning
As I speed along my path
I do not want to suffer
The Mission Commander’s wrath

And so I follow His commands
I do the best I can
I make mistakes and learn from them
That is part of His plan

Somewhere along this orbit
I am sure I will discover
How to get off this spaceship
Perhaps I’ll even hover,

Float above your heads awhile,
Blow you each a kiss,
Then turn toward my heavenly home

For I’ve been sorely missed.

Marvelous MushroomsLinda Katwijk

I have noticed in the Fall
Mushrooms growing, big and small

White ones, brown ones, red ones, too
They seem to come in every hue

They fascinate the old and wise
Bring wonderment to younger eyes

We pause to view them as we pass
Near the garden, in the grass

We like to see and touch and smell
Each mushroom, to perceive it well

Some are smooth like satin cloth
Some could make a tasty broth

We bend or crawl on hands and knees
Admiring those beneath the trees

Here’s a circle, here’s a bunch
Fairies near, I have a hunch

Perhaps I’ll study, find out more
Of mushrooms, their mysterious lore

For they intrigue my curious mind
Whatever shape or color I find

Those wacky fungi hypnotize
Those mystic mushrooms mesmerize

Then as the winter freeze draws near
All the mushrooms disappear

I suppose they’ll dormant lie
‘Til breezes of September sigh

And when the southbound swallow flies
Those stalwart mushrooms shall arise.

And I will watch the rain-soaked ground
‘Til mushrooms once again abound.

That's it for now. Let me know what you think.