Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Naming Me

Birthday when I turned five years old

How I got my James Baldwin name

To me Mom and Dad this tale told.

It happened on the day I came.

Mom told Dad that my time had come

To be born and so the two got

Mom's things together and left from

Home with the destination sought

Of the hospital where I would

Be delivered, and Mom and Dad

Thought a corner street sign was good.

That's how I got the name I had.

James Street and Baldwin Street did be

Hospital where the folks had me.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

 My Late Twenties

In my late twenties I recall

Being a drunk since my teen years,

But functioning well through it all.

I could stop anytime so "Cheers."

I'd been engaged but called it off,

Lied incompatible  was why.

But at the real truth I did scoff.

Wedded to alcohol was I.

A good job I had kept, thinking,

Job reviews good, so I'm okay,

And funding source for my drinking,

Which I did each and every day.

Ten more years into hell I sunk,

Then recovered being a drunk.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Kingdom Come

For any king to rule true worth

The king must only rule for good,

Against all evil on the earth.

Only truth and righteousness should

Guide forth the rulings that be known

In a kingdom by one and all,

From the king sitting on the throne.

For this God will bless the king's call.

When God deemed too many kings had

Abused God's gift of power then

God knew that earth was prone to bad,

And sent his Son to forgive sin.

Jesus Christ, King of kings, came to

Promise worthy His Kingdom true.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Sharing of Wisdom

The tribal chief was gravely ill.

The shaman had done all he could

To try to heal the chief but still

The shaman's efforts did no good.

And so the shaman went to find

The bison, who spirits had told,

Had the knowledge within its mind

Of curing herbs it could unfold.

The shaman found the bison and

Was allowed by the bison to

Place on its head the shaman's hand.

Then knowledge flowed between the two.

The herbs the bison would reveal

To the shaman, the chief to heal.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 At Their Mercy

I overhear the two of them

Talking of me, her and him.

She tells him to commit mayhem

By killing me just on her whim.

But instead, with napkin and cup,

I watch him bend to where I'm at,

And very gently scoops me up.

We go outside their habitat.

He lets me loose with this to say,

"Goodbye spider and off you go."

So of course I scurry away.

Some humans are humane, I know.

Meet these two again, I'm quite sure,

I will thank him, I will bite her.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

 Easier Said Than Done

There is an ancient fable that

Tells of a meeting of mice on

How to outwit the fearsome cat.

The best idea agreed upon

Was to the cat attach a bell,

So when the cat would come and go,

The mice could hear the jingling well,

And cat's whereabouts mice would know.

But one old and wise mouse did ask

The question none had answer for,

"Who of us should perform this task"

"Of put the bell on the cat chore?"

The moral of the fable is true,

Easy to say, but hard to do.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Valentine for Marlena

A special valentine be for

Marlena Dietrich, oft in love

With many him's and her's galore.

She and her husband would talk of

These many affairs of her heart.

Beautiful and glamorous, she

Was one of a kind work of art,

Loved and adored by so many.

From youth into her seventies,

Marlena's love life loved on strong,

One whom many could love with ease,

Whether for a time short or long.

For Marlena, this valentine,

I wish she'd been a love of mine.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

 Fever Exchange

Off to Alaska I did go

To strike it rich finding some gold.

Winter came, it began to snow.

A cabin sheltered me from cold.

But all the snow piled up so that

For several months I was stuck in

The tiny wooden habitat,

Wanted to jump out of my skin.

Enough necessities but not

WiFi, radio or T.V.

So bored awake, so slept a lot,

Getting more and more stir crazy.

Gone was the gold fever I had,

Replaced by cabin fever, bad.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

 Get Rich

I wanted more money and so,

Being lazy and not too bright,

In a clearing with room to grow,

I planted a money tree, right

Where I could go and withdraw from

Whatever money I should need.

Critics were saying this was dumb,

But I doubled good luck indeed,

Planting hibiscus all around

That money tree cuz such bloom is

The lucky flower so I'm bound

For big payoff, golly, gee whiz!

So in that clearing I will be,

If anyone's looking for me.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Mata Hari

Mata Hari, courtesan who

Used her skills for profit and fun.

A lot of spying she did do

For both sides during World War I.

Affairs she carried on both with

French and German blab johns to shock

The prudish with some fact, some myth,

Secrets she got from pillow talk.

In due course as the war did end

Both sides did charge her as a spy,

Being between the sheets foe's friend,

Tried by the French, sentenced to die.

Mata Hari with one last nod

Blew a kiss to her firing squad.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Queen Numbi

Beloved Queen Numbi, old and ill,

Saw a light, as the tale does tell,

Greater destiny to fulfill.

White lion on a star that fell,

Sent by mighty sun god to give

Queen Numbi special power to

In good health and in long youth live,

Helping her people right and true.

Upon the winged white lion, she

Was often seen with birds on high,

Reigning with all her majesty,

Best for her people to supply.

Queen Numbi dead on one sad day,

The white lion flew her away.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Pangu

Pangu, the oldest Chinese myth,

Came from the primordial ooze,

Primitive hairy giant with

Horns on his head, who then did choose

To create the earth and the sky.

The sky be yang, the earth be yin,

Both were kept separated by

Pangu keeping his body in

Between the two as both did grow.

For 18,000 years he stood

Till sky above and earth below

Had fully been formed as both should.

Pangu finished his task of worth,

And became part of sky and earth.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Sarah Boone

Sarah Boone with her family,

Slaves in the south, did escape north.

A dressmaker she came to be.

For better dresses she went forth

To make better ironing, to wit

Inventing a contoured board

That into garment sleeve could fit,

Allowing shifting to afford

No wrinkling, so a nicer look.

Padded board, collapsible to

Easily be stored in a nook.

Her success in dressmaking grew.

In 1892 she sought

A U.S. patent which she got.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Playground of My Life

At times my life's like a playground.

There are many fun things to do.

My favorite's the merry go round.

I always go with my friend who

Is there to catch me as I slide

Down the slide to a safe, nice end.

On the roller coaster I ride,

And don't stand up, thanks to my friend.

When in the jungle gym I get

Myself stuck there once in a while,

I can count on my friend to let

Me get unstuck and make me smile.

A happy place the playground be

When my friend, Jesus, is with me.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

 Sweet Revenge

Hubby was cheating on me and

Flaunting affairs in front of me.

What Hubby did not understand,

A revengeful gal I can be.

So one night Hubby came home late,

Bragged, then went into the bathroom.

Knocked unconscious by me, his fate,

Then pushed into the tub to doom.

As the tub filled with water, I,

Instant tea and sugar then spread.

When there was sufficient supply,

I then pushed under Hubby's head.

Hubby gurgled, then death did meet.

Indeed revenge can be so sweet.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

 Pulitzer Applies

Joseph Pulitzer said that crime

Lived by secrecy and he did

Be an example for a time,

Winning in his election bid,

Missouri legislative seat,

Which everyone including him

Thought he would go down in defeat.

He ran really just on a whim,

But an illegal winner cuz

Pulitzer, elected too young,

He knew that to be truth that was,

But said nothing by pen or tongue.

After his term the truth came out,

Pulitzer's secret crime no doubt.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Where There's a Wool There's a Way

When the sheep slaughters  the wolf may

Sound impossible and absurd,

But truly happened on one day.

A small lamb wandered from the herd.

A wolf seeing the lamb did jump

To eat, but was grabbed in mid air,

Then dragged through the grass by the rump,

The wolf then chopped up by a pair

Of very sharp hooves that did bleed

That bad wolf to dry as a bone.

A happy ending was indeed

That any lamb had ever known.

That wolf slaughtered by that sheep who

Was a very mad mama ewe.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

 Sonnet 145 (Revised)

I snuck a peek at an email

In which she said the words, "I hate."

No time to read in whole detail,

But left me in an awful state.

That hate was for me I was sure.

Next time she saw me, she could tell

Something was wrong, so I told her

Of the email, I felt like hell.

She gave a look like to a child,

Was quiet as time ticked away.

Then finally in words quite mild,

On email hate, had this to say,

"Be assured that I don't hate you,"

"But hate some sneaky stuff you do."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

 Arguing Aftermath

No more talking, they both sit down.

He sees her arms take hold her knees,

And looking at him with a frown.

He chooses to put her at ease,

And gently one hand holds her arm.

His other hand pulls back her head.

She lets herself accept his charm,

Feeling his lips on her neck spread

A tingling sensation through her.

And he knows he's made the right choice.

Communication shared for sure,

Without a sound in either voice.

Their first argument is all done,

And making up is so much fun.