The Rockefeller Christmas Tree

Tonight is the tree lighting of the giant Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center in Mid-town Manhatten, New York. It is always a big event broadcast on NBC television.

A couple of years ago, a little Saw-whet owl got trapped in a Christmas tree that was brought down from upstate New York. They found him when they unloaded the tree and started pulling the branches apart. It was shared on the Today show and inspired me to write a children’s book about the little owl.  I called it Rocky’s Big Adventure, a 24 page coloring book for children.  I illustrated it and self-published some copies for my family and friends.

I can’t send copies around the world, but I can email you a pdf. file that you can read and share with the children in your life. You are also welcome to print copies for yourself or friends, but not for commercial use.

If you would like a pdf. copy, send me your email address at dwru27@aol.com and I will send it to you. This one is not on Amazon.

Below are some sample pages from the book:

Cute little owl

Trapped in Christmas tree branches

A long ride to NYC

To Give or Not to Give

To give… or not to give, that is the question

while everyone clamors pushing their way to the fore

always calling wanting more.

To give… or not to give sometimes makes me ponder

why we think there should be special times for giving more

making giving quite a chore.

To give or not to give, the need is always there

To the poor… or to the rich… building castles in the air;

Using us to get there.

To give… or not to give, sometimes leaves me in a quandary.

Giving should be a lifestyle not just something we do on Sunday;

For giving is much more than money and the returns not in dollars and cents.

It’s all about loving your neighbor who lives just over the fence…

and the person in need of a helping hand, and listening at our expense;

For time is the best gift when others are struggling to make sense.

So, write your checks as you have planned

To give… or not to give…  and do the best you can.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Today Merril shared that it is Giving Tuesday today. We are to write a poem that uses the prompt give or a form of it.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Holes in My Head

His memory of the present

was sketchy at best

Said he was like his grandma

who told him

she had holes in her head

where the memories leaked out

Guess it must’ve been genetic

Memories erased like an etch-a sketch

when we left him

***

Photo: Ruth Roth

Today at d’Verse, Mish asked us to write a Quadrille of 44 words using some form of the word sketch. I wrote about my father-in-law who had Alzheimer’s and passed in 2018.

If you have young children or grandchildren, you might enjoy my book, “Grandpa Has Holes in His Head” on Amazon Kindle.

Grandpa Has Holes In His Head: Helping children understand Alzheimer’s

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Thanksgiving Moon

Full Moon and streetlamp

compete with bright Christmas Lights

Evening star twinkles

Jets leave trails floating

Jump ropes for the moon and star

On a cold clear night

***

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Droplets on Cedar (a haiku)

Pure perfection

Knowing it’s about to fall

Still holding tightly

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

A Letter to my Wife

My Dear Ruth,

How many pumpkin pies have you baked through the years

Always delicious full of cinnamon and spice a tasty delight

*

I remember you telling me you asked your mom if you could bake pies

Instead of doing the house cleaning with your sister and she agreed

*

What a joy to be able to make such flaky crusts baked to perfection

Pumpkin pies from scratch starting with a whole pumpkin not a can

*

The aroma of pumpkin pies baking in the oven makes me hungry

Knowing how good the final taste will be sliced with whipped cream

*

You knew the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach

But, my dear, you are much more than an enticing pie baker

*

You are the whole package and have been for the last fifty-three years

Thank you for being you and making my life complete

*

As I look forward to tasting your pumpkin pie once more

I will be thankful for the beauty and joy you bring to my life

*

Thank you my dear for being you and for loving me

Happy Thanksgiving

Love,

Dwight

Punam’s prompt at d’Verse was to write a Letter Poem to someone. With the art of letter writing fast disappearing in our digital world, handwritten letters are not as common as they once were. I decided to write a poem/letter to my wife as a follow-up post, Green Pumpkin Pie. This is how it all came out… smelling wonderful and perfect as usual.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Green Pumpkin Pie

Our neighbor Annett, who lives across the street, had a pumpkin vine growing in her back yard. She brought us one of her pumpkins a week or two ago. The interesting thing was that the pumpkin was green. Not green in the sense that it was not ripe, but rather green when it was mature instead of orange.

We made it our table centerpiece for a few days until the stem showed evidence of drying up. Today, I cut it up into chunks and Ruth cooked it till it was soft. The fleshy middle was orange like most pumpkins we have had in the past. It smelled good cooking, tasted good when she sampled it, and so we decided to use it for our Thanksgiving pumpkin pies. Our daughter-in-law is making the Thanksgiving dinner and Ruth is baking the pies. Hopefully they will turn out well.

Green Fall pumpkin shared

Orange flesh baked into a pie

Happy Thanksgiving

Click the photo to enlarge…

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Posted on Monday Haibun for d’Verse. Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

The Evolution of a Painting

Back in the middle of August a friend from my hometown asked me to paint her family’s store. She sent me the first photo below to paint from. I shared this story in my post Painting Memories (Sept.10th).  I did a 16 x 20 acrylic on canvas for her.

Since then, her cousin asked me to paint the broader view of the store shown in the second photo photo below. I did hers in watercolor on 8 1/2 x 11 watercolor paper. Well, the first friend wanted one like that as well, so I did a second one, shown in the set at the bottom. This was in the middle of September.

Not long after that, another cousin wanted a painting as well. So, I did one for her. A week or two ago, another cousin wanted one as well. I don’t know where this will end!

I found it very interesting to look at the paintings I did. Each one was done on their own using the original photo. They turned out similar, but different from each other.  They were very pleased with the paintings, so for me that is all that matters. In the process of painting them I found I liked having the pen and ink more defined. I think I will continue doing my watercolors this way.

Grasping at memories

Wanting things to stay the same

Reliving the past

Click on the pictures to enlarge…

Painting Memories

Music Metaphors

Perhaps it’s music that defines who we are

A clear vocal harmony pure like sweet honey

Meshing as one bringing things together smooth and clear

Music like us has a harsh side with symbols and percussion

Grabbing our attention in defining the moments

Demanding to be heard both near and far

Then there is the piccolo that like the drum rises above

Piercing the air with sharp captivating melodic notes

Carrying a singular tune from one joy to the next

Jazz is suave and smooth carrying us like ocean waves

An ebb and flow of sound and rhythm keeping us in the moment

With that deep bass beat that is its foundation shoreline

Some are foot stomping hard driving banjo, guitar, and mandolin

Country sounds from ancient tunes across the isle and Glenn

Telling stories with a tear in the beer of broken-hearted lovers

Hip hop keeps many dancing choreographed to a tee

Rap, the poetic rhythm that seems to lack tune and melody

Blues for the working man’s struggle to survive reminds us we’re alive

Music has so many similarities yet is distinctly different

Acquired tastes going to the core of who we are

Personalities that define us a making life worth living

Music defines us…

It’s who we are…

*

Painting of My Harmony Guitar: Dwight L. Roth

Posting for d’Verse Poets open link night at: https://dversepoets.com

Friday Night Fajitas

Not long after we moved into our house back in the mid-nineteen nineties, we met our neighbors Jerry and Alice. We became very good friends over the years. On Friday or Saturday evenings, we would go out to eat with them at our favorite Mexican Restaurant, Chico’s. We did this until we moved to Charlotte in 2011.

Chico’s was in the old renovated power plant that sat at the edge of the Tar River. Windows all along the wall gave a wonderful view of the river. That was great but the food was fantastic. Ruth and I often shared their Chicken Fajitas.

The Fajitas came on a flat cast iron that was steaming hot. It was put on a board to keep from burning our fingers. It was covered with fried onions, green peppers, chunks of grilled chicken. The pan was so hot it was still sizzling as they brought it to the table. On the side they had four small soft taco shells wrapped in aluminum foil, lettuce, chopped cilantro and tomatoes, guacamole, and sour cream. To top it all off, we shared a fried ice cream topped with whipped cream and honey.

Good friends and good food

Wonderful times // great memories

While the river flowed

 

Today at d’Verse, Melissa told us that it is Spicy Guacamole Day. In line with this she gave us a list of words that you might have at a Mexican Restaurant and asked us to use at least four of them to write a poem. I decided to do a haibun about our time with our friends Jerry and Alice. Sadly, Jerry passed away last spring.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

http://www.chicosrestaurant.com/rockymountcontacts.html