MORE POEMS BY DALE

THE SHIELD

You can use a shield for battle
Or to hang up on your wall,
Or maybe in some sport
To protect you from the ball;
You can use it for a platter
In a fine Thanksgiving feast,
Or place it on a coffin
To honor the deceased;
You can paint a picture on it
And enter it in fairs,
Or play a trick on people
By laying it on some stairs;
You can use it for a mirror
For putting makeup on your face,
Or you can set it in some corner,
Just to take up space.
You can use a shield for many things,
But nothing's more unfair
Than to use one to protect yourself
From the love that we could share.


ABOUT MY PUBLICATION, THE GLEANER

As I gave out the Gleaner
To people on the street--
The complimentary issue
Which I felt was quite a treat--
Many people turned it down
As though they were attacked--
Thinking it's political
Or some religious tract;
And I wondered what had happened to them
Sometime in the past,
To make them shun this paper
And walk away so fast;
But though some people through the years
Become as cold as ice,
By reading through this paper
It proves you're very nice.


FERRIS THE ROPE MAN

Ferris the rope man was chained from his soul,
Steelface laughed in his army of power,
For he had hidden the freedom key
Within the Firewall Tower;
And the army cried with obligations,
And the people cried in their apathy,
And wildlife learned to live underground,
And in Ferris' soul was the sympathy.
Steelface grinned and held out his arms
Praising the jingling purses,
And the anthems he sang, he sang alone,
For they dealt with evil curses.
And Ferris called his squires within
To fetch his sisters and brothers
And people who felt they were not content,
Which included all the others.
Night by night they braided hemp
Until a powerful rope was made,
And day by day they fooled the crown
With the innocent games they played.
In the day they grew their hair
And made new songs and dances,
While in the night they made their plans
And filed down their lances.
By and by a holiday came,
And Steelface's heart grew colder,
The people were sore and cried for relief,
So Ferris threw the rope o'er his shoulder.
The march was tremendous 'cross the shaking earth,
With Ferris in the lead,
And when Steelface saw the people coming
He began to plead.
For within the people was his army,
And the quiet ones raised their voice;
That's the day Steelface disappeared,
For it appeared he had no choice.
Ferris wrapped the rope 'round the tower--
The monument of the crown--
And all the people in the land
Pulled Firewall Tower down.


FRUITS

On the vines grew the sweetest fruits,
Succulent fruits from steadfast roots,
As fresh as the dew that shone from their skin,
The finest taste resting in juices within,
The pride of the crop from the best seeds sown,
Picked from the vine when they're full-grown.

But instead of finding appreciation
They are scattered about in degradation,
Boiled in water for sterilization,
Packed in jars for mummification,
Sealed in tight for preservation
And put on shelves in isolation.

They had given their all to develop their taste,
But now it all seemed a terrible waste;
Through the glass their world looked dim;
The future to come seemed dark and grim.
Would they rot away within these jars?
The darkness leaves such lonely scars.

But when the time came they found salvation;
The jars were opened to liberation,
And in a subtle celebration
Were smiled upon with admiration.
The fruits throughout the long duration
Had finally found appreciation.


AS

As the same sun that keeps you warm
Keeps me too from the cold,
As the same time which ages you
Is making me grow old,
As we share the Earth as it falls through space
Like a lonely carrousel,
As we both are a part of the human race--
Earth's privileged personnel,
As we both know well that we should strive
To seek the friendship of another,
As through us nature is aware of itself,
Let us be aware of each other.



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