Kids I Knew – Roscoe JohnsonI had a friend in school named Roscoe Johnson. He had a lot of problems, just like we all did. The worst of his was that he was not coordinated. He could not snap his fingers, clap his hands or chew gum and walk.His dad who had been the star… Read More Kids I Knew – Roscoe Johnson
Smelt RunsWhen I was 11, my dad decided that we should go smelt dipping on Lake Huron. Smelt are a smaller fish, maybe slightly larger than a sardine. They live in, but are not native to the Great Lakes and in April every year they swim inland to spawn in gravel covered streams.To prepare for… Read More Smelt Runs
Greetings to my author/literary friends and anyone who just loves words. In the past few months, I have joined the Board of Directors at Buckham Fine Arts Project in Flint Michigan. Recently the board of directors voted to make some exciting changes that I would like to share with you. Buckham’s mission statement reads, “It… Read More Greetings to my author/literary friends and anyone who just love words.
In 1970, I started the sixth grade and should have moved to the junior high school. That year Carman Schools ran out of money. Also that year Carman saw its highest enrollment ever with almost 10,000 students. For some reason that seemed to be a common occurrence back in the 60’s and early 70’s. They… Read More Sixth Grade
Based on Jesus’ teaching in John Chapter 8.She avoided the commons area, Knowing that they looked for her.But this day her luck ran out.She turned the corner only to face her accusers.At the sight of her their voices lowered,The mumbling assaulted her ears,She looked to the ground, her cheeks burning red.Frozen in place, her terror… Read More The Accused
My first couplet Well life sucks And that’s my luck Roy Richard Sept 2023 two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit.
My first attempt at a CinquainMy LustOverpowers meI deny it, choke itMy mind cries out for action, fulfillmentFetishRoy RichardSept 2023
My first attempt at a four-line stanza balladHe looked upon her grave in fearShe had promised her returnSurely there was no way she mightBut yet his heart did yearnHis heart beat drummed in his earPain, blood pounding his headHis stomach flipped and churned, pure chaosFeelings of fear and dreadThe earth began to move and shiftA… Read More The Ballad of her Return
For my wife on our 45th wedding anniversary…..It was HOT the spring of 75, Nights would find me laying damp and clammy in the dark,Drenched in sweat, the covers pushed off the bed, Hoping for a breeze, that just never seemed to come.The radio tuned to a FM station, WWCK105, Flint’s Best Rock, The throbbing… Read More Spring of 75
The camp had been here a number of years. Decades old, built from the ruins of an old insane asylum. It had housed the mentally ill during the roaring twenties, through the depression, right up to the start of WWII.The clientele was the usual mix of the rich and famous. Burned out starlets, washed up… Read More Band Camp
Ramblings of an Old Coot 