Road To Success

Ever since we were born, we heard,

That in order to make it, in this world,

You must be a success and a winner,

You don’t win first place, being a beginner,

You got to push and fight and win,

If you want to be someone and not an has been,

So put on your successful face, your winner hat,

Mix a little bit of this and a little bit of that,

There will be no excuses and tales of obstruction,

Because the road to success was under construction

xox

Yonge Street

“Yonge Street”, is the longest in the world,

It’s 1896 Kilometers from end to end,

Not really something for your daily walk,

Not something to joke about or mock,

It takes you from the Toronto lakeshore,

North to the nickel mines and the iron ore,

Where one can see Aurora Borealis with a naked eye,

Where the ground becomes one with the sky,

Where winters are ten months old,

Where summers make haste and quickly fold,

So if you wish to travel to the end of the world,

Maybe if you wish a Santa’s convention to attend,

Start at number one Yonge, head north, towards the pole,

Keep going until you see not one soul,

Then stop, relax, take a good look around, smile,

Now turn around its a long drive back, will take a while.

xox

Garlicky Bread

My mother could make an amazing dish,

From chicken, beef, veggies or fish,

No matter the source or the type,

Whether it was fresh, old, green or ripe,

She made everything taste so delicious,

Moreover, it was always healthy and nutritious,

She could make an amazing six-course meal,

From anything, even from deep seawater eel,

I remember after frying little beef croquettes,

She would deep thin slices of dark rye breads,

In the hot tasty dripping oil, it smelled amazing,

Then smear on it garlic that set my nose a-blazing,

Even today almost sixty years later,

I can taste the garlicky, tingly breads so tender,

It is these smells and tastes you will cherish,

No matter what dish on your plate was to furnish,

It is scorched onto your memory banks,

For that we can only be grateful and give thanks.

xox

Around The Table

Last night had dinner with my son’s family,

There were my son, his wife, Zoe and Emme,

Needless to say- when you sit to the table,

Having dinner with the kids, or a bite of a bagel,

It’s not only the family that sits with you,

The table always fills with their fun stuff too,

So yesterday, we had Emme with her train,

Zoe had “Baby Alive”, the blond doll with no brain,

Emme was zooming away with “Thomas” the engine,

Clicking, clacking, and purring like a kitten,

Zoe was combing “Baby Alive” hair with a brush,

Making sure the hair looks good and not like trash,

Yes, family dinners are a whole new celebration,

So, all you adults had better pay attention.

xox

A Smile

Today I visited my grandson Liam

As I got there, he was up and happy as a clam

He was in his little cot, looking at the outside,

Although it was cloudy, we had a bit sunlight,

I tried to get his attention so I tsked..tsked

Then I tweeted and clacked, clucked and clunked,

He watched me a while with this curious look,

Probably asking himself, “who is this schnook?”

And then a huge smile from ear to ear,

A beam, a smirk, a grin on his face appeared,

His eyes were laughing too, big and bright,

That’s my grandson and he is alright

xox

Bath In The Pot

Imagine you are two years old,

The only running water you have is cold,

In order to wash, mother boils up a huge pot,

That is the only way to get the water mildly hot,

She pours the water all over you soaping you up,

Then to wash the lather away, pour water from a cup,

As you shiver from the cold ready to die,

You jump into the towel, you never ask why,

Still almost sixty years later, I remember,

How it was to take a bath in a pot in December

 xox

Tap Dancer

When I was three or four,

I was king of the dance floor,

I was a child prodigy of the tap dance,

I used to swirl, swivel, and do all the stunts,

When my father took me to get my haircut,

The barber’s fee was dancing out my little butt,

As the years went by, so did my talent,

No longer a child prodigy with flair and gallant,

Now I enjoy the occasional classic movie,

With Kelly and Astaire dancing the boogie.

xox