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1.CHECKLIST
(p)
DID YOU :
a
Both pass the 6-week premarital course prior to your decision to be married?
a
Invite all of your friends and relatives and single stud-muffins (for your sister)?
a
Rent a big hall for dancing and toasting and cavorting?
a
Ask for lots of expensive presents and mention that you're collecting silver and tell everyone
your china pattern?
a
Pay the travel agent for the month-long honeymoon trip to Europe?
a
Reserve the limousine service with lots of champagne (for your sister)?
a
Go to the doctor for blood tests to see if it's OK for you to have children?
a
Decide which of your parent's place that you're going to for your 'first' Christmas together?
a
Practice the bouquet toss so you can aim it just right (for your sister)?
a
In checking all of this... forget that you already have years of a life together, a beautiful daughter,
and a home
of your own, with lots of room for friends and family (like your sister-in-law)?
Top of
List
2. REMEMBER LOVE
(r)
Remember love
Like passioned dew
On scarlet lake
Where I met you
Enchanted by
A lover's dance
Of perfumed silk
I took the chance
With you, cherie
A spice in time
Reflections of
Your hand in mine
Keep me embraced
In sweet disguise
The love I miss
Is in your eyes
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3. BIRTHDAY
(p)
We're glad that you were born dear
But we're really not sure when
You see we have this theory
And we've put our thoughts to pen...
We think a lofty wizard
Was looking for his wand
And came upon a maiden fair
Enchanted by her charm...
He whispered hocus-pocus
He moved in wizard ways
He said the magic words and POOF!
You started your birthdays...
Of course it's just a theory
For you to be so fawned
The question that we ask you is
"Where did you get that wand?"
4. BABY
(p)
If at the time you'd only known
How love could honor you
To see the moment sweetly held
The taste of passion true...
Conception in its purest form
The babe that found the way
Into your life, into your hearts
You bless that secret day...
The eyes that see the two of you
Will call you Mom and Dad
And show you in a special way
The blessing that you have....
Your precious baby bunting
Has come with gifts
for you
The gift of joy, of innocence
A love that's fresh and new
And in this love, you will embrace
A fortune only told
In 'Yesterdays and 'Will-be-dones'
In moments you can hold ...forever
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5.
STAG (p)
You really did it this time
You stupid bloody jerk
Your heart is not for wearing
And your sleeves are too damn short...
What did you say her name was?
We've got a right to know
Did you propose on bended knee?
Or was it afterglow?
6.
LILLIAN'S PORTRAIT (r)
I remember the night when we first met...that room... it's dazzled energy...amidst the din of electro-music...bodies surged in crowded corners everywhere. I remember the moment that captured me...when you appeared so suddenly...a gift in cosmic-colored veil...with
sapphired eyes and features fair...you flirted with your prairie air...I loved it! I remember taking your silky form in my arms and we danced...your winsome charm held true...as I embraced the beating of your heart. I remember the kiss of lily-scented breath...it was then I felt the wisp of love at my feet.
Darling Lillian
Enduring love I promise you
A noble sun to shine on you
Adoring lace to cover you
I'll cherish you and honor you
In spirited strength
I love you
Forever
Will you marry me?
Top
of List
7.THE ANSWERED PRAYER (r)
In aging light
In dawning sea
I look for you
To comfort me
Amidst the wake
Of dreams surpassed
Forsaking thoughts
That lovers cast
You'll find me there...
Upon a wave
I wait for thee
I've taken all
Was given
me
Impart me now
The eyes to see
The answered prayer
Inside of me
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8. IN LOVE (p)
In love and haze
A man perspires
To quench the loins
Of passion fires
9. TO KEEP THE FACE (p)
To keep the face
In light amongst
The race of grey
And dark surmount...
The while we laugh
We cry
10. TO AUNT ETHEL
(p)
In your honor
A woman
Of high degree...
At wishing wells
A fountain penny
Does not explain
Of love...
In admiration
One sees only
The strength
That you uphold...
And they
Dream of
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11. EMBRACING THIS
(p)
Embracing this
When amber mist
In august haze
Surrounds me with
A breath of you~
When rosewood
Lays in overtones
Upon your words
To charm me
In my love for you~
When sapphire winds
Subside to place
A satin kiss
Upon my breast...
You are my only thought
Top of List
12. A WOMAN'S BOD (p)
A woman's bod
Is sacrosanct
Your lucky stars
You ought to thank...
For privilege
And eyes to see
The curves that flow
Beyond the knee...
A beauty rare
You should respect
Includes the part
Above the neck...
Voluptuous is what she's called
It does not mean
She can be mauled...
To look at her
Like a pig in heat
She's not impressed
By your piece of meat...
And if you think she noticed it
It matters not the size of dick
Of course you'd be surprised to find
No credit did you give her mind...
Sometimes she may not realize
The blessing she possessed
She gave it up for promises
The ones you never kept...
And if you ever wanted love
You cannot well afford
The woman is aware of this
And will not call you lord...
For one thing you will never see
The heart behind the breast
To love her with integrity
You can't forget the rest...
Perception is an attitude
Forever will it last
One beautiful woman
In such circumstance
Can turn real ugly, real fast.
Top of List
13.
A LOVE IS SHARED (r)
In royal times
A love is shared
It magnifies
Your presence there
In honor that
Will never end
You gave it first of all ~
Among the great
And noble men
You suffered not
Your children when
You walked into
The violet wind
You kept your love around us ~
And when the breeze
Of silver lace
Did keep you
In an able grace
We shared the joys
That touched your face
And love was all around us~
A thought to mind
You may have missed
The stars wore diamonds
When we kissed
And offered up
The strongest wisp
Of love that was around us~
As rare as roses
Made of snow
As precious fate
Could ever show
This love is yours
My dear...you know.
Top of List
14.
ON A DAUGHTER'S GRADUATION
(r)
If one could share the secret pride
You give this mom and dad
Our special chosen moments
You and us
Is what we have~
There's always something missing
Whenever you're away
And proud is understating it
In how we feel today~
When others want to give it up
You never heard of quit
You show the strength inside of you
And put your mind to it~
This darling little gifted girl
Has challenged life today
And set our heads to spinning
With delight in every way~
Where ever your path takes you
As you're following your dreams
May all our love go with you
Beside all those precious things
Top of List
15.
BOB (r
& p)
Beside us is a cherished friend
Whose love for us will never end
To hail this man as we impart
The love for him within our hearts...
Robert Charles Stanly Bruce McKillop
What do you want me to say?
I'll leave it up to you.
I... like to remember you...
Bob,
When a man is big-hearted
When he is a loner, but never alone
When he protects those around him like a Scottish watchdog
When he becomes a guardian to everyone he knows
When he is a best friend in the good times and the bad
When he thinks of his pals first
When he has a strong mind
When he has insight
When he is sensitive
When you can count on his true nature
When he would give you the time of day by giving you his watch
Or the shirt off his back whether you could fit into it or not, because his heart is so big
When more people in this world should be like that
I...like to remember you
Bob,
How does one keep his spirit going strong throughout his life?
In spite of the uncertainty and knowing if it's right?
When you can live beside the crankiest of neighbors...
Yet share a life that some of the best of friends cannot do?
When I am sitting in a foreign place
You are the friend who comes by and says,
" Hi, who are you looking for, where are you going, I'll tell you the way"
In all the times we ponder over people in their space
Why can't we seem to focus on the love that's in their face?
When you can give companionship to everyone you meet
To Comeback on you windowsill, and Lucky at your feet
Bob, I wonder...
When you watch over others
With a fatherly venue
I can't help thinking...there is someone...watching over you.
Top of List
16.
TO UNCLE MATT
(r)
In Matthew is a Gaelic lord
I heard my father say
When often speaking of you
That's the picture he portrays...
I'm counting on a child's world
To help me reminisce
About the days when we flew out
Of Scotland o'er the mist...
I want to start the day we left
Again now that I'm grown
Into a man much like yourself
A man I've barely known...
Whose eyes are softly speaking
In the shades of grey and blue
Whose quiet sense of humour
Keeps the world around him new...
A soldier on the battled seas
When bondage to defeat
For peace to be the sovereignty
And war to not repeat...
A cunning operator
When the cards are in your hand
You savor every moment
When the tournament is grand...
If I could see this gentleman
Particular and proud
I'd tell you that I miss you
Uncle Matthew, right out loud
Top of List
17.A LESSON LEARNED
(p)
If I stop and think about it
There's a lesson I could learn
When the world falls down around me
And at night I toss and turn~
The game of jealous people
As I'm working at my best
Is to knock me on my kiester
Like a wicked little test~
Success attracts the strangest beast
In hearts of lazy simps
They trap you in their misery
And offer whines and whimps~
Expecting all the finery
To come to them post-haste
They leech upon your labored work
And set their lives to waste~
I'm not shaken or forgiving
When the wretches think they've won
It's the challenge on the higher seas
I set my mind upon.
Top of List
18.TIME TO RECALL (p)
When the weight of the world hugs your shoulders
And the force of your life goes astray
It is then that you want to remember
But, you cannot recall how to pray~
In your mind is hope-seeking vision
Of wisdom and wishes to play
All the gold in the earth cannot buy it
You want to recall how to pray~
It is time to be more than a dreamer
Is what you are trying to say
To yourself and the world on your shoulders
It's time to recall how to pray~
If a prayer was a heart full of gladness
What a difference a minute could make
If you trade it for light in the darkness
The spell would be ready to break~
Renewing a faith is a passion
In the hearts of the old and the young
In your soul there is mystic and magic
It's right on the tip of your tongue.
Top of List
19.BUSKERVILLE
(p)
If life was just a fairy tale
No busker would oblige
To be an inspiration
In a world without the wise~
The twangin' and the jammin'
"Entertainment from the soul"
A guitar case, your pocket change
A wishing well, you know~
When offering artistic pomp
The vain deserve the fame
Ignoring the creative code
They put themselves to shame.
The lofty in a cruising world
Can call themselves adjourned
The joy and hope in 'Buskerville'
Are lessons to be learned~
The buskers keep the flaming heart
In others still alive
More than forgotten tiddly winks
Of art in pompous eyes.
Top of List
20.
PRETTY PICTURES
(p)
Give me time to find a reason
For leaving you without a chance
To ask me why, I thought you knew
I can't conceal it, the circumstance…
In looking back, in facing music
I won't admit how much it hurt
My hopes, my dreams, had all been shattered
Pretty pictures, that's what they were…
Though you can't see how I adored you
There's so much more you could not give
The days hold on until tomorrow
When I once again will live…
So now I pray, 'Cause I still love you
I won't forget my promises
And all the time we've put between us
I shed my tears, consider this…
To let you go, I will remember
All those places in my heart
That I have gone with pretty pictures
And where I once again will start.
Top of
List
21. MILLENNIUM EVE (p)
On
the eve of the millennium
There was Y2K hype
And
individual type
Yet…our world stood together
And celebrated itself.
In our hearts there was freedom
Of choice and of will
…
In anticipation…we chose…we saw…World Peace!
The most beautiful thing
We could ever see.
Top
of List
22. DAD (p)
Eulogy of Kenneth Babcock
His legacy is as
handsome as the man himself.
A man who passionately studies to ripen his talents
He'll entertain you with what he's learned
And spark the dormant dreams in all of us.
A playful soul with more than a lick of compassion
For a baby raccoon even, orphaned by a tree that has fallen.
This cowboy treats his horse like a friend who rides with him
And his family and friends are all brothers and sisters.
I think you're starting to get the picture.
Now…Picture Ken, the
artist
His paintbrush poised above the canvas
As if it's waiting for instructions from the master.
What does this man want to reflect in his dabbles and strokes?
His handiwork reveals a skillfully embedded mirror in the scenery
So that you might see yourself in his work.
Learn from the craftsman
Who shapes a piece of wood
And sands it contentedly for hours.
Then wraps wire strings around metal posts for the head
He pulls them taught down the neck and secures them across the body.
With calculated tightening of the wires
He refines a multitude of harmonies
And the wood has been transformed into a steel guitar…"dobro" to be
precise.
Listen to the musician as he plays.
The plucking of strings with a guitar pick
And the gliding of steel across wire
Make an exotic twang of a sound.
The entertainer muses upon a melody
About something that impassions him.
When the song is ready he plays it for you
And you are rapt in resonating rhythms.
That is a gift from the player.
If you want to watch Ken work
Learn to walk straight uphill
In the middle of a valley that doesn't have a name.
Go into the bunkhouse
Where he shakes the mountain dust off his boots.
He'll be crafting some leather
Or jamming with "moon" and "potlicker"
As they ramble on about life outside the valley.
The
prospector will show you how to scrape a rock
To identify the composition of ores and minerals.
Some days he'll be gossiping about gold mines
And tattling of their whereabouts.
He'll have you feverish for treasure.
Sometimes…he sounds like a dreamer
When he talks about gold mines.
Perhaps it's another bear story...you think.
Don't doubt these gold mines are there…though
And he knows how to stake a claim if he wants to.
But…Ken also knows where the real gold is…
And that is his legacy.
Top of List
Meet
the people and the inspiration
-
CHECKLIST
- Feb 93
-
REMEMBER
LOVE - Mar 93
-
BIRTHDAY
- Mar 93
-
BABY
- Mar 93
-
STAG
- Mar 93
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LILLIAN'S
PORTRAIT - Mar 93
-
THE
ANSWERED PRAYER - Aug 93
-
IN
LOVE - Aug 93
-
TO
KEEP THE FACE - Oct 93
-
TO
AUNT ETHEL - Oct 93
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EMBRACING
THIS - Oct 94
-
A
WOMAN'S BOD - Oct 94
-
A
LOVE IS SHARED - Dec 94
-
A
DAUGHTER'S GRAD - Jun 95
-
BOB
- Jan 96
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UNCLE
MATTHEW - Jan 96
-
A
LESSON LEARNED - Jun 96
-
TIME
TO RECALL - Feb 97
-
BUSKERVILLE
- Aug 97
-
PRETTY
PICTURES - Mar 98
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MILLENNIUM
EVE - Jan 00
-
DAD
- Jul 01
The
End
Thank-you
for enjoying OVERDRAFT…this book is now complete and is ready to be published
in hard copy.
There,
you will meet some of these people.
My next
chapbook is called NEW PAPER, a title inspired from
my book, 'CHARGES'.
Diane E
Babcock
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Overdraft is a chapbook of prose and poetry written 1993 - 2001.