Another oldy! This one needs some work.

BIG BROTHER
(for Johnny, on the birth of Matt)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Baby needs a “big brother”
One exactly like you
To protect him and teach him
And show him things to do

Your Mom and Dad will need you, too
They are proud of their fine son
They love you just as much as Matt
Because you’re their # 1

Babies can’t tell you where they hurt
Or when they need to eat
So they cry, to let their Mom know
That there are needs she must meet

Babies get lots of attention
Which sometimes seems unfair
But when you were tiny like baby Matt
You had the same loving care

You will always be loved dearly
By parents, and others, too
No one can ever “take your place”
I promise you, it’s true

9/22/88 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck

Happy Birthday, JR. Better late than not at all!

SOMEONE SPECIAL
(JR)

Wonderful little newcomer
Precious baby boy
A very special someone
Who fills my heart with joy

I’m wound around his finger
(Small as it may be)
I’m taken with his darling smile
When he looks at me

He’s given me a title
I’ve never had before
But Grandma is a special word
And I couldn’t love it more

I’m sure he is the handsomest
And most intelligent, too
And, of course, he is the sweetest
I swear to you, it’s true

I’m loaded with his photographs
Which I show to everyone
So they all know he’s holder of
This heart of mine he’s won

An unforgettable memory
Is that most wonderful day
The birth of my first GRANDchild
A rose in my bouquet

P.S. JR’s Birthday is actually September 6th. Sorry I missed it.
Phyllis VanVleck

A Cinquain

            FALLING FRAGRANCE

Released,

      petals flutter

            from the peach tree blossoms,

                  forming a fragrant pink blanket

                        below.

2/29/96          Phyllis DeWitt VanVleck

Spooky still!

HAIKU

Dark silent phantoms

       in the moon’s soft spectral light

              grotesque tree shadows

3/16/90 Phyllis VanVleck

Tricks are not Treats!

GRANDPA’S HALLOWEEN

Halloween has changed a lot
Since Grandpa was a lad.
The things they did way back then
Were really pretty bad.

On Halloween, he and friends
Played their usual pranks,
Like toppling wooden structures
And emptying cattle tanks.

They loved to pick on poor old Slim,
And did so without fear.
Eventually came their last time,
For it was Slim’s big year.

They slipped into his darkened yard,
All quiet as a mouse,
And putting shoulders to the wood,
They toppled his outhouse

The boys were devastated –
They smelled like they had died,
For Slim had slathered its contents
On the toilet’s wooden hide.

8/25/05 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck

Trick or Treat!

HALLOWEEN GREETING

It’s time for masks and costumes
And big black cats
It’s time for Jack-O-Lanterns
And scary flying bats

It’s time for Trick or Treating
And time for parties, too
It’s time for me to tell you, Dear
I love you

10/85 Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck