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I think of Will,
A special boy I know
Who, when I met him first
Hid behind his father’s leg
And wailed when cars went by
Afraid in ways we didn’t understand
And there he is today
Singing for his class
Filling the schoolyard and his
Father’s heart with music.

And Adam
I think about the time
I stood beside him in the dim-lit room
Looking at the Star-Spangled Banner
He told me things the docent didn’t know
Amazing tourists in the way
Another special boy
Confounded scholars in Jerusalem
Troubling His mother’s heart

I think of Max
Who wouldn’t speak
And always read the floor
And wondered when
I’d hear his voice
And there he is, sixteen
Walking, determined, to the bus stop.
I honk as I drive by and he waves

They seem so far away
The days when I first met them
And the journey has been hard
And the journey isn’t over
And the journey doesn’t end
As every parent knows

So, of course, I want to cry
But when I want to cry
I think of Will, singing

Happy Mothers' Day

The perfect gift! A custom poem for your mom (or wife) by Tarzana Joe. Contact me
at tarzanajoe@hotmail.com for rates and deadlines.

Song of the Calm Candidates

Song of the Calm Conservative

In politics, I’ve always thought
My outlook to be sanguine
I’m never one to hit the streets
With pots and pans a’bang-uine

If I converse with Democrats
I disagree with--slightly
I gently say what’s on my mind
And listen quite politely

In matters of direction
The country has a choice
And though I’d like to sway you
I’ll never raise my voice

But I’ve observed in recent weeks
The left’s progressive rancor
They’ve treated me as shabbily
As an investment banker

Of Democratic tactics
I’ll gladly share my take,
Never stop your enemy
When he’s making a mistake

I find their zeal inspiring
If I may speak the truth
And I’ll adjust my attitude
Inside the voting booth

The moment is upon us
To paraphrase a quote
Now is the time for all good men
To donate, rally, vote

We’ll meet them on the beaches
We’ll fight them in the trenches
From Maine to Colorado
It’s time to clear the benches

I see a brighter future
When men and women rally
To genuine conservatives
Like Broden and Todd Lally

Cooly urge your neighbor
To action just in case he
Hasn't learned of candidates
Like Rooney or Renacci

I have no apprehensions
And feel we cannot fail
If we support quite calmly
Mike Castle and Ben Quayle

Each one can do his portion
The highest to the least man
And make a contribution
To candidates like Eastman

To those still on the sidelines
Watch as the country learns
To toast Speaker Pelosi
By voting for Tim Burns

So when the campaign’s over
And this election’s through
I’ll have serenely done my part
Djou?

Thank you very much, Mister President

I know it sounds unusual
And just a wee bit quirky
But government is giving us
A second slice of Turkey

I’ve never heard such nonsense
All the years that I’ve been living
The President says April
Is the month to have Thanksgiving

He doesn’t say this lightly
Stepping out there on a limb
Sincerely he believes that
We should all be thanking him

I leave it to posterity
For how it wants to rank you
Allow me to enumerate
The ways I’d like to thank you

Thank you, Mr. President
For deficits unending
And thank you, Mr. President
For all the condescending

For bleeding unemployment
And no remedy to staunch it
A brand new rocket capsule
And no rocket ship to launch it

Thank you for the way, sir
That my IRA is tanking
And thank you for the job that
You’re about to do to banking

Thank you for the health care bill
And all its thousand pages
I expect Americans
Will be thanking you for ages

For all of this I thank you
And for more I can’t remember
But most of all I thank you
For the Second of November

(c) 2010 by Tarzana Joe

Song of the College Grad 2010

Early in my college days
The future looked fantastic
Preparing for a long career
In aluminum or plastic

But then quite unexpectedly
I felt my interest veering
Toward the fields of chemical
Or nuclear engineering

With each class I enrolled in
I saw a brand new chance
To make myself a household name
In banking or finance

But despite my youth and intellect
Financial firms are firing
And if I want a salary
Well, the government is hiring

I had myself an interview
And say this with some pride
I could be working with the agency
That makes certain…
Your shoelaces are tied

For all across America
Our infrastructure’s crumbling
And we won’t make any headway
Until we all stop stumbling

The data I assemble
Will tell the Congress whether
They should pass a bill to ban
Shoelaces altogether

But if the guy that’s hiring
Thinks my resume needs burnishing
I’ll intern with the Golden State’s
Bureau of Home Furnishing

I hear the pay is good there
Inspecting chairs and tables
And fining folks who cut off
Mattress and upholstery labels


Yes, I can’t wait to graduate
Later in this year
And start my helpful and productive
Government Career

(c) Tarzana Joe 2010