SEIZE THE DAY

This was inspired after my annual Las Vegas visit where I joined my brother and twin nieces. I wrote it to tell my nieces to live their lives fully.

SEIZE THE DAY

Your life’s motto should be “Seize the Day!”
There’ll be unexpected changes along the way
Start right now to make your list
Of all the things you don’t want to miss
Seems the young and strong never
Realize that it won’t last forever
On your list put places you want to see
Alas, some will just never be
Each day make plans for lots of fun
And you won’t regret what you’ve never done
Life is short so squeeze it
Here’s a new day, LET’S SEIZE IT!

By Sue Raymer Woods
June 21, 2005

THE INDIANAPOLIS 500 MOTOR RACE

This poem was written while watching the race on ABC. I always get homesick on 500 day, as I spent many hours at Indy. My dad took me to practise and qualifications when I was a child. Then in 1957 I saw my first race. I saw many more afterwards.

THE INDIANAPOLIS 500 MOTOR RACE

The greatest spectacle in racing it’s called
The 500 Mile Race at the Indy Brick Yard
Half a million fans come to Indy to see
Thirty-three drivers go over 220
They’ll drive 200 laps, make 800 left turns
The losers are those who Lady Luck spurns
Who will win? For whom should I bet?
It’s Memorial Day weekend, so they’ll honor each Vet
A respectful silence falls over each stand
When Taps are played by the Purdue Marching Band
Back Home Again in Indiana, Jim Nabors will croon
He’s the only one Hoosiers will trust with their tune
Red, white and blue balloons are released to the sky
And most years you’ll see the Blue Angels fly by
Once they’ve finished with all the Indy traditions.
It’s time for “Lady and gentlemen, start your engines!”
When the pace car pulls away, I just hold my breathe
And wish I was there instead of S.F.
All the fans will be standing, eager to learn
Which driver will be leading into the first turn
“Please God, a safe race”, I say my quick prayer
And oh how I wish that I could be there
I moved to the city in 1969.
And every race day for my Indy I pine
Years ago my favorite was Mario Andretti
And now a top driver is Dario Franchitti
Will this be the first race a woman will win?
Or will her heart break if she goes into a spin?
She was so close near the end, how hard she did duel
It was such a pity that she ran out of fuel
So I watched my beloved race on ABC
And they did a great job most will agree
Maybe some day I’ll be there once again
And root for Patrick to get her first win

By Sue Raymer Woods
May 29, 2005

PLEASE KEEP THE SEAT DOWN

I have this poem framed and on display in my bathroom

PLEASE KEEP THE SEAT DOWN

You’re gonna make the women frown
If you don’t keep the toilet seat down
We have a different anatomy
And can’t stand up when we pee
You’re gonna start an awful fight
If we get up in the middle of night
And don’t have time to turn on the light
If our poor butts receive a shock
We’re gonna kick yours around the block
So leave the seat down as you ought
Or obviously you don’t know squat

By Sue Raymer Woods
May 22, 2005

NO MORE DUMB BLONDE JOKES

NO MORE DUMB BLONDE JOKES has been shared with all my blonde friends, I always include it in my recitals at O.L.L.I, as it gets laughs and I love hearing people laugh at my poems

NO MORE DUMB BLONDE JOKES

Your sudden death you might provoke
If you tell me one more dumb blonde joke
I wonder why this is never said
Of gals whose hair is black, brown or red
You need a class in chemistry to teach
The scientific facts of bleach
It’s used to change hair from dark to light
And has nothing to do with whether we’re bright
My hair once was red but I changed to blonde
That didn’t make me dumb and I don’t have more fun
If you say I’m dumb I’m going to refute you
And if you keep it up, I’ll likely shoot you
I’ll tell the judge I shouldn’t be tried or scolded
“I’m blonde I didn’t know the gun was loaded”

By Sue Raymer Woods
May 9, 2005

DON’T SAY YOU WILL IF YOU’RE NOT GONNA CALL

DON’T SAY YOU WILL IF YOU’RE NOT GONNA CALL was my next poem. Some say it woould make a good country/western song.

DON’T SAY YOU WILL IF YOU’RE NOT GONNA CALL

Don’t say you will if you’re not gonna call
T’would be better to just say nothing at all
I don’t understand why YOU MEN do that
I know that it’s caused many a lover’s spat
I must be naive, I didn’t have a hunch
That you just didn’t mean it when you said “Let’s do lunch”
I wait, wait and wait for your call that won’t come
Now I know why they say that all blondes are dumb
Yes I’m a blonde, but please don’t call me stupid
I’m gonna have a talk with that jerk they call cupid
I’ll tell him not to shoot his arrows in my heart
So I’ll fall for some guy who right from the start
Will promise a call that he’ll never make
And that is the cause of this blonde’s heartache
So, don’t say you will if you’re not gonna call
T’would be better to just say nothing at all

By Sue Raymer Woods
May 5, 2005

FANTASY FICTION CLASS

My Fantasy Fiction class was taught by Jewelle Gomez, who has published a series of vampire novels. My poem, Yvonne, resulted from a character creation exercise in her class. Fantasy Fiction Characters followed.

Yvonne

You’re looking for love in all the wrong places
Staring too long in too many faces
You’re a girl gone wrong, Yvonne

You’re taking home too many strangers
So oblivious to the dangers
You’re a girl gone wrong, Yvonne

You waste too much time on Jack Daniels and Jim Beam
Now you better give up your man meeting scheme
You’re a girl gone wrong, Yvonne

You better mend your ways before it’s too late
Or a killer may be your next date
You’re a girl gone wrong, Yvonne

That handsome man you met last night
Could he be your Mr. Right
Does he play your song, Yvonne?

Wedding bells will soon be ringing
Here comes the bride we’ll all be singing
Yes he played your song Yvonne

by Sue Raymer Woods
April 13, 2005

FANTASY FICTION CHARACTERS

We learn character illustration
In our class called Fantasy Fiction
Right in class characters are created
And then their merits are debated.
Our characters have a special charm
Earl’s even grew an extra arm
They’re all weirdly strange, but we don’t care
There’s one who suddenly isn’t there
My own’s a gal I call Yvonne
She truly is a girl gone wrong
We love sharing our characters with each other
Then the next week we create another
Jewelle Gomez is our Instructor
To a Fantasy Hall of Fame we’d like to induct her
Her novels are of a strange vampire
Whose victims curiously don’t expire
The next Stephen King… it’s my prediction
Will emerge from my class called Fantasy Fiction

By Sue Raymer Woods
April 25, 2005

BIO POEM

Bio Poem was written for my Memoir Writing Class at OLLI. My instructor, Dave Weir was very helpful in getting my writing going,

BIO POEM

Welcome to my world
Starring me
Here I am
For all to see
I was born in 39,Pisces is my sign
Pisces, two fish swimming in opposite directions
Does this explain my imperfections?
Although I was born in Kentucky
We moved to Indy to get lucky
Mom and dad wanted a boy, but I wasn’t a him
So they had to wait six years for my brother, Jim
Gee I’m glad I’m not one of THEM!
For girls are made of sugar and spice
And boys from things that aren’t as nice
A tomboy I tried hard to be
But I remained a girl as you can see
I loved to run and climb the trees
I wasn’t a lass who tried to please
In 61 I was wed
But we didn’t do what the preacher said
We got divorced in 67
Our marriage wasn’t made in heaven
You don’t know what happiness is until you get married,….. and then it’s too late
To be a divorcee was my fate
But then I didn’t fit in, oh what a pity
So in 69 I moved to the City
From San Francisco I’ll never depart
It has the Golden Gate Bridge and Tony B’s heart
It has North Beach and China town
And cable cars that go up and down
It’s never to hot and rarely too cold
It’s the perfect spot, for me to grow old
I hope you enjoyed my bio poetry
I ‘m no Cole Porter, but I try hard to be
But I hope you’ll share your bio poems with me

By Sue Raymer Woods, March 17, 2005

MY CHEROKEE GRANDMOTHER, ANNIE RONE