Ode To My Dishwasher

I'm feeling especially appreciative of my dishwasher today, so I'm reposting the Ode To My Dishwasher I wrote after moving into a new house in Germany:

There once was a time I did dishes by hand
What a pain in the back-side that was
Three times a day all activities planned
Around immersing my hands in the suds

Then we piled our things in a moving van
Waving good-bye to the kitchen and sink
We moved to a house found by My Man
After my water-logged hands made him think

It’s bigger, it’s better, it’s greater by far
In many more ways than I’ll say
But without a doubt this home’s shining star
Is the dishwasher doing the dishes each day

There’s no use in hiding what some would call love
The affection I feel is quite strong
This compact machine’s a gift from above
I think I may break into song

~Reese V.

Early April's Moon: A Poem

Early April's moon
Half revealed,
Is pasted in the midnight sky
Drenched in brilliant light
Illuminated by the sun
(Massive, Blazing, Passionate)
The moon, lifeless alone,
Feels the fire and
Mirrors the glow
Void of decision
What traits to lay bare
Cradled in its corner of the sky
It is trusting, exposed

~Reese, 2002

Wynken, Blynken, & Nod

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
by Eugene Field (1850-1895)

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe---
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea---
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish---
Never afeard are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam---
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'T was all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 't was a dream they 'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea---
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

~Reese, who used to have a record that recited this poem. She's always loved it and hadn't heard it for years until she came across it in a book at the library.