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Dedication Poem. To My Daughter, Audra
by Alexander M Zoltai
Copied with permission from www.lulu.com/amzolt
 
 

Not really knowing what to say;
Only knowing there's
So much...

Not even knowing how to say
Except with poetic crutch.
The years all lost,
The times unspent
Make understanding dim...
But,

My heart's non-stop in
Loving you; and, even on this limb of
Shaky, distant fatherhood and
struggling
Moral worth, I need to make
This absolute:

The world will praise
Your
Birth!

 
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Colouring in
by Rolf Schmidt
Copied with permission from www.spanglefish.com/greatreading
 
 
Early school days in the classroom
-Teacher says: “Now colour this in.”
Thick black lines, a boat on the sea.
But Miss, the sea is not like that!
Never you mind, just colour it blue.
But Miss, my sea is wild in a storm,
white and grey under angry clouds.
Never you mind, just colour it blue.
But Miss, my sea is a mirror of pearl
In the twilight of a distant shore.
 
 
Having problems there, little boy?
Let’s get out the blue crayon.
There, you see, it is not hard at all.
Now stay within the black line
and colour thick and evenly all over,
a nice blue sea, you are doing fine!
 
 
The final year I had another teacher
who listened, smiled, and understood,
and I would colour the world for her.
On the last day she called me over
and gave me a beautiful white shell
with the sound of the sea in side it.
 
 
Forty years later, nothing new at all.
Though I have travelled the oceans,
people still make me colour-in the sea
with the crayon of their limited view
and with words like bricks in a wall.
But the ocean of my heart is untamed
and I still have that beautiful shell…
 
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The Emperor’s New Cloak
by Rolf Schmidt
Copied with permission from www.spanglefish.com/greatreading
 
 
The emperor addressed his eternal domain
from the terrace of his imperial mansion
but the gathered crowd was restless
and some already cried:
“The emperor‘s got no clothes on!”
for his soul once wrapped in such dignity
stood exposed now and shivering in fear.
 
 
His rule, once just and inspired
had grown harsh and naked of vision.
Sedition stirred in every crevasse
and the only thing that ruled was fear.
But then a little girl in the crowd
came forward unhindered by the guards
for she was a little girl.
 
 
When she reached the emperor
he smiled “What have you brought my child?”
“Your majesty” she whispered,
“my people thought you must be very cold
here all alone on this windy terrace,
so we made this cloak for you to wear”
“I see no cloak!” the emperor said blankly.
 
 
“Please forgive us, your majesty,
but that is because we are very poor.
We had neither silk nor wool nor cotton
so we spun and wove the pure warmth
of our undying love for you.
And instead of thread we used our loyalty
that is strong enough to re-unite your empire.
So it may not look like much,
but does this cloak not befit an emperor?”
The emperor’s eyes overflowed with tears
for suddenly he could see.
 
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