Ode to Tomatoes

By: Jeannie Krambeer

I like to eat pickles

except when they’re sweet

and carrots and lettuce

and corn and green beans.

I like peas and celery

and even potatoes,

but I just can’t stand

those rotten tomatoes.

Ketchup’s okay,

but only on fries,

and tomato soup’s tasty

with grilled cheese on the side.

I can handle spaghetti

with some tomato sauce,

but I won’t eat them raw—

at ANY cost!

They’re yucky and squishy

and stinky and gross,

but it’s that tomatoey taste

that I hate the most.

No More Excuses

By Jeannie Krambeer

no more excuses

writing is not easy

it takes a lot of

time and thought

and paper and pens

it takes introducing you

to yourself

flipping those too-long-dormant

switches in the cobwebby corners

of your brain.

transcribing dream dialogues

wandering

to a specific destination

forgiving misdirection

for the sake of the journey

and realizing that no matter

how alone you feel

wading subconscious corridors

you are not alone

personal experience

isn’t

seeing is believing

it is learning

that love and life are synonyms.

Filter

By Jeannie Krambeer

I am a filter of soul

sifting streams of words

and splashing poetry

on the murals in my mind

painting many layers

at once

sometimes the job

shoddily done

is the most breathtaking

I like poems

By Jeannie Krambeer

I like poems . . .

Their fluffy cotton candy words

And pizza flavored rhymes.

Their top of the Ferris wheel pauses

And roller coaster twists.

Their stay out till 2:00 dares

And sleep in till 12:00 indulgences.

Their tail-wagging puppy smiles

And giddy kids’ wisdom.

Their soda-pop sirens

And flying purple people eater dreams.

I love poems.