If You Stay Up Late

"If you stay up late
You might see something odd,"
Said the little old man
As he began to nod.

"See something odd," I exclaimed.
"What do you mean?"
But he just yawned and said,
You’ll see what I’ve seen.

"If you stay up late," he continued,
"you’ll see something rare,
Something weird and as strange
As a rainbow-colored bear."

"A rainbow bear?" I snorted,
"There’s no such thing!"
The old man just smiled,
The funny old thing.

"If you stay up late,
I’ll give you a clue,"
The old man said sleepily,
Nodding off as old folks do.

"Wake up, old timer,
and tell me its name,"
I begged over and over
to my everlasting shame.

"You must have stayed up too late,
you strange old fellow,
and now I’ll never know
what turned the world yellow.

But all of it was a dream
As I found out the next day
And I missed the old man
And his strange little ways.

I stayed up too late,
I admitted to myself
As I blinked back the dream
Of that sleepy little elf.

© 2006 Dana Sieben

Finding the Elusive Four-Leaf Clover

In all my days
I found only one.
I searched and searched,
but they remained elusive
in their secret gardens.
My children asked me,
"Mommy, did you ever find a four-leaf clover?"
To which I responded with a tired yes.
"Only one," I gently said,
thinking to halt their dreams of treasure.
My children searched for only a few minutes
and found not one,
but three four-leaf clovers!
Three elusive,
hidden,
tiny,
green secrets, and
putting their mommy to shame.

Country Haikus

These were my first attempts at haiku. I know they aren't exactly haiku according to the experts, but they came out nice anyway.


Cold metal dipper
icy-wet well water flows
sweetly down my throat

Southern pine trees sway
so tall in the southern breeze
And smell of citrus

Sagging, old buildings
tasting of our history
rotting, forgotten

I smell the mountains
the rain, the damp moss and leaves
The scent takes me home

Chicago Blues

The smoky Chicago hall
Filled with laughter
And sounds of forgetfulness,
Wails with the blues,
Pulses with every guitar strum,
It hummed and throbs.
Piano and sax,
Jazz and lonely bluesman,
Mixed to create a new sound
One that will change the world
One that will turn it around.
A man strolls
Along the sidewalk outside
Where broken amber bottles
Litter
Beer-smell all around.
The open door
Showcases the new sound
And the man hears it.
The man knows it.
He feels the Blues.
Inside the piano-player goes on,
The room is blue with smoke,
The singer croons
A sad worn-down tune,
The music leads the folks
This hot summer night in June,
Leads them home,
With the Blues.

Lament for New Orleans

* I wrote this after Hurricane Katrina devasted New Orleans and the Mississippi coast.


Lament for New Orleans
(after the flooding of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina)

Like a sci-fi novel-
apocalyptic,
empty city,
dead city of light.
Rotting, death groans
breaking the hearts of millions
who watch and weep
while civilization breaks down.
Rogue humans preying
on the weaker,
unhealthy victims of fate
who wait on help that isn't enough.
Not nearly enough.
Vacant city,
populated by the dead,
scavenged by the lawless,
poisoned and burning,
drowning in it's own sewage,
and calling to be saved.

Tripping the Organic Fantastic

Hey y'all. This is an article I had published over at Weight-LossArticles.com. It is a tale of a meat-and-potato gal in an organic store...

Tripping the Organic Fantastic

My neighbor, Jan, and I went to lunch today. The kids were in school, the day was bright and we needed to get out of the house. We were just two women with time on their hands and debit cards in their purses.

Usually, we go to Olive Garden for salad and soup, but today we decided to try ethnic food. So, with coupon in hand, we descended upon Taj Mahal, an Indian/Pakistani restaurant in Orland Park, IL. I had always wanted to try Indian food, so this was going to be a real treat.

I have to say the Curry Chicken was scrumptious. Everything was scrumptious! I have no idea how healthy it all was, but I figure it had to be healthier than some things I can think of.
Bon vivant, I am not, but I could appreciate the yogurt and curry flavors in my mixed vegetable medley.

Afterward, we had a little more time on our hands before picking up the kids, so she asked if we could stop at this little health store across the street. Being the good friend I am, I agreed and drove on over.

We walked in and immediately I knew that this wasn’t Kansas anymore, Toto. Rows upon rows of products that I had no knowledge of. Pills, packages, organic spaghetti sauce, colon cleansers, Burt’s Bees foot and facial creams, facial lotions made of all organic ingredients, organic bath products, Krill oil, lycopene, macadamia nut oils, and other items I can even pronounce.
Needless to say, I was lost. I had no idea what all that stuff was. Colon cleansers seemed fairly understandable. Progesterone Creams – what’s that all about? And what about these?

Ashwagandha
Ligustrum
Schisandra
Reishi

Now, Jan was moving across the store and knew exactly what she needed and proceeded to get it, while I stumbled around by the Burt’s Bees display, looking at the foot lotion. Jan is into natural healing and chiropractors, while I am wondering what the heck astragalus is.

The nice lady at the register gave me a complimentary health magazine as I was leaving and I have been checking it out.

Hmmm, that colon cleansing sounds interesting…

Bar B Que

Now, all southerners love their Bar B Que, and when I was given an assignment to write a poem about that spicy dish, I went at it like a woodpecker on a bug-filled log. Instead of one, I came up with two. Dadgum! Now I'm hungry.


Bar B Que

Best if cooked slowly over the coals
And rubbed with spices
Ribbons of smoke caress the meat,
Bringing forth the juices and smells
Quite delightfully
Until you feel you will just die if you can’t
Eat it.


Bar B Que

The smell
Hickory and spice
The cook slathers the sauce
We smile as we load our plates up
Messy

Welcome!

Hey y'all! I decided to start a new blog where I could post just my short stories and poems in order for you to be able to find them easier.

Happy reading!