Wednesday, April 15, 2015

On Sow's Ears and Silk Purses

print available at sonarta.com

"You cant make a silk purse out of a sow's ear,"
my grandma would opine.
So was I a fool for trying?
So many ears, so little time!

**********


"If wishes were horses, 
then beggars would ride,"
when I wished out loud
Grandma would chide.
But life without dreams
I could not abide.
How is it I wound up
always a bridesmaid
and never a bride,
with a '92 Toyota for my ride?


*************


They thought I was an imbecile.
I dare not ask if they think so still,
especially as the years go on,
and more of my brain cells are gone.

**********


google image - photographer unknown


"Look at those old fools," scoffs callow youth, 
his  baggy pants slung below his bum.
"They're ancient. They dont see the truth,
they must not know they look so dumb."

I chide him, "Look through kinder eyes,"
(It will take him decades to grow wise),
impart my lesson, dutiful:
"Love at any age is beautiful."

(and this part isnt foolishness!)


some random  thoughts for  Susan's Mid Week Motif: Foolishness

As it turns out, this might also qualify for Hedgewitch's prompt at Real Toads: Folly

39 comments:

  1. "Love at any age is beautiful!"

    Resounding, yes!! Love your poem, Sherry!

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  2. Oh Sherry this is a lovely poem..! :D

    when I wished out loud
    Grandma would chide.

    Reminded me of my grandmother.... may she rest in peace.. :)
    xoxo

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  3. Yes I can attest to that: "Love at any age is beautiful." You've written some really clever lines here Sherry. I had fun reading them. Now I'm off to sew my purse. You're right there's so little time.

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  4. "Love at any age is beautiful!" Exactly! As for the callow youth: we mock the thing we are to be!

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  5. Lots of fun here, Sherry--I smiled through the whole thing, even though you do end on a more serious note. I think your grandma and mine went to the same cliche school. ;_) Thanks so much for bringing your sense of humor to our Follies.

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  6. So sweet.. I think foolishness is all relative.. wonderful take.

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  7. "love at any age is beautiful" -- amen to that.

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  8. I like the message here, Sherry. First of all, it will take some youth a while to look at the elders with compassion and kindness.. I remember when my mother (who was blind) was still alive. I was helping her to cross the way in a store parking lot. Some impatient young man in a car HONKED at us, as we were walking too slowly. I shouted at him, "You too will be old someday!" And, yes, love at any age is beautiful indeed.

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  9. Good gravy! A continent away and we had the sme sayings growing up! You have taken the sting out of them here. "So many ears, so little time" Haha! That's the spirit! I nearly bought a '92 ford--a few steps down from your Toyota--but was saved by a $75 a month lease which has me in a 2015 ...If you are an imbecile, that's what I want to be when I grow up and fall in love! Thank you, Sherry.

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  10. Funny and yet so very wise at the same time - perfect!

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  11. I like every stanza, Sherry. And can identify with them all. When Mrs. Jim and I got married I wanted her to have a low mileage 'good' car. Hers was a Chevy Malibu with 107K miles. So I bought her from our company a previously leased yellow hatchback 1972 Ford Pinto. 'We' drove it until our flood of 1979 put water over the roof.
    Pronouciation: do you pronounce the letter "i" soft or hard;
    this, "Look through kinder (window) eyes,"
    or this, "Look through kinder (ice) eyes,"
    ..

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  12. The doggerel verses, so much fun. But the final stanza is the point of it all. Love the pants "under the bum," and ain't that the truth? The lower the pants, the more opinionated kids are, I don't know the exact formula. Just sayin'! The response speaks volumes to the idea of embrace of The Other. Transcends the moment. Lovely. xo Amy

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  13. What I take from this is someone seeing the best in everyone. A genuinely kind person. Sadly kindness is mistaken for foolishness in our world...so as for the ears...give up on the sewing and try a work out with boxing gloves instead :)

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  14. "love at any age is beautiful" yes it is. It is easy to tear someone down, but it takes so much work to rebuild him/her.

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  15. "love at any age is beautiful"...aah..this is manna dew...drinking with my eyes...

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  16. I am smitten with the folly that you turned into a life full of grace~ Bravo!

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  17. We should never judge other people, baggy pants or no. We have a very narrow view of the world when looked at from just one pair of eyes. Love is precious at any age.

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  18. Foolish it may be, but fun to read — and I so agree with your conclusion.

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  19. A fun set of reads Sherry. Oops, I see Rosemary said the samething, (sorry Rosemary) but it's true Sherry! :D

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  20. the folly of youth. at least my teens don't baggy pants... though they do, of course, know *everything* ~

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  21. For so much 'foolishness' in your stanzas, they shine with wisdom and compassion. Have read these little stories several times, not wanting them to end!

    Poppy

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  22. Thank you for the smiles, I need them today. Looks like some time before I'll have a puter again. Thanks for sticking with me, and I believe there is some wisdom in each of the verses you wrote.

    Elizabeth

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  23. All hail the wisdom that one day, if we're lucky and live long enough, comes from folly. Yes!

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  24. Super super sweet and fun. I really enjoyed these Sherry--especially the so many ears so little time--that is so original and clever! Thanks. K. (Manicddaily)

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  25. What a lovely progression you have here - and funny yet poignant too. Fab!

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  26. Far from an imbecile and definitely a silk purse ;)

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  27. "I chide him, "Look through kinder eyes,"
    (It will take him decades to grow wise),
    impart my lesson, dutiful:
    "Love at any age is beautiful."-- Gracious lines...and I love love love the concluding lines, Sherry!!
    Young people often make the mistake of thinking that the way to excel is to tear everyone around you down until you are the only one left...Older people understand that politeness costs you nothing and gains you much. :)

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  28. Agreed with all the views expressed hereinbefore, and then some!

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  29. some nice ones revisited (◕‿◕。)

    much love...

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  30. But life without dreams
    I could not abide.

    I hear ya Sherry, dreams are meant for living..

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  31. We all must dream.

    I worry about the youth but haven't the elders always worried?

    I really like your poem

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  32. Love these. They made me smile.
    ""If wishes were horses,
    then beggars would ride,"
    when I wished out loud
    Grandma would chide.
    But life without dreams
    I could not abide."
    Amen to that!

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  33. Hi Sherry,
    I just wanted to let you know that Sanaa Rizvi wrote a guest post for The Seeker's Dungeon and she mentioned Poets United as a turning point in her life. If you'd like to take a look you can find it here: http://theseekersdungeon.com/2015/04/17/phoenix-guest-post-sanaa-rizvi/

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  34. Sherry,
    I love your llively aspects of foolishness, though mainly viewed through eyes of great wisdom; yours!! Those old phrases and ways of our wise grandparents, always resonates with sense, even today...As for the love issue, I like that you are keeping your otpions open Sherry!!
    A most enjoyable read, late this Friday afternoon.
    Eileen

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  35. from opening to finish... made me smile

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