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Kitty Kitty
26 · Jan · 2000
Sometimes I think we take each other too lightly. We learn early that phrase "Out of sight, out of mind". We skip the details. When someone leaves our daily life, we are always shocked to discover what an impact they had on us.
Now, I don't want to be one of those over-emotional maniacs. But, I also don't want to neglect the importance of people who have and will change my life.
On Monday my niece, Mackenzie Farricker made her debut into my life. I'm trying to schedule my summer holiday around her, figuring up airfare and looking at a present to buy her. We haven't talked in person yet, but I've taken to calling her "Mack" and wonder if she'll mind.
The following poem/song is about the person who introduced me to Mack. This is meant to be read quickly and not to be understood completely!
Kitty-Kitty
Honey suckle, Leon's leg, fireflies, school uniforms and nuns
World of Disney, airport waiting, Speed Racer and cap guns
Sitting by the speakers, sleeping in the station wagon
Detailed Christmas wish lists; think of all the fun we're havin'
Lunch boxes, a game of jacks, Keri Cox and Hubba Bubba
Elvis and the Cassidy’s, sweet Chuck Miller and the others
Hey kitty, kitty, come out and play
With the girls from Willowbrook Drive
It’s Alicat girl and her Half Pint sissy
Lets' make up for lost time
Skateland, sweet tarts, Funguns and tight jeans
The Flippo brothers, lip-gloss, feathered hair into the teens
Best friend cheerleaders, brother on the prowl
Moving to the suburb school; though we appreciate it now
Rainbow dances, Jesus Christ, a pastor's son
Summer camp romances, we couldn't be outdone
Hey kitty, kitty, come out and play
With the girls from Willowbrook Drive
It’s Alicat girl and her Half Pint sissy
Lets' make up for lost time
Career tracks and auntie hats, parental wedding and some funerals
Stupid husband bag of tricks, but hope would spring eternal
Sassy-classy photo shoot, a leap to Music City
A nip, a tuck, a wink, wink to keep you looking pretty
A Con-man birth, a mother's worth, Romania, a bomb
Apology, a friendship forged; has it been that long?
Oh kitty, kitty, come out and play
With the girls from Willowbrook Drive
It's Ali Cat girl and her Half Pint Sissy
We got lots of time
We got lots of time
Penny René'
Posted by Penny Rene at 10:07 PM
Thanks Frank
20 · Jan · 2000
Have you ever had those times when you felt so beat that you wished you were a kid again, so you could cry a river and someone would come along and pull you up close and fix your problem? Remember what that was like? You've wrecked your bike, skinned your knee and embarrassed yourself in front of the neighbor kids. You're sitting there on the sidewalk, bawling. Your dad comes along, listens to your sob story. Checks the wounds. Pronounces that you're OK, and takes you to the ice cream shop.
It's like magic. Suddenly, things get better. A friend of mine, last night, did something that no one has done for me in a very long time. He made things better. The magic of his kindness really began to sink in as I drove to work this morning and the lines of this song ran through my head. I wish I had written it myself, because it always makes me think of my friend. When I am with him, I feel like we are Sheryl Crow and Frank Sinatra.
Riverwide (Sheryl Crow)
I spent a year in the mouth of a whale
With a flame and a book of signs
You'll never know how hard I've failed
Trying to make up for lost time
Once I believed in things unseen
I was blinded by the dark
Out of the multitude to me
He came and broke my heart
When the dust in the field has flown
And the youngest of hearts has grown
And you doubt you will ever be free
Don't bail on me
River is wide and oh so deep
And it winds and winds around
I dream we're happy in my sleep
Floating down and down and down
And the tide rushes by where we stand
And the earth underneath turns to sand
And we're waiting for someone to see
Don't bail on me
Tell ma I loved the man
even though I turned and ran
Lovely and fine I could have been
Laying down in the palm of his hand
Laying down in the palm of his hand
Laying there in the palm of his hand
Staying down in the palm of his hand
In the morning you wait for the sun
And secretly hope it won't come
But time washes everyone clean
Honey now, don't bail on me
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Walk on water
I wanna walk on water
I wanna part the raging sea
I wanna wrestle down the angels
who think they're too good for me
I wanna make the world believe
in the power that is me
I wanna open up the gates
and set the prisoners free
penny rene
1998
Posted by Penny Rene at 10:04 PM
Dear Blue
13 · Jan · 2000
I was standing in the middle of the dinning room at Caffe Milano. It was June 5,1996, the night before our Grand Opening. Sound check was in progress and things were not going well.
Worried, I let out a sigh of despair. Cei Cei Winans was on stage, and she rolled her eyes in disgust. Laughter erupted (for the third time) from the back of the room. Ready to scold one of the servers, I turned around to look into the bluest eyes wrapped up in a golf shirt and a ball cap. The earth didn't move. Stars didn't fall from the skies. But I remember.
Dear Blue
If I could
I would
For you
Dear Blue
Dust off the small beliefs
Rearrange the mountains
Lay my head in your backyard
Dance in the fountains
Be a real best friend
Learn to read your mind
Howl at all your bad jokes
Show up everywhere on time
If I could
I would
For you
Dear Blue
Brag about your good looks
Be a full time lover
Help you up when you fall down
Make nice with your mother
Open my heart to the fresh air
Let you be a king
Put away the past
Maybe learn to sing
If you would
I would
For you
Dear Blue
Stick around in the hard times
Love with unequaled passion
Fight all the monsters
Wear the latest fashion
Hold your hand in the rainstorm
Stop the cameras flashing
Kiss the babies at sunset
Leave the critics laughing
I would
We could
Dear Blue
- penny rene'
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Posted by Penny Rene at 09:56 PM
Anthem
5 · Jan · 2000
For everyone who ever called me a poet, I wrote this today.
anthem
tomorrow a new moon rises
my calendar shakes a finger
I falter with my memory
the angelical dead ringer
bring me London
the paste that cakes your shoes
toss me a bone
be the royal muse
sing the anthem loudly
if not proudly
do it just
hold your secrets soundly
tucking words around thee
if you must
nightfall slowly devours
the silence beckons me to come
future days are winking
I am luckier than some
wrap up Rome
with affection and a sigh
throw out the old
bury it alive
penny rene'
Posted by Penny Rene at 09:51 PM