The Chronology of the Stuff of my Life: A List Poem

by Katherine Harris Szerdy

Blue fuzzy blanket

Calloused thumb

Imaginary Friends

Flower girl

Rose petals in basket

Little red trike

Gray flower-sculptured carpet

Blonde coffee table

Nursery School

Jack-in-the-box

Measles

Closed curtains

Fever

Don, the Sealtest Milk Man
Ice cream treat

Sand pail and shovel

Peter Cottontail crank musical tin toy

Candyland and Chatty Cathy

Pink bunny Halloween costume

Pink fuzzy blanket and 

Red chicken pox
Calamine lotion

Tulips and pansies

Black velvet purse with cottontail

Golden Books

Cinderella and Pinochio

Checkers and Colorforms

Play-Doh

Buckle-on roller skates

First Church Congregational

     Sunday School

South State Street School

Kindergarten

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

Little Toot and The Little House

The Red Shoes

Curious George

Swings and slides

Merry-go-round and teeter totter

Frizell’s Ice cream 

Kite

High fever and pain

Cleveland Babies and Children's Hospital

Lab coats and nurses caps

Stethoscopes and sterile smells

Surgical gloves

Ether and nightmares

Tubes and bottles

My baby doll, Susan

Jell-O

Kidney operation

Susan gets one, too

Book lady

Caps for Sale

The Cat in the Hat

Mr. Popper’s Penguins

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back

First library card

Well-thumbed books that crinkle as you open them

Grape juice and lime sherbet

Grandma's sugar kuchen 

Apron strings and farm sink skirt

Three farm kitties—Flopsy, Mopsy, and Buddy

Chicken coop

Brown speckled eggs

Marigolds and buttercups--

    Hold it under your chin

Inflatable kiddy pool

Well-thumbed Bible

Daniel in the Lion’s Den

Dark, scary attic door

Leotards and snow pants

Dad’s Dutch boy haircuts

    with Fiestaware bowl

Cindy, sneaky black kitty

The Wizard of Oz

     Somewhere over the…

     Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Lead tinsel and fresh cut pines

Halles and Higbees and the Silver Grille

Nela Park 

Santa at Carlisle's

Spritz cookies

Black patent leathers and lace-edged anklets

Easter hat and gloves

Euclid Beach frozen custard

Clickety clack of wooden roller coaster

Crayola crayons

Cabbage rolls and bailish

Favorite song--"Itsy bitsy teeny weeny 

   yellow polka dot bikini"

Black and white TV

Rabbit ears antenna

Bugs Bunny

Mighty Mouse

  "Here I come to Save the ..."

It's Howdy Doody Time

Popeye, the Sailor Man

Perry Como

Tarzan the Ape Man

The Lawrence Welk Show

   Sissy & Bobby

   The Lennon Sisters

The Dick Van Dyke Show,

    “Oh, Rob!”

Larry, Curly & Moe

The Little Rascals

I Love Lucy

And Grandma kisses

Daddy tucking me in, 

Father Knows Best

Make Room for Daddy

Ozzie and Harriet

Sleeping Beauty in the theater

Madison Avenue Elementary School

Mr. McGee, the Janitor

Mr. Norman, the bus driver

Fire drills and fall-out drills

Cloak room and galoshes

Mr. Roessner, Principal

Mrs. Snodgrass

Cinderella Halloween costume

Bookmobile and ice cream truck

Air pollution

Beverly Cleary

    Beezus and Ramona

    Henry Huggins

    Henry and Ribsy

The Black Stallion

John Glenn

Permanent Wave

JFK assassination

The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Beatles invasion

Rudolf, the Red Nosed Reindeer

The Grinch who Stole Christmas

Mrs. Kosinkski to class: “You’re never 

     too old for a picture book.”

Petti pants and pedal pushers

Paper dolls

Barbie, Skipper, Midge, and Ken

4-man tent and sleeping bag zippers

Pink Clover posies on Pilgrim Hills

Campfires and s’mores

Sister secrets and sonic booms

Vesper hill

Vacation Bible school
God's eyes and macaroni art

Construction paper crafts

Lightning bugs, empty jars, and cool grass

    Between my toes

Star light, star bright

Grandma’s treadle sewing machine

Needle and thread

Embroidery hoop and floss

Potholder loom

Crochet hook and yarn

Cap guns and cornstalk tents

Kickball and lemonade stands

Hide-n-go-seek

Hopscotch

Tag—you’re it!

Jump rope, double dutch

     Evie-Ivey-Over

Play-doh and Slinkies

Girl Scout badges
First pair of glasses

The legend of Kenny Quine

Mean Mr. Bennedum

   No trespassing!

Pedal pushers and pettipants

The Patty Duke Show

    They laugh alike, they talk alike and times they even…

Gidget

The Flying Nun

     “Sister Betrille!”

Memorial Day Parades

Flag Day parades

Mardi Gras parades and homecoming queens

French fries and vinegar

Earl's Drive-in

First MacDonald’s hamburger

First yogurt

Trick or treat

     Candy cigarettes and candy corn

     Necco wafers and waxed lips

Snow fort and snowmen

Snow pants and frozen toes

Red Flyer sled
First pair of ice skates

Sleigh tracks in the snow—Santa?

Cold wet mittens

Crèche

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Note from Santa

Go Fish and Old Maid

The Game of Life

Sorry and Scrabble

Laura Ingalls Wilder

    On the Banks of Plum Creek

    By the Shores of Silver Lake

Lois Lenski's Strawberry Girl

The Witch on Blackbird Pond

Caddie Woodlawn by

     Carol Ryrie Brink
A Wrinkle in Time by 
     Madeleine L'Engle

Girl Scout badges

10c ice cream cones

Charles' Chips

Keds

Creepy Crawlers

Easy Bake Oven

My own garden

First tossed salad

John R. Williams Junior High

Training bra (trains what?)

Suntan lotion

Strawberry shortcake

How to Become Popular

That Girl

Lost in Space

Garter belt and nylons

Diary with lock and key

Scented stationery and waxed seals

Stamp collecting

Crab apple trees

Rollers and rags

Best friend sleepovers

First lip gloss

Hey, hey, we're the Monkees

MLK assassination

RFK assassination

     Has anybody here seen….

First pizza

Tiger Beat magazine

Menstruation and health class

Dark Shadows

Josette gowns with empire waist

Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones

Babysitting

First man on the moon

Messiah Chorus

Piano lessons

To Sir with Love

He loves me, he loves me not

Play practice

These Happy Golden Years

Gone With the Wind

Poem Prayer: Tarry here with me awhile

Won't you tarry with me awhile?

Lord, help me to tarry here with you--

Time treads on, leaving bootprints heavy on my heart.

I catch a glimpse of you in the steady sandfall

conforming to the narrow glass neck

then falling freely around my shoulders like rain.

Lord, teach me

hone me

heal me

refine me

transform me

temper me

grow me patience

from the inside out.

Alas, you seem a cruel teacher,

nudging me along through stages

slow

of   letting   go....

beckoning me to sit and tarry here awhile.

When I grapple with you,

pseudo-suppliant,

attempting through words to conjure you

into doing my bidding

to conform to my agenda

or meet me half-way.

You rise

--oblivious resistance--

s l  o   w    i     n     g           racing

vary-ing - your - speed - based - on

the grace of your kairos,

not the sweep of the hands on my Timex.

You glance back to see if I will follow.

I may hesitate, dig my toe into the sand,

yet not one to pass up the chance to dance

when my eyes meet yours and I see

your sincerity...feel embraced in your unconditional love.

Teach me, O precious Lord,

to tarry here with you awhile.

Katherine L. Harris Szerdy------Copyright 2010

TOO MUCH, TOO MANY............NOT ENOUGH

Stuff..........................................Space
Technology……...……………………Holding hands
You, your..................................Our
I, me, my..................................Our
They.........................................We
Shoulds....................................Coulds
Excuses....................................Wills
Talking....................................Listening
Words………………………….………Editing
Empty Promises…...………………Commitment
Entitlement..............................Community
Lawyers ..................................Jails
X-Box.....................................Checkers
Parking lots............................Virgin forests
Cell phone towers………………..Trees
Deer in the city......................Natural habitat
Text messages.......................Snail mail
E-books..........................Independent booksellers
Noise pollution.....................Silence
Distraction ..........................Attention
Accidents.............................Both hands on wheel
Teen suicides.......................Family time
Facebook Status Updates.....Prayer
TV ......................................Reading
Time………………………….......Time
Money.................................Money
Spending ............................Saving
Cookies ...............................Veggies
Calories ..............................Steps
Fast food ............................Slow food
Type II Diabetes..................Conscious eating
Unconscious living .............Intention
Entertainment…………….…..Contemplation
Thinking.............................Breathing
Frustration ........................Satisfaction
Coveting.............................Contentment
Work .................................Play
I’m first………………………..…You first
Wasting..............................Frugality
Greed.................................Generosity
Expectations......................Gratitude
Attitude………………………....Selflessness
Rudeness...........................Kindness
Rushing ............................Rose sniffing
Resentment.......................Forgiveness
Hanging on…………………...Letting go
Frenzy...............................Freedom from ego

An Amish Renga Poem

An Amish Renga Poem

By Katherine Szerdy

Mother-daughter trip

To Garden Gate Getaway

Amish paradise

Glistening winter wonderland

Or warm weather escape

Hospitality

Carol, Herb, and Beverly

Have a special knack

For providing a haven--

Go out of way to spoil guests.

Take some time to tour

Baltic, Charm, and Sugarcreek,

Millersburg, Berlin--

You will be forced to slow down

Behind buggy climbing hill.

Pale pinks, purples, blues,

Pastel sky reflecting off

Snow covered corn fields

And west farm house windows

Pastoral simplicity.

Alongside of road

Rugged old Amish man walks

Lunch pail in hand

In below zero wind chill,

Miles to go before he’s home.

And we Englishers

Have the gall to air complaints

About Frosty’s nip--

Don’t miss out on the lessons

Which Old Man Winter teaches.

Slow down, take the time

Enjoy sparkling snow landscapes

See the horse’s breath?

Hear snow crunch under your feet

Feel the cold tickle your nose.

Time to head back home

After Mom-daughter retreat

We’ll be back next year

To smell sparkling snowflakes fall,

And taste Carol’s homemade bread.

RUDE An Extended Metaphor*

by Katherine Szerdy

Her self-loathing

Projectile vomits outward

   bound—WATCH YOUR BACK!

Always in a hurry, never satisfied,

she refuses to take "no" for an answer. 

Instead, she is always motivated by a certain urgency to 
     get her way--NOW—RIGHT THIS MINUTE! 

When she doesn’t,

She turns around corralling her pseudo-sisters,

Who tiptoe around her, afraid to step on the

Shards of broken ego she leaves in her shadow.

Trapped in a self-imposed prison of neediness,

she cannot seem to break free from the

hypnotic cycle which keeps her from realizing

her true potential and those around her from

breaking the dance. 

Almost like a ritual, she does the rudeness dance--

     routinely rolls her eyes,

     throws her hip to one side,

     cocks her head,

     tosses her hair as a

c  e  r  e  m  o  n  i  a  l    rite,

then glares,

attempting to mesmerize her prey with fear. 

Eyes half-closed, confined by her narrow vision,

she backs herself into the corner.

Feeling trapped, she pushes and shoves,

aggressively forcing her will outward on "other"

rather than allowing contentment

    to simply

        effortlessly

    emerge from within. 

Control is her middle name. 

Entitlement is her song.

Grabbing the microphone,

She must have center stage

As she sings her “Entitlement” song,  

not realizing what must be sacrificed. 

With unleashed tongue,

She remains oblivious--

Dripping toxicity into the ears of innocents.

Cataracts of anger conceal her ability to see

that the universe must maintain a certain balance--

--yin and yang-- 

Yet, the wise ones, yes, the wise ones,

Are onto her game.

She does not yet understand that

    the universe will have its way,

for Rude will not, cannot succeed, no matter how hard she tries.        

In the end,

   unless the destructive conflagration

   burning within her heart is

   converted into compassion,

   the heat harnessed into humility,

   the sacrifice lassoed into a heart of service,

unless the realization dawns upon her that

   a power exists which is greater than herself,

the unbridled inferno will eventually consume her.


Copyright 2010        *Published in Ohio Teachers Write, 2010