"Rep"

We hear of the fountain of youth
Of cereals full of vitality and pep,
But what good would either do
If we were to lose our "rep"?

Now, "rep" might mean a Republican
But here politics we don't mention
I'm speaking of that abstract noun
Which we call "reputation."

I'd Love To Love You With Abandon

I'd love to love you with abandon!
I want to come running, flying to your open arms
         on the beach---
With the surf swishing tune and the soft breeze caressing
         at the evening tide---
I want to love you with abandon
In the busy bustling city, as by chance
We spot each other in a department store---
I want to fly, leap, vault over the counters of
         handbags, pantyhose, neckties and socks
And give you a smacking big kiss that would shockingly
         quiet all the shoppers and clerks!
All because it is such great fun to love!
         so exhilarating!
         so beautiful!

         Love ! Love ! Abandon!
         La te do---

North Florida

Oh, sunny warm South Florida
How I long for thee
Here I am with frosted nip
Upon grass, flower and tree!

Oh, sunny warm South Florida
Where did you go?
I'm all bundled up in wraps
Singing my tale of woe---

Oh, sunny warm South Florida
Alas---you didn't go anywhere
I moved a little to the north
And there's a change in atmosphere!

Thanks

I tried to write a poem
About a great good man
Who did a special exercise
     last Sunday !

The deed was voluntary
He went out of his way
To make other people happy
     last Sunday.

Trying to express in words
How I feel about you
Is difficult to say in rhyme
But when your heart shows through
As it did
     last Sunday,
I'm glad that you are sharing
     in my humanity.
Many, many thanks for the celebration!

Beth Stevenson

"Oh, sunny warm South Florida"

BETH, after a very busy life, retired to Tallahassee, where she is a member of the Big Bend Poets. A native of North Carolina, she attended Meredith College (B.A.), the University of Florida and the University of South Florida. Her varied work experience in the USA includes the FBI, Washington, DC; public school teacher in North Carolina and Florida; TTT (Trainer of Teacher Trainer), USF/U of Miami.

After migrating to Australia, she served as consultant to the State Departments of Education in Victoria and Western Australia in the field of literacy, and in Queensland as a "lecturer" in Reading Education.

After 7 years she returned to Pinellas County, FL, where she worked in the field of ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages). She is past president of the Florida Reading Council, and in 1989 was named Educator of the Year by the Gulf Coast Teachers of English as a Second Language. Her writing has been published in various US and Australian professional journals, but, she says, she has found time to write poems and “dittys,” now and then, since childhood. Her family includes 4 children, 11 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

(Photo from freefoto.com)