Ground Control

In the heart of Kentucky on top of a hill
I encountered a character whose name was Phil.
It was almost mid-May with a blue sky forenoon
and despite lack of night we could still see the moon.

I had taken a hike to enjoy nature’s all
like the onrushing roar of a wide waterfall.
In a canyon, gray granite existed with green
as the flow of white water made moments serene.

But then making my way to the hill near the top,
Phil appeared like a bolt near a grassy outcrop.
And because of my status in nature that day
I decided to hear what this Phil had to say.

We exchanged pleasantries as a matter of right
and the more we conversed the more it was delight.
He informed me he came from the old Keystone State--
Pennsylvania, he told me and I could relate.

He was sure as he spoke with a calm in his voice
telling me that in life one must make a clear choice.
Then he spoke an old adage he seemed to enjoy,
saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

I was very impressed by the wisdom he showed
and in fact it seemed much like the water that flowed.
“Give your all every day in your work,” Phil decried,
“but make sure you relax and let leisure abide.”

Near the grassy outcrop there resounded a sound;
like a shot and a snap Phil made haste underground.
Then he quickly returned to the top of his hole
telling me we had heard an inquisitive mole.

I had talked with a groundhog from one famous knob;*
Punxsutawney was where Phil performed his odd job.
Phil told me quite sincerely, his tone smooth yet strict:
“I take time to smell roses so I can predict.”


32 Lines (Anapestic Tetrameter)
Writer’s Cramp
May 14, 2014

*Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is home to Phil the groundhog.

Requirements:
--Kentucky
--the moon
--waterfall
--roses

Anapestic tetrameter is a poetic meter that has four anapestic metrical feet per line.
Each foot has two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable. In the first line
of this poem, for example, stress is on, “heart,” “tuck,” “top,” and “hill.”

“In the heart of Kentucky on top of a hill.”


And, of course, taking time to smell the roses means to take time and enjoy life.