Light verse, to me, is philosophy, sociology, economics and politics served with a spoonful of sugar to help it all go down.
It allows me to capture the funny, ironic, poignant and outrageous aspects of life and put them in neat little packages to revisit or share. I never know what will set me off. Human nature never lets me down.
About 30 years ago, I sent out my first poems in response to newspaper columns. I got kind notes from the likes of Erma Bombec, Dave Barry, Art Buchwald, Stanley Cramer and (be still my heart) William F. Buckley, Jr. I cherish them all in an acid free scrapbook.
In that same time frame, my son was finishing his business degree at Seattle U. and had to subscribe to The Wall Street Journal. I saw Pepper and Salt with the cartoons and light verses. I was off and running. By the time they eliminated verse in 2001, they had published 184 of my poems. There were twice as many, if not more, rejections from the editor too. They paid me $10 per poem.
Now, besides Northwest Prime Time, and Lightenup-online UK, I’m putting my thoughts into booklets: Doggerellies, Grandmarellies, and now, Thwarting Father Time with Rhyme.
I’m having fun. Rejection slips do not deter me. I’ll never quit.
