Write about a Car that Holds Memories

Do you Want to Take the the Volvo of the Miata?

When you

asked me

the question

I thought for

a minute about

which was

the safer

car for a man

in his fifties

who had

great responsibility.

and mortgage

waiting for him

to pay each month.

The choice

was clear

as I reached

for the Miata keys

Sometimes

the safer path

is the one which

leads to yearning.

Write about I time you encountered your Higher Self

Listen to the song by Jay Banta and Barry Lane

Higher Self

I was standing

by the school door

Waiting for the bell,

When Roger pushed me over

So hard that I fell.

I wanted to just punch him

And make him feel my hurt

but something deep inside me

sounded the alert.

1^st Chorus

Know your Higher self

Take it off the shelf

Give it room to play

Every single day

Forget about the fight

Reach for what is right

You can Teach yourself to fly

When you want to Cry.

One day in the lunchroom

Some friends were laughing loud

about the newest student

and they formed a crowd

I started laughing with them

Then saw how sad he looked.

I turned to him and said hello,

Then picked up all his books

2^nd Chorus

Know your Higher self

Take it off the shelf

Give it room to play

Every single day

Forget about the fight

Reach for what is right

Teach yourself to fly

When you want to Cry

(Bridge)

Sometimes I don’t behave

The best way that I can

Sometimes I am afraid

To lend a helping hand

But then then a little

voice comes

From somewhere deep inside

And tells me that the best in me

Doesn’t have to hide

Chorus

Know your Higher self

Take it off the shelf

Give it room to play

Every single day

Forget about the fight

Reach for what is right

Teach yourself to fly

When you want to Cry

One day I hope the World

Will listen to this song

And all the leaders think about

What's right and wrong,

They’ll sit down at a table

and talk about their fears

Without endless battles

rumbling on for years.

Chorus

Know your Higher self

Take it off the shelf

Give it room to play

Every single day

Forget about the fight

Reach for what is what is right

You can Teach yourself to fly

When you want to Cry.

You can Teach yourself to fly

when you want to cry.

copyright Barry Lane

Write about a Time You Found Your Passion

41 Write a Chant Poem about History

When Will You Know Slavery?

You’ll won’t know slavery

till you sit in the hold of ship chained

to the floor with your hands chained

to the collar round your neck.

You won’t know slavery

till you feel the ship heave

as babies cry for the mother

who tries to keep them close.

You won’t slavery till

you taste the cold sea water as it slams over

the deck and into the place where you lay

and you cannot escape even if you could swim a thousand miles back to

Africa.

You won’t know slavery

till you feel the master’s whip and

watch the welts rise on your father’s back.

You won’t know slavery

till you stare into the children’s eyes

and see no future.

You won’t know slavery

till you see a sign above a

drinking fountain that says

WHITES ONLY.

You won’t know slavery

till you see the bitterness

in the eyes of the man behind

the counter who won’t serve you.

You won’t know slavery

till you watch the man apply for a job

and know he will never get that job.

You won’t know slavery

till you hear 10 thousand marching

for the simple right to be human.

You won’t know slavery

Till you stand

On the mountaintop

And gaze into the the

Promised land,

You won’t know slavery

Till you stare

Into the eyes of

A black child and glimpse

a spark of hope.

You won’t know

slavery

till you

Have a dream that

You will one day be judged

Not by the color of your skin

But by the content

of your character.

You won’t know Slavery

till you taste

The tears of years

welling up inside

like the saddest song

you have ever heard.

You wont know slavery

Till you leave the

Chains dangling

In the wind

And rise up to

A New dream.

You wont known slavery

Till you feel

The new dream

Pounding like a drum

In your heart.

You wont know slavery

Till you

Taste

sweet

freedom

dripping

like a georgia Peach

down your cheeks.

Barry Lane

Write a Top ____ Reasons Poem

Top 8 Reasons Why I Want to Be a Grizzly Bear

8 I could stand 10 feet tall

7 I could weigh over 1000 pounds

6 I could smell a rotting carcass 2 miles away

5 I could kill a cow with each blow

4 I could run 40 miles per hour

3 I could outrun a

2 I could out swim an olympian

And the number one reason why I want to be a Grizzly bear is...

I COULD SLEEP FROM OCTOBER TO MAY

Barry Lane (from 51 Wacky We-search Reports)

Write about Race

Double Take

If I were you

and you were me

Oh how strange

this world would be

You’d like pizza

I’d like steak

you’d like puddles

I’d like lakes

I’d like movies

you’d read books

friends would give us

funny looks

Cause I’d be black

and you’d be white

and we would Know

we ARE alike.

For I am you

And you

Are me

Can’t you see!

Can’t you see!

barry lane

Write about a New Day

New Day

1 The New Day (Words and music by Barry and Jessie Lane) by Barrylane55

No more worries no more fears

Something new between the ears

If someone hits you turn your cheek

You own the world when you are meek

For Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Don’t judge me by my skin

Take the time to look within

The train of Truth is on the track

When no one talks behind your back,

For Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Men and Woman are two wings

The bird it flies , the bird it sings

Much more love and much less Hate

Watch the world cooperate

For Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

We are the mixed Fruit of one tree

Live in peace and unity

Forget the Old , embrace the new

Less Me me me More YOU YOU YOU

For Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

People hungry

people scared

they don’t know

how much we care

Face the sun

Soak up its rays

Its time to find

A Better Way

For Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day

Now is the new day.

A Song by Barry and Jessie Lane

Write about playing a Musical Instrument

Violins in the Schools

There is a

cat in my room

after supper

wailing

to be free.

A young boy

holds her,

coaxes her

to make

sweet melodies,

but she

scratches

back at him

cornered by

his will.

Help me Mozart !

Civilization is crumbling

in my callow fingers.

And The Little Star

high up in the sky

is wondering

who I am.

Barry Lane

23 Write about an Ancestor

Rifka

When the

steamship tickets arrived

in the mail

you said no.

You would rather

stay here

with the

hatred you know

then go

to the dark

of a new world

no better than

this one.

And when I look

at your passport photo,

I cant help

but think of all

the journey's you

never took.

How fear holds

us all in place,

glues us

to the miserable moment,

traps light

in its black prism.

Alone in our

tiny village,

we

wait

for the

jackboots

to take us

to a

place

we don't

even

dare to imagine.

Barry Lane For my Great Aunt Rifka who died in Poland circa 1943

Write a 3-5-3 Poem (3 words-5 words-3 words) about a photograph.

A New World

Blooms in the sweet spring

All One People

Write about a Time you Could Not See Yourself

Cool

When you

look at me

do you see

me

look

at

you,

or are

your eyes

stuck

on your

own

face,

frozen

in the ice of

I'm Cool..

And when

life

melts

your cool

self

will you

see me

standing

here.

Will your

mirror

turn

into

a Window?

Barry Lane

Write about Where Winter Came From

The Orgin of Winter

One day

the North Wind

sneezed

and a fine

frozen

white powder

blew out of his

nostrils and engulfed

half the world.

If he had only

covered his mouth

there would

be no snow

on my lawn

and I would

not need these

big mittens

today.

But how sad

the world would be

with no

big white eraser

to rub out the driveway

each December.

Winter is a

time to forget

all the

sweet sweaty things

that seemed

so important

in summer.

They now

sleep

under the

snow

dreaming

of

the

THAW.

Barry Lane

Write about a Brush with Fame

Obama Moment

I am proud to be

an American,

not just because of

the men who died

for me

but for those who

live each day

waiting for

a new rebirth

of wonder.

Standing in a rope line

watching a young

mother thrust her

baby at you

as the flashes

explode around you

like bombs

bursting

in air

Waiting for my

chance to say

one thing

that will change

the course of

history,

The one thing,

that a year

from now you will

recount

near the end

your State of

the Union

address,

'There was

this guy I met

in a rope line

in Dover

New Hampshire

who said

something ...

And then

you turn to me,

your white shirt

gleaming,

the sleeves rolled

up in such

a perfect way

that the cuffs

seem starched

and flattened

against your

dark fore arm,

And you reach

for my hand

and I say

the only

history changing

thing

I can

think of.

" I Love you, man."

18 Ode to Little Brothers and Sisters

The world was perfect

for a few years.

Then you showed up

and perfection took

on another meaning.

holding you,

bouncing you

around the living room,

How many different ways

can you play peek a boo?

And you, so wide eyed

at the moment of

surprise.

You squawk

like a

plucked chicken

and I can't

help but laugh

and know

that I am now the

sun and

you a bouncing

baby planet

running

circles

round me

forever.

Barry Lane

17 Write a Wacky Test for Something You are Studying

Is Your Grandmother a Sea Turtle?

This just in. World Wildlife experts today again denied they have been involved in a species re-location program. Jane Wilder speaking on behalf of the group said that rumors that endangered species have been surgically altered to look like human beings and then taught to impersonate family members, is pure nonsense.

(Cut to picture of courtroom and Harold)

This did not stop Harold Hodgskins from claiming in court that his grandmother of eighty years is really a sea turtle from the Galapagos Islands. We at channel 5 news have consulted with experts to devise a simple test for you at home to take so that you can tell for sure whether your grandmother is who she says she is.

Is Your Grandmother a Sea Turtle? A special report.

(screen of the title)

1) Does your grandmother spend part of the year in a hot place like Florida?

(Sea turtles are cold blooded and cannot survive harsh winters.)

2) When at the pool have you ever seen her hold her breath under water for a long time?

(sea turtles can hold their breath for 8 hours)

3) When you look at her from the side can you see the lump

( signs of shell reduction surgery)

4) When at the beach does she sometimes dissapear behind the sand dunes for hours at a time. ( Mother Sea turtles lay their eggs behind the dunes and there babies hatch out and walk to the sea)

5) When you are playing on the beach does she seem to be overly protective when seagulls sour overhead?

( 90% of all sea turtle hatchlings are eaten by predators, No wonder she is worried about you.)

6) Does she frequent sea food restaurants with other suspected sea turtles her age

(Sea turtles have a varied diet some eat fish others sea grasses and plants)

7) Have you ever suspected that her teeth were not human,

(Sea turtles don’t have real teeth but more serrated jaws for eating fish or plants)

8) Does she walk slowly, one step at a time and stop often to sniff for predators.

(Sea turtles have sense of smell except when they are in the water. This leaves them more vunerable to attack outside the water)

9) Has she ever given you sardines or seaweed for your birthday?

( sea turtles eat a wide variety of things based on their species)

10) Have you ever found she has a hard time hearing you.

(Like all reptiles, sea turtles have one bone in their head that helps them to hear. Sea turtles seem to respond only to low frequencies.)

If you answered yes to at least five of these questions there’s a good chance your grandmother could be an a sea turtle. Experts recommend you treat her with respect and kindness because endangered species, like grandmas thrive when we show our love to them.

And for all of us here a World Wildlife News Good night.

Cut to studio

All the technicians are endangered species and the news announce pulls his head through a hole in a fake set. He is a sea turtle or some other endangered specie.

Barry Lane from 51 Wacky We-Search Reports

16 Write about a Moment of Wonder from Your Childhood

Late Night Talk Show

on summer nights

when we lie in bed

too hot to sleep

My brother and I

would do

a late night talk shows

where we talked about

everything

we wondered

about.

If the earth

is a planet and the

sun is just a star,

does that mean

there are millions

of earths

floating

around

millions of suns

and millions

of summer

kids

in millions

of summer beds

thinking millions

of thoughts

that we

are thinking

right now?

In the background

an old fan whirred

and blew steamy

summer air

in our direction.

Why am I me

and not my friend

Johnny Manning?

How did I get in this

body with these parents

in this town?

Why do I have

these thoughts

on hot summer nights?

He would fall

asleep

and I would listen

to his steady

snore,

my mind

buzzing with

the electricity

of wonder

till sleep

pulled me

back into

the boat.

Barry Lane

15 Write about a Moment of When You Felt Freedom

The Grand Tetons

The night

I slept under the stars

in that big Wyoming Sky

and awoke to see

the brown mountains

rise like warm bread

in an orange sky

was the first time

I felt it,

That flutter,

that twinge.

that spinning,

dizzying

swirl in at the

root of my gut.

I am alone

in a universe

strewn with

billions of galaxies

sprayed like

like glowing

frogs eggs across

a black abyss.

Here I am

the tadpole

who made it

through the

black pond.

to

crow

at the sunrise.

Here I am.

Barry Lane

14 Write a How To Poem

How to Be a Shark

Get born with a full set of

self-replicating razor-sharp teeth

Swim in the oceans for 400 million years,

175 million years before the dinosaurs,

(but who’s counting)

Devour fish, or squid, or seals

And don’t worry

if you break a tooth

on a bone

Because you’ll grow 30,000

new ones in a lifetime

Lift up your nose and smell

prey two miles away,

Roll back your eagle eyes

take a bite

But don’t eat humans

yuck,

They taste bad,

even with ketchup.

Write about a Time You Were Down and Out

Pocatello

It was the summer

of my nineteenth year

and I lay in the ditch

by the side of

Interstate 90

as semis

whoooshed by above me.

I opened

my last can of

cream style corn

with a jackknife.

and wondered

whether sleep

would come

even here

so far

away

from my

childhood bed.

About that time

I fell asleep

and dream racoons showed up,

to pick at my

dusty backpack

and comb their

nubby black fingers through

my uncombed hair.

Taunting me

for their enjoyment,

When I awoke

the sun was a

a blazing ball of fire

rising over a field

of melons.

And as I collected

my things and

climbed out of the

ditch and up to

the highway

I felt a quiet

sense of triumph.

The Newest days

are always preceded

by the darkest nights.

Barry Lane

12 Write About a Memory about a Stranger You Met on a Trip

Shoes

You left the Ukraine in 1980

with nothing but the shoes

on your feet and a few rubles

and now you are

a millionaire again.

And when you returned

to see your family you found

they had named streets

after murderers and turned

the electricity on once a day

for 3 hours.

You live on a wealthy island now

but once you made 1000

pairs of shoes for the Soviet Economy

and 99,000 pair for your customers.

The lines stretched around the block

of your Kiev shop and when the last shoe

was sold your family had a pile of illegal cash,

So the party began.

And when I asked you

if today you invested

in the stock market

you looked at me quizzically

and said,

"What is stock market?

Stock is the shoes in my warehouse.'

And when you said that,

I thought about

how a happy life is

an investment of sorts,

and self knowledge

the main asset.

11 Write About a Time You Could Not Stop Laughing

7th Grade Truth

I never laughed harder

than I did in seventh grade

that time my best friend

Stuart Dunn and I

made fun of

our reading teacher

Mrs Dolson.

To this day,

I don't remember the joke

or why we laughed,

though it could have had

something to do with the corny stories

we read out of boring thick books,

or the reading machine

that made us track

sentences across the wall

without moving our lips

or turning our heads.

Laughter was release

from our 7th grade reading hell,

and our wild ,heaving, sobs

were the legs which fled

the dead questions

at the end of the chapter.

And decades later,

when I met Miss Dolson,

now a sweet old lady,

in the bank,

and told her I now was an English teacher,

she smiled blankly

and I felt a surprising shame creep

up my spine.

My life was a lie.

I should have been a comedian.

Write a Fashion Show Monologue for Something You are Studying

• And now direct from northern Italy and central Vermont we have marble.
• Sporting a calcite and dolomite crystal ensemble designed by Metamorphosis, the famous Greek designer, this marble carries a sleek limestone finish. Its sylish snow white color can fool you at first, because if you look closely, across the shoulders, you’ll glimpse tints of red, yellow, pink, and green caused by impurities in the stone but adding to its sheik beauty.. . Marble is often used to create statues and the columns of classical buildings. so don’t expect her to hang out in your neighborhood unless your friends with the Greek Gods

Barry Lane from his book 51 Wacky We-search Reports

Write an Ode(or poem of praise) to Music

Ode to Music

There is no road

to Tipperary

better than the song

about the road,

and no stairway to heaven

greater

or more divine,

than that insane bridge

in the song by Zepplin

and if you really drove

your Chevy to the Levy

you would find

it was not dry at all,

Music flows there

through the boulders

of your childhood,

coating memory

with melody

which you

still sip

today.

Alone

in your seat

behind the wheel,

born to be wild,

ticket to ride

the long and winding road

to the last

song

you will ever hear

on earth.

Barry Lane

Write a Letter to a Family Cat

Bill Bob

It has come to our attention

you are a cat

who things he is a dog,

We know this

by the way you follow us

around,

butt us

with your big gray head,

paw at us

and beg

to sit in our lap,

even when we

are sitting on the toilet.

We love you very

much but are concerned

this behavior will

alienate you from

your cat friends.

Also please also note

you have grown 3 sizes

since the winter day

we found you starving

under the barn.Your

appetite is even larger

than your big round

20 pound belly.

With warm affection,

The Lap Folk

Barry Lane

Write About a Favorite Bible Story

Write About Your Take on a Bible Story

Ninevah

He was headed for Vegas,

But God had other plans.

and when they kicked

him off the Greyhound ,

he stopped at the beach

and took a dip.

Then the large fish came

and the rest was history.

Have you ever made the wrong choice

and found yourself waiting for

a fish to come and swallow you?

Have you ever waited,

in the belly of a fish for years

only to get spit up

on a familiar beach.

Is your free will really free?

or is it devoured by the sea?

Write About What Dogs Dream About

Doggy Nightmare

He throws the ball

and I chase it down

the long winding road

and

I clamp it in

my jaws

and run

back to He,

but He

is not my He,

but another He,

with another He smell,

and another He hat.

I BARK BARK BARK,

but no sound comes out,

and the ball melts into

the driveway like

kibble

to the bottom of

water dish.

I HOWLLLLL

at the blank sky

and black biscuits

rain down

on me.

I try to

chew on one,

but they

are made of stone.

Fluffy puppies surround me,

waiting for me to play with

them,

waiting for me

to tell them a reason

why this world

is so full

of pain.

I let them sniff me.

I let them know

it will be ok

if we wag our tails

Together.

Barry Lane