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."

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.

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 an Old Family Photograph of Your Father

Daddy's Dreamcatcher

When you held my hand,

it was more than a father

and a son.

I saw the world

through the dark glasses

you gave me.

I was your dream catcher

the child who played

while you stole potatoes

from the push cart

and roasted them with newspaper

in a tin can.

Late at night

you would tell the stories

as I nestled in my warm bed.

I remember best

the story of the shopkeeper

who saw you steal the tiny apple pie

but looked away

because he knew you were starving,

How you saved the pie

and ate it that night

in the dark,

How you thought of the man's

eyes spying you in the mirror

as the sweet filling

dripped down your chin

and the crust flaked

onto your pillow.

There was love in the world

There was grace and mercy.

I knew this well,

huddled snug under the

covers as the radiator hissed

its sweet warm song.

I knew this

because I was the proof.

Barry Lane