Selections from Trella Romine's library at Terradise Nature Center
Ray Romine Poems
I thrill to dawns,
And sunsets sway me;
But crowds and parties
Only fray me.
I love the sun
And tree-warped shade;
But hate the lighting
Man has made.
Nature’s puzzles
Never bore me,
But business trivia
Really floor me.
I like a bird’s
Clear melody;
But opera
Is not for me.
The show of stars
Thrills me at night;
But stage and night-club
Bring on fright.
Who loves a free
Untrammelled state
Is just a million
Years too late.
by Ray Romine Saturday, March 30, 1946
My wife isa stickler for Promptness;
She ‘s a great one for Being on Time.
Punctual, sir? What I mean to infer;
She sees to it always that I’M!
by Ray Romine Tuesday, June 9, 1953
Of all the sounds designed to sicken,
I place as tops alarm clocks’ tickin’.
But still more likely to sprout mayhem:
These self-same instruments come a.m.
by Ray Romine Thursday, June 7, 1951
No matter how strong our love for them’s been,
If there’s a time we would cheerfully dump any,
It’s when tots’ve been noisy for days, and then
Refuse to say boo in front of company.
(original 10-17-1949)
Though our love for our children is ever so strong,
If there’s one time we’d cheerfully dump any,
It’s when they’ve been noisy all the day long,
Then refuse to say boo in front of company.
(Rev. 9-30-1949)
Why is it that children,
Noisy all week,
Will shut up like clams
If guests ask them to speak?
(Rev. 9-30-1949)
by Ray Romine Sunday, October 17, 1948
Kids are those younger humans
Who utter high-pitched squeals
And swear they aren’t hungry
When they’re placed in front of meals
But who are always ravenous,
Whose gauges show “Let’s Munch”
When they’re miles and miles from nowhere
With their folks still full of lunch.
We can’t hold this against ’em–
Most kids are dearly prized–
But they’d be much more convenient
If they were synchronized!
by Ray Romine Thursday, August 28, 1952
Chio towels proclaiming “His” and “Hers”
Save much confusion, one avers;
I mean, of course, once we are grown,
For children fingerprint their own.
by Ray Romine Thursday, December 14, 1950
I am an admirer of practical jokes,
Be they awkwardly silly or cleverly tactical-
Allowing of course for this feature: the hoax
Must be pulled upon somebody else to be practical.
by Ray Romine Sunday, October 29, 1950
Now, when Cygnus rules the sky
And Vega’s solemn winking eye
From overhead frowns reprimand
On difficult- to-understand
Mankind, I sit alone, perturbed.
Will his wild downhill flight be curbed
When man outgrows his selfish curse,
And knows–and loves–God’s Universe?
by Ray Romine Sunday, March 19, 1950
Her sun-drenched blossans catch
Of every vagrant butterfly;
Then turn into the downy fluff
Fit to line a Fairy’s muff!
by Ray Romine Thursday, February 11, 1954
The summer has slid gently into fall
With little fuss and no fanfare at all
Beyond some mornings touched with frost,
And leaves a brighter hue, or gently lost.
Now southward bound, a handsome butterfly
Beats browm and black against a turquoise sky
In search of southern scene, some warmer clime–
Homesick already for the summertime!
by Ray Romine Friday, June 25, 1954