A lot has been said, I expect,
About the way this chap is necked;
But how convenient, when in zoo,
To stare back at who stares at you!
by Ray Romine Wednesday, September 3, 1952
Category: Poems
Ray Romine Poems
The Frog
He sits upon his lily pad
Kerchunking at the world–that’s bad,
For such a lazy attitude
Is negative, and much imbued
With bitterness. This frog needs poking.
Or like as not he’ll end up croaking.
by Ray Romine Sunday, January 14, 1951
The Fog
He swirls at the house;
He’s so hungry and thin–
May I open the window
And ask the fog in?
We could talk of his travels.
And serve tea and such;
I’m sure he’s too bashful
To eat very much!
by Ray Romine Saturday, February 2, 1952
The Female of the Species is Tardier Than the Male
The fury of her who is scorned
Is as nothing, young men should be warned,
To that of the gal who, herself always late,
Is made occasionally to wait.
by Ray Romine Tuesday, July 18, 1950
The Fat’s in the Friar
The poor ascetic Monk, I’m told,
Subsists on crusts of graying mould.
No wonder Monks
Spend time in funks.
How can some spread, though, having shunned
Their food, into a lush rotund?
One can’t make liars
Out of Friars!
This alibi to me appeals:
I think they PEACE between their meals.
by Ray Romine Thursday, March 10, 1949
The End Of The Road (version One)
What will we find at the End of the Road,
Down which we so fretfully hurry?
What is there calling us, beckoning us on,
That’s worth all this trouble and worry?
That is so pressing that wait we cannot?
Why do we rush so, and scramble?
Isn’t scenery we peas by the side of the roed
Worth more thtn a glance as we amble?
Why think you God ever pleced all this here–
The trees, and the fertile green valley,
The birds, and the insects, the sunshine and clouds–
Did He squander all this on an alley?
No! This Main Street of Life is important to Him–
We shouldn’t regard it too lightly;
If the Land after death is no fairer than this,
‘Tis a long, long way from unsightly.
He meant, as I see it, that we take our time,
And glory in His earthly beauty;
He meant we should live here with eyes opened wide,
Finding more in our lives than just duty.
So let’s take the time while we heve it yet here
To look st God ‘s work by the Highway;
For this is a part of Ilia Kingdom, down here–
And as truly all His as the Skyway …
What will we find at the End of the Road
When we’re three score and ten or eleven?
Since the God planned the Ending Who laid out the Road,
No flaw shall we find in His Heaven.
Fin. Ab, July 26-1942
(Last two lines changed 6-22-43)
by Ray Romine Sunday, July 26, 1942
The End Of The Road (version 2)
What will we find at the End of the Road,
Life’s Highway we’re heedlessly spurning?
What waits us there of an import so great
That we waste ourselves racing and yearning?
Will the Christian discover the heaven he’s earned,
Toward which his whole life’s been directed?
Will the robber be robbed of his ill-gotten gain–
An end which he’d rather expected?
Will the seeker of Peace be where wars are not fought;
Will the truculent one find his quota?
Will the searcher for wealth find him rubies and gold;
Will the beggar be worth an iota?
Will the power-mad magnate be king at the end,
Will the angler discover good fishing?
In brief, will we each one encounter the thing
For which he’s been scrounging and wishing?
We’ve never been told just what Heaven is like–
It’s not far to find us the reason:
Each human would clamor for one of his own
With his pastime, ambition, or season!
So let’s have some faith in the God of All Things:
In His hands let’s place the forthcoming;
With the past and the present He’s done pretty well;
The future–won’t He keep it humming??
by Ray Romine Friday, July 31, 1942
The Elephant
His trunk gives him an easy way
To gather in peanuts and hay,
And then when he has finished eating,
He keeps himself from overheating
By giving every leather wrinkle
Thru his trunk, a rousing sprinkle.
A trunk’s quite handy that will do
For knife and fork and fire-hose too!
by Ray Romine Friday, February 8, 1952
The Earthworm
They call this chap the “Gardener’s Friend”–
Whose front is like his rear.
He moves the earth by placing it
From over there to here.
He’s also quite a sought addition
To any small boy goin’ fishin’.
by Ray Romine Thursday, April 19, 1951
The Dromedary
This creature is the dromedary,
A kind of swaying dry-land ferry;
That single hump upon his back
Has laid him wide for quip and crack.
He does not choose to crack or quip,
But choose instead upon his lip.
Zoologically no bloomin’ ant,
He is a rheumy ruminant.
I think it’s cute the way he rates
On dates……..
by Ray Romine Thursday, July 22, 1948