I’ll be your California,
You’ll be my Carolina
The sun will rise and set with us
The moon will string a banded chorus
of poetic writers across the globe
Sharing words and spreading hope
Michigan lakes drenched
in April rain showers
with Sandi shores and daisy flowers
Long Island speckled with Jay birds talking
‘bout the Kentucky Derby
and Tennessee Walkers
Georgia fireflies in the Pilgrim skies
Texas tumbleweeds keep on rolling by
Sunny ‘morns start out the day
And Midnight Musings with Maria slay
Great Scott!
Another decadent show in Wisconsin
Tales of lost loves and where to begin
Next one’s in the United Kingdom,
then back to land in wet Washington
Have another bourbon in Pennsylvania
Sending love all the way to Malaysia
New Jersey puts out like the rest
Florida sunshine can Foster guests
Along the water’s edge and still roaming
Riding free on the ranges of Wyoming
A frozen tundra in wintery Alaska
Is opposite in the plains of South Africa
Still, nature blows into our manifesto
Like a predictable Oklahoma tornado
Words can hug you like comforting Jeanz
Painting colorful images
and memorable scenes
Strung together in sayings from the heart,
collected in a cycle ’round Denmark
Scripted prose of sheltered flaws
Like hidden treasures of Arkansas
When examined closely, you’ll see
They really are just fascinating beauty
O Canada, how we still love thee
Like a harlequin Molly swimming free,
Spreading joie across to Poughkeepsie
Let’s see how wonderful it is to be
If you leave your Mark in Vegas baby,
be sure to capture every nighttime victory
Like Faith found in the heart of Mississippi,
dripping sweat on the eve of ecstasy
Travel a little north into Ohio
and venture into funky limericks, ergo
When haiku seems to be a bit bland
Read it with the dialect of England
Australia has some Jennies down under
Who draft epic tales of wild adventure
And lest you think New York is plain
Sonnets run rampant
like underground trains
So gather ’round this eclectic bunch
Of writers with a vocabulary touch
The fire is raging like a 3 a.m. curse
While we laugh and sing
our songs of free verse

elizabeth

This piece was written as a tribute to Jay Long’s support of writers from across the globe. The names and places referenced are just a few of those he has touched.