I ate eight pies and ate eight French fries. My tummy says that wasn’t wise.
BARE and BEAR
Does a polar bear have big bare feet? They’re covered in hair, so they’re not bare, but here’s what’s neat: They’re big bear feet!
FOR and FOUR
Today’s lunch trade (a huge upgrade!) was all my prunes for four balloons!
DEAR and DEER
My dear,
Though deer can be dear, let me tell you this, dear: the deer are still wild, dear child. They’re beguiling, it’s true, but I’m here to tell you, don’t go touching a deer in the wild.
HEAR and HERE
An h on my ear (right here –>___ear) makes it hear.
FLOUR and FLOWER
flour and water and salt and yeast all mixed up well pans lightly greased and as bread bakes some flowers are placed on our table in a vase our bread is ready we pour some tea: a pretty feast for you and me!
HOUR and OUR
We baked our bread with flour, and prettied our table with flowers, but we barely had time to chat ‘cause we ate in no time flat, but our cleanup took more than an hour!
KNOW AND NO
I know you know no means no.
MEAT and MEET
Let’s meet at the meat market at ten. See you then!
PAIR, PARE, and PEAR
I have two pears (a pair of pears) that I need to trim (called pare).
RIGHT and WRITE
I need to learn to write right, right?
THEIR, THERE, and THEY’RE
Their house is there, and they’re there in their house.
TO, TOO and TWO
Person One, to Two and Three: I want to go. Who wants to go, too?
Person Two: I want to go, too!
Person Three: I don’t want to go too much.
Person One to Person Two: Then I guess it’s just us two!
ONE and WON
Two played cards, but just one won. Which one won? The winner won!
WEAR and WHERE
We’re going somewhere and we’ll not go there bare, so we’ll choose what to wear and we’ll wear it!
One Man’s Play is His Neighbor’s Labor (a poem of silly American English spellings)
He would have / should have chopped some wood and would have, if he only could. A livelihood of chopping wood would likely be misunderstood by those who live in his neighborhood whose labor for their livelihood feels more like floating on driftwood. He noted that their income’s good, not having fought for what they’ve got (a yacht named “We Just Tied the Knot”) which left him fraught with just one thought atop his head like a 60-watt: That someone surely chopped the wood that made his neighbor’s fancy yacht, which now he knew was headed straight for the passage known as Taiwan Strait. And as they cruised, his thoughts defused, and then he snoozed, quite unamused. And then he bought a nice hot brat, and gave it not another thought.
ood and ould make the same vowel sound: would, wood, could, should, good, livelihood, driftwood, neighborhood, understood
a, ai, ay, ait, aight, ey, and eigh make the same vowel sound: play, straight, Strait, labor, they, neighbor
o, a, augh, ough, ach, ot, and att make the same vowel sound: chopped, on, got, not, knot, hot, yacht, fraught, bought, thought, atop, watt, brat
live and live make a different vowel sound in these words: live, and livelihood
ote and oat make the same vowel sound: note, float
not and knot sound the same
u, ui, ew, and oo make the same vowel sound: knew, cruise, defuse, snooze, amuse
defuse, snooze, cruise, and amuse also all make the z sound
The e at the end of like gives the i its long sound, but not the i in live, unless it is the verb live (I need food to live) and not the adjective live (We are going live in 10 minutes)
The ai in Strait makes the long a sound, but the ai in Taiwan makes the long i sound. (In all fairness, Taiwan is not an American English word. wink wink.)
Mondays On Mondays we enjoy a meal with family, and it’s ideal – even when the food ain’t great that sits there smirking on our plate. The love we share is the appeal.
Tuesdays Tuesday mornings I’m content immersed in weekly blessed event of breakfast with each granddaughter. Our one-on-one constructs a cotter, bonding hearts in time well spent.
Thursdays My school-year Thursdays are the chance to teach my heart the steps to dance with women I would not have known, and through whose cultures I have grown. Their love is huge. My life, enhanced.
Fridays Each final Friday, there’s a date for cousin’s lunch, and I can’t wait. We’ll keep it up year after year, won’t let whatever interfere. It keeps us bonded, and that’s great!
Saturdays Any college football day tends to chase my blues away. (Except for a specific blue: that one with maize that passes through.) Love my scarlet and my gray!
Sundays Sunday mornings spent in church singing, praising, heartfelt search through all the evidence of God who we can know, and see, and laud. (Sometimes Keith’s out catching perch. 😉)
Days unnamed, not unembraced, leave ample time to just be graced with quiet time to read or rhyme, or stuff that’s hard, but must be faced.
There once was a hideous thug With an ugly and ominous mug He’d threateningly prey On sweet girls’ curds and whey Then just sit there obnoxiously smug.
2.
Who’d rock their poor baby to sleep From height that’s forebodingly steep While singing a song That’s in every way wrong And just causes the baby to weep.
3.
There once was a farmer’s wife Who wielded a carving knife In nursery rhyme tales? Oh, please spare the de-tails Of blind mice who must run for their life!
You may not have guessed, but I can attest that the Midwest is blessed. And might I suggest your quest be to test if I jest in what I’ve expressed, lest your life be suppressed and you end up depressed for your lack of Midwest nest. I’m from the Midwest, and sincerely request that you come be my guest.
The older I get, the older I feel It’s hard to run. It’s hard to kneel. Can’t cartwheel as in childhood. (But, truth-be-told, I never could. 😉 ) Consistently can’t find my words – Can access just perhaps two thirds. Can’t run too fast. Can’t hear when asked. My skates and skis were long-since trashed. But I’ll still race you on my bike, and take a walk or even hike and talk and laugh and draw (kind of 😉 ) and listen well and deeply love.
pictured words 