I'd like to go places

I’d like to go to Paris
To see the Eifel tower
Delectable French pastries
I'm sure I would devour

I’d like to go to London
The Queen I’d like to meet
The changing of the guard
Their fish and chips I'd eat

I’d like to go to Rome
And tour the coliseum
Revisit ancient times
This city’s a museum

In Venice will you join me
For a gondola ride
It will be so romantic
With you right by my side

I’d like to see Jerusalem
And place a little letter
Inside the Wailing Wall
Praying all can live together

Some countries I have seen
But they are imitations
In Epcot and Las Vegas
When going on vacations

You needn't go too far
There’s still a lot to see
By car or motor home
Right here in our country

By, Randee Saber 5/28/06

The cost of living

The cost of living
Will always rise
When more money
Our dollar buys

An increase in years
To finance your car
You might pay if off
When driven too far

The price of houses
Are out of sight
Perhaps a roommate
You'll need to invite

Bottled water
You need to drink
A price to pay
If not using the sink

Utility bills
When hot or cold
Much less savings
You have to withhold

Health insurance
You certainly need
Your monthly budget
This cost may exceed

Your income tax
May likely increase
Unless your job
Happens to cease

Credit cards
Will keep you afloat
The promise for change
The people did vote

By, Randee Saber 11/27/10

Hot dogs and high rises

Hot dog carts
Next to a high-rise
Serving you hot dogs
They don’t serve fries

Eating a hot dog
While on the run
A great tasting hot dog
Served on a bun

But why would you want
To eat on the street
Instead of a restaurant
While resting your feet

Those who are hungry
And want a quick meal
Hot dog carts
Are simply ideal

By, Randee Saber 11/25/10

Politically correct

Who said I should be
Politically correct
Don’t voice an opinion
About any subject

Must I walk around
With a smiling face
And watch what I say
When I go everyplace

Talk show hosts
Will share their views
And they don’t consider
Whose feeling they bruise

Racial profiling
Some say isn’t fair
If cloaked in all black
With a veil on her hair

The times have changed
We’re more concerned
Not knowing enough
Was a lesson we learned

By, Randee Saber 7/5/06

The end of chocolate

Much less chocolate
They now predict
The future is bleak
For a chocolate addict

Near the equator
This special tree grows
Yielding its crop
Then away it goes

It’s hard to imagine
No chocolate to eat
Without a dessert
No meal is complete

It raises endorphins
This comfort food sweet
You won’t feel as good
When you’re eating meat

In the next twenty years
When it costs a lot more
You’ll find candy bars
Locked up in the store

At least there’s vanilla
Cake and ice cream
And eating chocolate
Will just be a dream

By, Randee Saber 11/9/10

The Cocoa Research Association produced the latest round of data, but big players like Hershey and Mars have already sequenced the cocoa genome to hunt for ways to create more resilient, higher-yielding trees.
Cocoa can only be grown close to the equator, mostly in West Africa, and farmers there lack incentives to replant the trees as they die. Cocoa trees take three years to mature. Small-scale producers of the delicious stuff earn just 80 cents a day selling to the mega-corporations that control the market.
Combine that with ever-more gluttonous choco-habits and you've got a shortage. Indeed, the price of chocolate has doubled in the last six years.
Says John Mason, founder of the Ghana-based Nature Conservation Research Council: "In 20 years chocolate will be like caviar. It will become so rare and so expensive that the average Joe just won't be able to afford it."
Glenn Beck be damned: Don't buy gold bars; buy chocolate.
Posted By: Cameron Scott (Email, Twitter, Facebook) November 09 2010 at 10:47 AM

Why won't you wear glasses

Why won’t you wear glasses
They compliment your face
If contact lenses you prefer
They’re easy to misplace

Why won’t you wear glasses
You’d rather fix your eyes
Using Lasik surgery
I think that is unwise

You may need reading glasses
When reaching middle age
And if you do forget them
You can not read a page

Sarah Palin’s glasses
The VP Candidate
Good taste she has in fashion
That's what her glasses state

Why won't you wear glasses
Be thankful for your sight
It's no good to be too vain
Eyeglasses are alright

By, Randee Saber 11/9/10

Another year and I'm still here

One day I tried to end my life
And almost did succeed
I told my spouse I overdosed
"Please help me, " I would plead

With no more purpose to my life
And nothing left to do
My life is not much better now
That's just my point of view

It wasn't meant for me to die
The paramedics cared
From that day not too long ago
When dying got me scared

By, Randee Saber 4/18/06

From March, 2004 (after turning 50) to early 2006, severe depression caused me to no longer function. I was in and out of mental hospitals 4 times in 2 years. This poem reflects how I felt the year following my first hospitalization for attempted suicide. During this time, my husband hired companions to keep me company and help around the house and it was very expensive. He did it because he didn’t want to find me dead when he got home from work. My children were upset and disappointed in me. It took a long time until I found a great psychiatric nurse who has a lot of compassion. Poetry has saved my life. Be careful what you say to people, you never know what they’ve gone through.

Republican or Democrat

Republican or Democratic
You're given this choice
When casting your vote
This gives you a voice

Their campaign ads
Are constantly seen
Before an election
Some ads are mean

Candidates claiming
They are the best
Saying to voters
"Put me to the test"

Donkeys or elephants
Each party's mascot
On campaign posters
You'll see them a lot

No dictator rules us
We're free to choose
But the person you want
May happen to lose

By, Randee Saber 11/2/10