Dorothy M. Center

Albany, NY

Since winning an award for her essay on George Washington while in 5th grade, Dorothy has been writing - and writing....from experiences in her world wide travelling (She is associated with AAA World Travel)...to poetry. Among her published works - a book of poetry entitled "Collections". An incurable romantic her poetry comes straight from the heart..... The whole world is a book and those who have not travelled have not even opened one page.....

Oh - I Can Fly!
I can fly - I can fly
On wings of angels
High - High
I can fly - I can fly!

Above the earth
Above the wind - rain
All the unimportant
Conflights of mankind

I can fly - I can fly!
So far above - the universe the same
Why - why are there enemies
When we can fly - we can fly!

I can fly - I can fly
To that distant land
Over the highest mountains - the vast seas
Into the realm of space
And all the way back again!

"A Poet I Am, Says I, Says I"
A poet I am, says I, says I-
I'll take you a word and twist it around
And fill it with so much glee!

A poet I am, says I, says I-
I'll take all your love - I'll take all your sorrow and rhyme it around for thee!
I'll dance on your graves and throw you red roses and rhyme all your troubles away!
For love for thou and love for thee - it's all a part of me!

Oh, you say, you are a poet - a poet, a poet just like me?
Oh, no I say - for I am me and you are thee
You can never be a poet like me!

A poet I am, says me, says me-
A poet I am - Tra Lee!

Sounds
Listen - listen - across the land called Africa-
For the birds are singing here
The roar of the lioness - the whine of her cubs
The cry of the vultures - ever, ever circling there-

Oh - see for miles
No tangled web of wires
Endless horizons spread
No polluted mists - a view that will never tire

Listen - listen - across the land called Africa
The sun goes down - birds settle in every tree
The hunt begins - endless for their prey
For these are the sounds of Africa - they keep Africa free!