George Hymer Brewster, Washington

George had poetry published in a Kansas City newspaper while still in high school and was gold medal winner of two Kansas City, Mo. H.S. poetry contests. After age 20, except for time spent in WWII, he worked for the electric power industry in the Pacific Northwest until retirement. His poetry has been published in newspapers and The National Library of Poetry. As the result of traumatic experiences in Leyte Gulf and the observation of the devastation in Japan, George became unalterably convinced another major war could destroy civilization. This conviction has definite influence on some of his poetry.

The Journeyman Spinners Friend, if you model your meter To fit the demands of the Press, Your verse, like some pompous "greeter" Wears a drab and "respectable" dress But if you toil, like a journeyman spinner, With worth and perfection your goal You may want for the price of your dinner But you'll add to the wealth of your soul! So here's to those rare men of letters That strive to be true to their art! Their minds are disdainful of fetters; They write from an untrammeled heart. The muse they're persistently wooing; They pluck at a magical lyre. They enrich the art they're pursuing With verses designed to inspire!

The Greatest Miracle Studies of the firmament may find organic life's begun As it has on Planet Earth where, warmed by a friendly sun, Life, the greatest miracle, abounds in reproductive forms From the frigid Arctic to where the tropic sunshine warms. From the main street in Peoria to the mosque in Timbuktu Excepting on the darkest night, there's always Life in view! The living shrub, the jackal, the migrating birds in flight, Evolve with forms nocturnal which occupy the night Wild sheep on the mountain slopes that gambol in the snow Are miracles, as is humankind, in valleys down below. Mankind, albeit self-serving, has assigned itself to be Proprietor of the Master's works through all eternity With no "officials" to intervene and no "ecologists" to consult Primitive man had not foreseen that evil could result! Thus man gained knowledge, power, and skill, and a multitude of talents But he felt no need (or had not the will) for population balance! Wild creatures, hunted and deprived of living space Still are killed, or caught and caged, to please the human race A plague of ethnic strife with religious implications Cause wars around the world affecting scores of nations So, despite higher intellect, no one can truly say That Man, this destructive, can continue to hold sway! The all-knowing, the Almighty Power that fashioned cosmic space "May" have meant Earth's environment for Life's only birthplace! This is all that can be truly said for we don't truly know! Yet clashing dogmas based on myth seem to daily grow! If man adopts what's truly known, rejecting myth for calm reflection, Human kind may unify in one inspired direction! It's not just hopeful expectation or an "optomistic view" To think man may yet accomplish what he's designed to do! His gift of greater intellect, his vision and his mind Can bring Life's numbers into balance, including his own kind! The world will be in harmony if mankind proves its worth As guardian of the miracle, Life, and of its home, the living Earth.

All poems Copyright © 1996 George Hymer. All rights reserved.