Ralph Wainscott

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

In the past, Tom has written a couple of poems for his wife Mary but the first of his poetry to be published was by the National Library of Poetry. He enjoys Gardening and Beekeeping and is V.P. of the Southwestern Ohio Beekeeper's Association. His favorite pastime is hunting and fishing and his greatest apprehension is the loss of Constitutional freedoms for future generations of Americans. He is a Manufacturers Representative selling machine tools and machine tool components in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. He hopes for the opportunity to publish more of his work in the future.

The Barn

The beauty of a barn,
With high graceful eaves,
Can enhance any setting,
With enchantment it weaves.
Weather built of wood,
Or built of stone.
The barn is a monarch,
Even standing alone.
When it gets old
And no longer in use.
It stands there stately,
While suffering abuse.
To think of a future,
With no barns to be found.
The loss to manking,
Would clearly be profound.

The Citizen

You say you are a Citizen.
You know right from wrong.
You do your duty and vote,
And expect freedom to come along.
You say you are a citizen,
Of a society with a heart.
You want better services,
And from your earnings you will part.
You say you are a citizen,
Of a society who must care,
And you sacrifice personal freedoms,
To improve general welfare.
You say you are a citizen,
Of the best there has ever been.
How long will it stay that way,
Giving away freedoms,
Your ancestors had to win?

The Arizona

For fifty years, a ship lays beneath the sea,
In a bay of tranquil bliss.
Today, bubbles of oil still surface
And you ask, "Why was this?"
The hull and decks appear,
As a coral reef from above
And the memories fill the bubbles,
With the heartache of love.
Listen, you can hear sounds of voices.
You can even hear pounding on the hull.
Both the wind and waves remind us,
Never to forget them one or all.
You ask the reason for this clamor,
This wailing all day and night?
A duty, a reminder, for your generation
To protect the Constitutional Right.