MR. WINKLE HAD A WRINKLE

By M. Marie

Mr. Winkle had a wrinkle

 Each time he smiled wide;

He tried to hide it with a frown:

His wrinkle multiplied!

He tried to cry then tried to sigh,

Then made an angry face;

The wrinkles just kept showing up

Not one could he erase.

He bought some cream, something green

To smooth his face at night;

When he awoke, he was so mad,

His wrinkles stayed in sight.

He tried a hat and grew his hair

So people couldn’t see

Those wrinkles Mr. Winkle thought

Were old and ug-ugly!

“But wait!” He thought, “When I smiled

“I had a single one!

“When I’m angry, sad or frown,

“There’s more than anyone.

“If I have to have a wrinkle,

“I’ll choose the smiley kind;

“When people see a smiling face,

“Your wrinkles they don’t mind.”

THE GRANDPA PRINCESS

By M. Marie

There was a Grandpa Princess

With ribbons in his beard,

Some might think that’s funny;

Some might think that’s weird.

He was sitting on the couch,

With nothing much to do;

We asked him for a playdate,

He smiled and then we knew

It would be a day of fun;

We’d play a grandpa game,

Pretend he was a princess

With a made-up princess name.

His head was bald and shiny;

We looked until we found

 Brightly colored stickers

For his bald head all around.

We put pink slippers on his ears,

His cane became his wand;

He summoned forth the teddy bears

And even far beyond.

We all stood up to cheer him,

And kissed him on his cheek,

Then he spoke a word to us,

We stopped to hear him speak:

"Always keep love in your heart,

“Show kindness always, too;

“It’s the one way to become

“A princess pure and true!

“It’s not about your dresses,

“Or a crown on your head,

“It’s all about a princess heart,

“The love you show instead.”

We named him Princess Grandpa,

No other name would do,

For all the love he showed us,

He's a princess through and through!

THE LOST FEATHER

By M. Marie

There was a feather on the ground,

Beneath the overpass.

It was a feather that I found

Half-hidden in the grass.

I wondered who had lost it,

A he bird? Or a her?

I think I’d truly know if

I lost my flying fur!

It sparkled in the day light,

How could it not be seen?

It must have fallen in the night,

Or sometime in between.

I felt I couldn’t keep it,

It truly wasn’t mine;

I’d try to find who owned it,

 I’d give the birds a sign.

I took it home to be with me

And tied a ribbon ‘round it,

I tied the ribbon to a tree

So, birds would know I found it.

I watched it in the sunshine,

And...in rainy weather;

But no one came to tell me

That they owned this feather.

So, I took it to my room,

To live with me in there;

I tied it to the curtain;

It’d be happy in the air.

And every time I saw it,

I remembered...even I,

Who wasn’t born with feathers,

Could hope and dream and fly.

MY ANGEL

By M. Marie

I have a guardian angel

Who’s with me everywhere

He’s always very quiet,

You’d think he wasn’t there.

 I know that God has sent him

To tell me of His Love;

 I know he stays beside me

Or maybe just above.

He’s with me when I’m hurting

Or when it’s dark at night;

When it's hard for me to choose,

He shows me what is right.

He doesn't use a cell phone,

He doesn't send a text;

But always he is near me

And knows what happens next.

I know he’ll never leave me.

I know he’s here to stay,

And when we go to Heaven

He's with me all the way!

THE BALL WHO WAS AFRAID TO BOUNCE!

By M. Marie

There was a ball who was afraid

Of bouncing up too high.

He had a fear of heights, you see,

Afraid he’d bump the sky.

Instead he rolled upon the ground

 To see what he could see;

But all the grass got in his way

And he could not roll free.

He tried to bounce just down--not up,

But only then to find;

With every down he went--an up

Just followed close behind.

He was so sad, afraid to bounce,

Afraid to bounce at all.

What would he do? Who would he be

If not a bouncing ball?

He must be brave and not afraid,

 To even touch the sky.

He thought, if God had made him so,

He must, at least, just try!

He found a smooth place free from bumps,

And with his bouncing might,

He bounced a bounce of highest high,

To the very highest height.

 He found he did not bump his head!

The sky was not so low.

He was a happy bouncing ball,

Forever it was so!

I'M NOT SCARED OF THUNDER

By M. Marie

There was a little thunder

Who lived inside a cloud;

Passing by he said “Hello!”

His voice was kind of loud.

He worried me a little,

I felt a little scare;

I watched him from my window

As close as I would dare.

His house was made of silver;

His lights were on inside.

He  play'd  awhile at my house,

  I did not go outside.

Then it rained! He clapped for joy,

And flashed a smile at me!

And with the wind to play with,

He bolted through a tree!

 I’m not afraid of thunder,

He’s only passing by,

I stay behind my window,

And wave to him good-by.