Rhyme Me A Smile: 2014

Saturday, December 13, 2014

My "Colorful" NY Times Poetry Contest Entry

Monochrome Life

by Rachel Hoyt

Red and yellow,

Black and white -

They look different at first sight.

Dame or fellow,

Queer or straight -

Choices or a stroke of fate?

Shout or bellow,

Stick or stone -

Words penetrate skin and bone.

Harsh or mellow,

Type or tool -

The monochrome life creates a wise fool.

Nicolas Kristof of the New York Times

asked for poems about color and I sent this rhyme.

Technorati Tags: Thanks, Gratitude, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, November 29, 2014

What Are You Thankful For?

Thankful for Thanks

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Stuart Miles via freedigitalphotos.net

I'm thankful for the faces that

I see as often as my cat

And the ones farther away

Who share my blessed DNA.

I'm thankful for anyone who

Can cheer me when I'm feeling blue

And push my laugh to a new key

When I start with an ounce of glee.

I'm thankful for all things in life

Which ensure that I feel less strife -

Everything from my pillow

To caffeine, sweets and OK Go!

But, most of all, I'm thankful for

The fact that thanking helps me more -

It reminds me that life's not so bad

And, in the end, makes me more glad.

This rhyme was inspired by two pieces of interesting "news" -

gratitude challenge data Facebook collected and why thanks is a habit we should choose.

Technorati Tags: Thanks, Gratitude, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Why Can't I Conceive of What I Don't Know?

Known Nescience

by Rachel Hoyt

image by samuiblue via freedigitalphotos.net

If only I'd known

to ask me tomorrow,

I wouldn't have sewn

that seed that caused sorrow;

but then how would I

have known what to tell me?

I suppose that blind eye

was what helped me see.

BoingBoing explained why we are totally unaware

of the many things we can't know (and we don't even care).

Technorati Tags: Nescience, Ignorance, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Could We Learn to Coexist with Wildfires?

Behind Old Smokey

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Keerati via freedigitalphotos.net

When they named me Smokey,

Do you think they knew?

Did they set that spark free

To shift blame to you?

What if mitigation

Is just a nice myth?

What if propagation

Is every thing's pith?

Word around the forest

Is that you don't know -

Flames don't die, they just rest

While smoke steals the show.

(Some researchers at UCSB inspired me

to wonder what Smokey would say if he could see

the results of their wildfire study.)

Technorati Tags: Wildfire, Smokey the Bear, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, October 18, 2014

How We Learn So Many Things That Aren't True

Myth-conceptions

by Rachel Hoyt

Sometimes the plain facts

Don't seem enough;

Sometimes one reacts

By adding fluff;

Sometimes the teachers

Teach what they want;

Sometimes the preachers

Want words that daunt;

Sometimes what we know

Just became true

Because the "facts" flowed

From them to you.

This poem was inspired

by Neatorama, Science Daily, and Wired.

Technorati Tags: Education, Learning, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, October 4, 2014

When Loving Your Job is Like Joining a Cult

The Corporate Personality

by Rachel Hoyt

image by stockimages via freedigitalphotos.net

It's all for one - a single goal:

endear our product to your soul.

We found it was love at first sight.

We know that you'll see we were right.

We sometimes work from dusk to dawn

(if you count camp outs on the lawn).

We love rare beats and ethnic foods

and how emoji boost our moods.

We hate to wear our shoes indoors

(and thus also hate cold tile floors).

We banned memos, don't use voicemail,

and have greeters who wag their tails.

A family, we grow as one -

each bullets in a loaded gun.

Some say the "best" way to build a small business

is to act like a cult leader and embrace prejudice.

Technorati Tags: Work, Cliques, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Religion Is About Faith, Not Knowledge

The Be in Believe

by Rachel Hoyt

image by nuchylee via freedigitalphotos.net

There's no need to study -

Just pray and repeat.

The wavelengths are steady,

Listen to the beat.

You'll feel in your bones that

You now know it all,

Once ritual's rat-a-tat

Breaks down your heart's wall.

Apparently most of us know much less than we think

about religions other than the one whose wisdom we choose to drink.

Technorati Tags: Religion, Knowledge, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Some Can't Afford to Sleep

Nap for Hope

by Rachel Hoyt

image by BimXD via freedigitalphotos.net

It comes at you while you're awake -

The American Dream.

Inside your lids, the world looks fake,

Just roses and sunbeams.

With just one nudge, it vanishes,

Engulfed by dollar signs.

The time clock's ticking banishes

The dream for which hope pines.

8 hours for work, 8 hours for rest,

8 hours for your free will?

That's just a goal. (It's not a jest.)

Still, one must pay the bills.

Cherish the moments in between,

When you can nap for hope.

A moment in that serene scene

Will boost your will to cope.

The lowest paid workers need three to four jobs just to survive.

They can't afford to sleep and live lives busier than a beehive.

Technorati Tags: Work, Sleep, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Water is On the Black Market

Water Rustlers

by Rachel Hoyt

image by vectorolie via freedigitalphotos.net

The city's their range.

The drops are their gold.

The funnel of change

Is their stout stronghold.

They fight to hydrate

Their people, their land.

They know the flood gates

Are in white gloved hands.

Water is now such a rare commodity

that the black market wants to bottle a sea.

Technorati Tags: California, Drought, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Is Your Food Drought Tolerant?

Edible Advice

by Rachel Hoyt

Lettuce chop

our water use

eating crops

that don't abuse.

Orange you

a drop concerned?

Corn it be true

all chops are earned?

Olive Earth

is drenched with greed,

suckling since birth

where instinct leads.

Cheese, Louise,

we've chugged and chewed

all we could seize,

all sprouts and spews.

Beef or all

our fruits are dried,

sip a tall

glass of, "I tried."

California's almonds have been getting some bad press.

Some make it sound like they're the cause of my state's water mess.

Yet, if most looked at all that they ate and gauged it's water use,

they'd see that produce guzzles but only animals abuse.

Technorati Tags: California, Drought, Poem, Rhyme, Food, Poetry

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Lucid Dreamers Think Outside The Box

Think Rebound

by Rachel Hoyt

image by 2nix via freedigitalphotos.net

Lucidity uncorks my mind,

right when I want to unwind,

just as stresses cease to be,

and, for a moment, I float free.

Then my tormentors appear,

as blank faces or ones held dear,

surrounded by strange scenery,

things I feel but can't quite see.

Once awake, I know the gist,

my gears feel oiled, begin to twist,

form answers where light seemed expired,

to all except why I'm still tired.

New research on lucid sleep

shows it's truly not as deep

and that it means that that brain can

solve problems outside its span.

Technorati Tags: Road, Path, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, August 16, 2014

From Wanderers to Drivers to Freight

Road Work

by Rachel Hoyt

image by sippakorn via freedigitalphotos.net

We walked the path less traveled

and found we liked the way.

We carved the earth with trowels

and oxen carts and sleighs.

We made wheels so we would roll

faster down dusty trails.

We smoothed the bumps, filled the holes,

to make our paths less frail.

We now use the less traveled

to make the journey great.

We set aside our trowels

and turned into the freight.

This poem was inspired by A Brief History of the Road,

things in nature and inventions that help us move loads.

Technorati Tags: Road, Path, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, August 9, 2014

The Inconvenient Timing of Eureka Moments

Lost Poem

by Rachel Hoyt

image by MR LIGHTMAN via freedigitalphotos.net

Missing: one poem in rhyme,

Last seen Wednesday around nine.

Two lines in the shower came,

Then dribbled right down the drain;

Three feelings blew through at noon,

Then skipped off to hop the moon;

Four signs on my commute shone,

Then went dark as sunset moaned;

Five rhymes chimed in a bird's song,

Then were hushed by a ding-dong;

Six words sparkled in my eyes,

Then went mute like stealthy spies.

The lines vanished before my pen,

Somewhere between now and when.

Wired recently examined why creativity sprouts

when you're in the shower or out and about.

Technorati Tags: Creativity, Brainstorm, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, August 2, 2014

A Reward Seems Greater if it Comes From Your Choice

Pro-Choice

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Stuart Miles via freedigitalphotos.net

My choice is better than your choice

because the thought was mine;

My choice is truer to my voice,

yours imitates it fine;

My choice is cause to rejoice,

yours (sometimes) tickles my spine.

Scientists say we like our choices more

than any plan another might have in store.

Technorati Tags: Choice, Reward, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Poor Diet Can Dull Your Sense of Smell

Sniff Life

by Rachel Hoyt

Wake up and smell the roses,

One of life's loving scents,

A blossom which proposes,

Our senses can be bent.

Go on and squeeze a lemon,

That fruit which smells so clean,

A nutrient filled weapon,

That scrubs systems and scenes.

Get out and walk a garden,

An orchard or a field,

Ask fat to beg your pardon,

Sniff life where health is sealed.

This study concluded that eating too much fat

kills your sense of smell. What do you think of that?

Technorati Tags: Health, Smell, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, July 19, 2014

The Proposal To Split California Into Six Separate States

Hexa-fornians

by Rachel Hoyt

image via sixcalifornias.com

They say that we should cut up

My state, the land of gold -

They yearn for a pick-me-up,

A rule to be extolled -

They want safe towns and wise schools,

Smooth roads and sunny skies -

They're flush, funded by moguls,

And fueled by selfish cries -

They want to save a great state

By splitting it in six -

They're half trying a bit late

To create a quick fix.

Some are pushing for California to be split into six states,

possibly wishing such a split would make some lands seem even more great.

Technorati Tags: California, Government, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Everything's Fishy In The Fish Business

Fishy Business

by Rachel Hoyt

image by olovedogs via freedigitalphotos.net

Wild fish,

Farm fish,

White fish,

Hued fish -

Mislabeled,

Finagled -

Slick impostors

Fill the rosters.

Mild fish,

Charm fish,

Fright fish,

Lewd fish -

Exposing,

Proposing -

It's all fishy,

Smelly, squishy...

Are you sure the fish you eat is the type you think it is?

Apparently, there's a lot of bait and switch in the seafood biz.

Technorati Tags: Fish/span>, Fake, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, July 5, 2014

What Does Our Flag Mean To You?

The Flag

by Rachel Hoyt

The pattern - how it flies,

With every gust it tries,

To appeal to the skies

To billow its glory.

A symbol - red, white, blue -

That flutters inside you

To unify minds who

Write liberty's story.

Are you familiar with all the flags in US history?

Did you know that wearing the flag is still illegal, technically?

Technorati Tags: Flag, Pride, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, June 28, 2014

We Loathe "O" and Like "I" Sounds?

Loathe or Like

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Stuart Miles via freedigitalphotos.net

Sometimes I moan,

Bold as green mold,

Play the joke who's broke,

A flake the cold doled,

A groan with no tone -

Sometimes I fly,

Ride the wind's tide,

From a sip of fine wine,

A nice smooth wide stride,

A sigh for by and by.

This study says "I" sounds are easy to like

and "O" sounds probe your ears like a spike.

Technorati Tags: Beauty, Style, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Dr. Oz and Vogue Are Saboutaging Your Hopes and Dreams

Work For Dreams

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Master isolated images via freedigitalphotos.net

Hopes and dreams can lift you up

and help you reach the sky,

or leave you parched, an empty cup,

consumed by pretty lies.

You're beautiful the way you are

when you nourish yourself,

when hopes and dreams aren't kept on stars,

or bottled on your shelf.

They act like you can buy the life

you want through pills and frills,

making earnings a noble strife

and shackling your free will.

The life you're told to wish you had

won't make you the best you -

Hopes and dreams are not a fad

and with work can come true.

Dr. Oz was scolded by members of the Senate recently

for planting unattainable hopes in you and me,

but still few care that Vogue's contents cost three years' six figure salary.

Technorati Tags: Beauty, Style, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Miss Indiana Is Not Miss Average America

True Beauty

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Serge Bertasius via freedigitalphotos.net

Miss Normal would never

be granted the crown,

She can't reach the top shelf

at most shops 'round town,

Her thighs rub whenever

she's walking around,

She says she'll like herself

when she is less round.

If only she knew that

no crown need be worn

when you are the best you

that ever was born -

Then, even if you're fat,

they wish secretly,

they had the glow you do -

beauty all can see.

Miss Indiana's 'normal' body is actually nowhere near the norm

despite the fact many complimented her beautiful yet average form.

Technorati Tags: Beauty, Miss Indiana, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, June 7, 2014

We Are Now One Step Closer To Proving We Should Fake It 'Til We Make It

Dressing Up As "Me"

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Ambro via freedigitalphotos.net

At birth I knew no shame or fear,

I roamed naked and free,

But as life added days and years,

Clothes helped me feel like "me".

To church I wore my Mary Janes -

Their black patent leather

Balanced the frills of lace dresses

And kept stray thoughts demure.

In high school I was a Tomboy,

Wearing jeans and flannel -

Few colors were ones I enjoyed

During that dark, square spell.

For a time I wore casual suits

To bolster my power -

Sometimes I paired them with heeled boots

To look more like a tower.

Now I sit typing, hardly dressed,

Free to do as I please,

Wondering which outfit is next,

Which image to appease.

A new study shows clothes we wear influence how well we do

at least as much as each of us believes they hold the power to.

Technorati Tags: Clothes, Power, Poem, Rhyme, Thoughts, Poetry

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Being Cynical Can Lead To Dementia

Cynical Jim

by Rachel Hoyt

image by Salvatore Vuono via freedigitalphotos.net

At birth he hated all things square

And cried when points approached,

Once old he forgot that he cared

And many points encroached.

While young he grew to mistrust suits

And uniforms, (They're shackles!)

Once old his one friend was named Boots -

The mail man known to cackle.

In high school he fell in love fast

With prom queen, Jessi May,

Once old he smiled when she walked past,

Forgetting past dismay.

He spent his life trusting no one,

A cynic to the core,

Once old he forgot he'd missed fun

And couldn't define "bore".

A new study says that cynics might be hurting their brain -

They're more inclined to develop dementia, a sanity sprain.

Technorati Tags: Beliefs, Thoughts, Poem, Rhyme, Dementia, Poetry