I have a poet friend that I've known for almost forever. His name is Rusty Daily and he and his wife, Kathleen, live in Indianapolis. That's a long way from Pennsylvania, and why I've never had the pleasure of meeting them. Robert and I have four children in four different states, and that pretty much takes up whatever free time we have, just traveling here, there and everywhere to see our kids and grandkids.
But I digress ... I first met Rusty many years ago at an online writing community, AuthorsDen.com. We were both posting poetry for children there and often commented on each other's work. Our tastes were very similar, running towards the silly, insightful, or outright goofy, and somewhere along the way, we started doing some co-writing. One of us would write a couple of lines as a starter, then email it to the other one. Back and forth the poem went between us, until it just felt right.
Today, I want to share just a little bit of that co-writing. Oh, and I've written to Rusty recently, trying to nudge him into writing a few more poems with me. Like me, underneath that adult and senior exterior, he's also just a silly kid ...
Wedgies
by Rusty and CJ
You know what makes me laugh
and puts me into stitches?
It's when I grab ahold and pull
the waist of someone's britches.
It’s fun. It's called a wedgie
and what a super name,
just pull and yell out WEDGIE!
It‘s really the coolest game.
Hmmm, now who should I get,
lil sissy or my big brother?
Or maybe I should get my dad
but definitely NOT my mother!
And you NEVER do grandmas and grandpas.
To do that you‘d have to be nuts
('cause everyone knows that old people
don't even have any butts).
All By Myself
You know what makes me laugh
and puts me into stitches?
It's when I grab ahold and pull
the waist of someone's britches.
It’s fun. It's called a wedgie
and what a super name,
just pull and yell out WEDGIE!
It‘s really the coolest game.
Hmmm, now who should I get,
lil sissy or my big brother?
Or maybe I should get my dad
but definitely NOT my mother!
And you NEVER do grandmas and grandpas.
To do that you‘d have to be nuts
('cause everyone knows that old people
don't even have any butts).
All By Myself
by Rusty and CJ
I gotta play by myself today
cause Mommy is cleaning and mopping.
Then she’ll be calling a sitter
for when she goes grocery shopping.
The sitter, she’s really boring.
She’s always on the dumb phone,
or painting her nails or combing her hair
so I guess I’ll be playing alone …
I think I will get out my play dough
and make a spaghetti pie.
Or maybe, I'll feed all my dollies
so they won't be fussy and cry.
At two, I’ll watch my TV shows.
Till then, I'll build with my blocks.
When I'm done, I'll pick them all up
(if I can get 'em all back in the box).
Maybe later, my secret friend and me
will draw a picture or two
with all my favorite crayons,
specially the reds, greens and blues.
I really like my toys and games
and my other good stuff … but gee,
I think ALL playing’s is funner
when Mommy is here beside me.
Monster
I gotta play by myself today
cause Mommy is cleaning and mopping.
Then she’ll be calling a sitter
for when she goes grocery shopping.
The sitter, she’s really boring.
She’s always on the dumb phone,
or painting her nails or combing her hair
so I guess I’ll be playing alone …
I think I will get out my play dough
and make a spaghetti pie.
Or maybe, I'll feed all my dollies
so they won't be fussy and cry.
At two, I’ll watch my TV shows.
Till then, I'll build with my blocks.
When I'm done, I'll pick them all up
(if I can get 'em all back in the box).
Maybe later, my secret friend and me
will draw a picture or two
with all my favorite crayons,
specially the reds, greens and blues.
I really like my toys and games
and my other good stuff … but gee,
I think ALL playing’s is funner
when Mommy is here beside me.
Monster
by Rusty and CJ
After all my books are read,
Mommy says it's time for bed.
Teeth are brushed, all pearly white,
and now I have to go night-night.
Daddy walks me up the stairs,
and helps me say my bedtime prayers.
He fluffs the pillow for my head,
then lifts me up into my bed.
Mommy tucks me in real tight
cause monster visits me at night.
Tippy-toe, the monster hovers,
and tries to slip beneath my covers.
Round my bed the monster dances
waiting for his little chances
to see a gap, then in he'll go
to grab my finger or a toe.
I feel him crawling up my bed!
He's started licking at my head.
If I don't run, I know that he'll
have me for his monster meal.
And in the dark, what's that I see?
Two glowing eyes stare back at me!
Should I yell with all my might
for Dad to come turn on the light?
He might get mad if I did that...
Come here, Monster, you silly cat!
After all my books are read,
Mommy says it's time for bed.
Teeth are brushed, all pearly white,
and now I have to go night-night.
Daddy walks me up the stairs,
and helps me say my bedtime prayers.
He fluffs the pillow for my head,
then lifts me up into my bed.
Mommy tucks me in real tight
cause monster visits me at night.
Tippy-toe, the monster hovers,
and tries to slip beneath my covers.
Round my bed the monster dances
waiting for his little chances
to see a gap, then in he'll go
to grab my finger or a toe.
I feel him crawling up my bed!
He's started licking at my head.
If I don't run, I know that he'll
have me for his monster meal.
And in the dark, what's that I see?
Two glowing eyes stare back at me!
Should I yell with all my might
for Dad to come turn on the light?
He might get mad if I did that...
Come here, Monster, you silly cat!
More of our co-written poetry can be found on my website, Barking Spiders Poetry on the Cj & Rusty Poetry Page. If you enjoyed these, you'll also enjoy the others!
