I am showing two picture poems today.
One is called “A Blessing for the Golfer.” We will talk about that one below. The second one is about puppies and dogs. I will talk about that one first. Everyone loves a puppy, or a dog who used to be a puppy! They bring love and joy into a home in a way that few things can. Above, you see a silly poem with a picture of our 5 year old puppy, and though she needs a haircut, she remains very cute! This is a wonderful gift for a child with a puppy, or for anyone! You can find it in The Store, under Pets. Put your puppy’s photo in the opening. It’s a terrific way to celebrate your puppy or dog, and to commemorate how important he or she is in your life. The last stanza reads: “My puppy loves to play and run / and then she rests when she’s all done. / Could any puppy be more fun? / There simply is no better one!” If you have lost a dog, we have another commemorative piece entitled “Farewell, My Friend, Farewell” which honors your best friend. This is in The Store also.
The second is entitled “A Blessing for the Golfer”, shown above. This celebrates the game of golf in a unique way, and makes a wonderful gift for any golfer. It is shown in black matte, 8 inches by 10 inches, with room for a 3.5 x 5 inch photo of your favorite golfer. “May traditions of this ancient game / always stay with you. / May you always play with pride and class / and to this game be true.” This is the last stanza, and pretty much says it all. A gift any golfer would be proud to display in a family room or office. It could be given as a prize at golf outings or tournaments too! It comes in other colors too, and also in landscape format (10 by 8 inches). See our Store under Sports Poems.
Today’s poem is too long to include in its entirety. It is entitled “Life Should Be Like Golf (Where’s There’s Sand There’s Fire).” I am not very good at golf; in fact, I would say I am quite bad! And most people I have played with would agree! But I love the game, and I admire those who play it well. The PGA held its tournament at Whistling Straits last weekend in Sheboygan, WI. It was a great tournament with a very exciting closing round, won in a playoff by a young man from Germany named Martin Kaymer. He beat a very long-hitting left handed American named Bubba Watson in a three hole playoff. A very interesting thing happened in the last few holes, however. A young man named Dustin Johnson actually had a very strong chance to win the tournament, but was assessed a two stroke penalty near the end of the final round, and therefore not only did not win, but was not even allowed in the playoff round because the two stroke penalty dropped him down to 4th place in the tournament. In fact, if Dustin Johnson had hit a very makeable putt (which he did not miss by much), everyone would have thought he had won the tournament in regulation. The penalty was not announced until after he had finished his round. He was forced to sign his scorecard which included the 2 stroke penalty, thus effectively eliminating him from the playoff. If he refused to sign the card, or signed a card without including the penalty strokes, he would have been disqualified and unable to claim any prize money. As it was, he did win several hundred thousand dollars, but the lost title meant more than the money. The penalty was assessed because he did not realize he was hitting his ball from one of the thousand sand traps on the course. It was a very small bunker, and the crowd was standing all around the trap and some spectators may have been standing in it. He prepared to swing, thinking that the ground was just worn down to dirt, due to crowds walking on the area for several days. He prepared to take his shot and scraped his club across the sand on the ground a couple of times before hitting the ball. The rules of golf say that a golfer may not touch his club to the ground when preparing to hit a shot out of a sand trap because it would allow the golfer to improve the lie of his shot, and this would be unfair. A violation is a two stroke penalty. Apparently, there were signs in the clubhouse and around the course, warning the players that many of the sand traps are small and may not look like the usual sand traps. Dustin Johnson apparently did not read the signs. Here are a couple of stanzas from this rather long poem:
Fog came to Sheboygan early in the morning, a whisper on a gentle wind that floated in to Whistling Straits from Lake Michigan. But in the end were two men, young and very strong. One hit left and one hit right and both could hit it out of sight, sometimes just a bit too long. Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson moved to playoff tee, losing Dustin Johnson to a penalty. So two young men now faced off seeking not just victory, but also names on storied Cup and a place in history. Though Bubba Watson hit the pin on shot from off the green, Kaymer put the winner in— just a little breaker— and with that putt he had his dream: his name engraved on Wanamaker.The next stanza talks about Dustin Johnson’s sand trap and penalty. The final two stanzas are these:
Dustin Johnson showed his class, and showed why golf is great: he didn’t cry; he didn’t whine about the rules or course design. Instead he took it like a man, and signed his card on the line. (Next time he will read the sign!) Life is full of strangest fates. He thinks about what might have been there at Whistling Straits. Though it may seem harsh to some, this is what is best in golf: In golf, the rules don’t exist to bend or get around. If life, perchance, could be like this, we’d all be better off. Life, I think, should be like golf.
(All poems and text copyright Daniel Mark Extrom August 2010. I really like how this one came out. It took some time to finish it. If you’d like to see the full version, email me at info@danielmarkpicturepoems.com and I will send a copy via email.)
