.

Online Research

For how long grilling planks should soak
__I checked the time online.
A website that I noticed first
__Called 15 minutes fine.

But one more page I saw advised
__To do it for an hour,
So I presumed it best if other
__Websites I would scour.

And sure enough I next came to
__Another cooking site,
Which said to soak them four-plus hours,
__But best was overnight.

Still armed with no clue what to do,
__My only new cognition,
Was never search online to treat
__A medical condition.

.

.

And I’d Bet There’s Nothing Urgent

The man gunned his engine and swerved lane to lane,
Convincing each witness he must be insane.
And putting all riders at risk of disaster,
To get where he’s going a few seconds faster.

.

.

Familiar

I see what the Leftists are doing today
And it’s highly familiar indeed,
From dire anti-totalitarian novels
That liberals had school kids read.
.

.

One-Sided

When you hear a person express discontent
In a statement quite un-laudatory,
It’s troubling, but know that’s one hundred percent
Of just fifty percent of the story.

.

.

Russel Winick recently started writing poetry at nearly age 65, after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois.

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14 Responses

  1. Roy E. Peterson

    Poems one, two and four were a delight to read this morning and put me in a good mood. “Familiar” is exactly that — all too familiar! It is a reminder we all need to be involved in ferreting out the nefarious plots that affect our children.

    Reply
    • Russel Winick

      Thanks Roy – I’m happy to put someone in a good mood. Doesn’t always work out that way!

      Reply
  2. Michael Pietrack

    It’s a wise statement that 100% of someone’s perspective is just 50% of the story.

    Reply
  3. Anna J. Arredondo

    Russel,

    These are highly entertaining and very relatable. I’m avoiding the issue addressed in the third poem as best I can; the other three I encounter quite frequently!

    I think my favorite is “Online Research.” For things like cooking and gardening, I usually skim a few sites, take the average, cross my fingers, and plunge forward optimistically. (Results may vary.)

    Reply
  4. Margaret Coats

    The speedy meter racing regularly through “And I’d Bet There’s Nothing Urgent” wins the checkered flag from me!

    Reply
  5. Alena Casey

    “One hundred percent of just fifty percent of the story” — that made me chuckle. And how true!

    Reply
  6. Jack “Michael” Dashiell

    3 witty poems, smooth and coherent. As for help with medicine on the Internet you sure to get advertisements for pills, not explanations.

    Reply
  7. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Russel, your poetic wisdom knows no bounds and I love every well-wrought, sage word of these highly entertaining poems. Reading poetry like this maintains my sanity in an increasingly bizarre world. For that, I thank you most kindly!

    Reply
    • Russel Winick

      Aw shucks! Thanks for such kind words. I’m really glad that you liked these poems.

      Reply

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