by “Lift Off!” won a blue ribbon for First Place in Fair Themed Poetry. “Let the Funshine In!” was the 2017 theme for the Marin County Fair. As I was preparing my entries for county fairs this year, I wrote this poem to capture the magic of attending the fair which celebrates both long held traditions and new technology. County fair season has become one of my favorite yearly experiences. I am grateful to the 2017 Marin County Fair for awarding a blue ribbon to this poem. This year the my first year where I received a blue ribbon at the Marin fair. In fact, I received two, so please, after you read “Lift Off!” check out “The Sixties” as well.
Lift Off!
Mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons
romping around in the sweet summer sun,
gazing at paintings and sculptures that won,
and creating memories for years to come.
Faces erupting in huge, silly grins,
wrapped in the awe of experience,
exploring centuries old traditions,
and trying fascinating new inventions.
Preserving the artistry of yesterday,
quilting and canning is here to stay.
Decked out in ribbons of red and blue
farm animals happily call out to you.
Couples walk the fairgrounds hand in hand,
enjoying the notes flowing from the bandstand.
Fried food fragrance fills the air,
informing your nose that it’s at the fair.
Glowing rides illuminate the midway
as families unite in fun for a day.
Fireworks ignite a summertime sky,
as the Ferris wheel turns, oh, so high.
Kids try their luck at games of chance.
Winning toy prizes sparks a joyful dance.
Folks cheer loudly as the animals race.
There’s something so magic about this place.
Yes, it’s that amazing time of year again,
when you can let the fun shine in!
Why are you just standing there, son?
C’mon! Lift off! The fair has begun!
Dragonfly Tomorrows & Dog-eared Yesterdays
Dragonfly Tomorrows & Dog-eared Yesterdays is D.L. Lang's 9th poetry collection. It is comprised of over 100 pages of inspirational, personal, fictional, and political poetry.
- “The Sixties”, First Place in Flashback to the 60’s Poetry
- “Lift Off!”, First Place in Fair Themed Poetry
- “Street Mouse”, Second Place in Any other Haiku
- “Sally”, Third Place in My Pet
Dragonfly Tomorrows & Dog-eared Yesterdays is my 9th poetry collection comprised of poems that were written between December 2016 and June 2017. The title came about as I was stopped at a red light. A local restaurant had a sign on the corner that said, “Catfish Today,” so as a way of passing the time I broke down those words and came up with additional phrases that contained a compound word with an animal and a time period. My aim with this book was to try to largely be uplifting and distracting as an antidote to the often heartbreaking chaos of the world today, so there are intentionally less topical poems than in previous collections. My two personal favorites of this variety are “Where are the Heroes?” and “Affirmations of a Dream” which close out the book. “Cats on Caravan” and “IWWD” refer to my experience of the Women’s March and Strike. As I was preparing my entries for area fairs this year, I wrote “Lift Off!” describing the experience of the fair. “The Sixties” was written to fit the theme of the Marin County Fair that is honoring the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love. I was not alive in those years, obviously, but tried to write from the perspective of someone who was. It is one period in American history that continues to fascinate me. I’m quite pleased that both were awarded blue ribbons. I also spent a lot of time reminiscing about my childhood haunt in Enid, Oklahoma, a field down by the railroad tracks that’s now called Oakwood Nature Park, so “Blanton-Kiowa Line” captures the history of that area. I’ve developed an affinity for train songs, so my husband challenged me to write “Hanukah Train” as we found ourselves listening to old folk songs this past Hanukah. This volume brings the total of my published poems to 918. While it will be the first book released after being named the 2nd Poet Laureate of Vallejo, California, poems written during that tenure will be released in future books. This milestone provides a natural closing point for this book. Thanks for reading!
