The Web Poetry Corner

The Web Poetry Corner is a Dream Machine Site
The Dream Machine --- The Imagination of the World Wide Web

The Web Poetry Corner

Dr. Mark Winegar

of

Vermillion, SD, US

Home Authors Alphabetically Authors Date Submitted Authors Country Submission Rules Feedback

If you have comments or suggestions for Dr. Mark Winegar, you can contact this author at:
mwinegar@mchsi.com (Dr. Mark Winegar)

Find a book store near you, no matter where you are located in the U.S.A.!

...the best independent ISP in the Twin Cities

Is there a God, Daddy?

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

"Is there a God, Daddy?",
my daughter asked one day.
I didn't know what to tell her.
So, I answered her this way.

I used to have my doubts
until the very day
an angel come into my life
and taught me how to play.

I remember the night

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

I remember the night
You first came to me.
Thick blonde hair
Flowing down to your hips.
Firm young breasts
Bouncing freely.
Eyes gleaming with eagerness
And a hunger in your soul.
I was eager for your warmth
And the touch of your lips on mine.
I often remember
The times we shared.
I wonder if you think of me
When you are alone.
Sometimes I feel so alone.

Best Phone Rates EVER!

Lakota Flute

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Lakota flute
Sing me a tune.
Float me away
On your audio-balloon.

Your melody soars high
On raptor wings.
Then dives toward earth
Where a deep bass rings.

A prayer to the grandfather
Your soulful breath speaks.
We pray for the wisdom
To always speak peace.

Submit a poem for analysis.

Sad World

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

I read an odd message today
And I still don’t understand it.
"Its a sad world
when only peace comes
at the end of a gun."

What do these words imply?
A desire to make war?
"Its a sad world
when only peace comes
at the end of a gun."

What do you expect
to come from the end of a gun?
"Its a sad world
when only peace comes
at the end of a gun."

Maybe the author is mistaken?
Perhaps his grammar is wrong?
"Its a sad world
when only peace comes
at the end of a gun."

Maybe it was a lament
That should have read,
Its a sad world
when guns come
to end the peace.

It might be a statement
On the condition of man,
Its a sad world
when guns must come
to make the peace.

Poetry Competition

9 to 5

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

We go to work each day
From 9 to 5.
Log into our cubes
And tune into the jive.

It's same old shit
Every day.
Pushing paper
Like proper white-collar slaves.

Soon we will have
A long holiday.
We'll sit in the backyard
And watch the kids play.

Day follows night
Too soon, the weekends are gone.
It's back to the salt mine
At the crack of dawn.

For too many years
We spend our lives this way.
Stop the bus!
I'm getting off today.

$26 billion and counting!

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

about our reluctant allies in Turkey

What is the price of an ally?
How much must we pay for a friend?
How far can we trust such good fellows?
Will they stick by us when the road makes a bend?

A Limerick of Home

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

I lived upon the wooded shore
Among the graves of ancient war
Where waves crash upon the sand
To wash away the tracks of man
and I fear I won't see it anymore.

Addie Mae

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Addie Mae
Was more than a maid.
She was a friend,
A guide,
A mother.

She'd make lunch
on Saturdays,
Tomato soup,
grilled cheese, and
Commander Cody.

Off to the market
We would go
Hand in hand
Ebony Madonna and
Little white boy.

Many nights
I stayed in her home,
A second story
Apartment
In the ghetto.

Everyone in town
Knew me,
I was
Addie's baby
Her little boy.

Sometimes I can see
The pain in her eyes
The day I got mad
And spoke the words
Of bigotry.

No punishment severe
Could've broken my heart more
Than witnessing
The pain I caused my
My sweet Addie Mae.

Addie Mae
Was always there
A teacher,
A mother,
A friend.

Angels come in many forms.
Male or female.
Young or old.
Black or white.
It doesn't matter.

She was mine.
I am hers.
I always will be hers.

Amanda

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Amazing grace, I see in this
Mystical daughter of the earth.
Angelic in her slumber
Neatly tucked under the cover of a father's love.
Dancing along the sweet water's shore.
A woman child with a mind.

Are you listening?

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

to George W. Bush

Will you ignore the will of the people?
Did you forget who it is that you serve?
Can you hear the wails of the mothers
Who will so sing a funeral dirge?

Do you think of the innocent children
Your bombs will indiscriminately kill?
What is our greatest danger,
Iraq or your own iron will?

Badlands

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Through Dakota Badlands
the movie cowboys ride on
weekend afternoons.

Good guys in white hats
saving damsels in distress
in less than an hour.

Pancho and Cisco
never rode through these plains
in an iron horse.

The prairie dogs bark
and dive down into their hole
as I wander by.

Captain William Robinson

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Once only darkness
Greeted the White River ships.
Without a lighthouse
They were lost in the mist.

He came to the White River
With Sara, his bride.
Together they built
Their lighthouse with pride.

Lake Michigan's weather
Can be cold and damp.
But he stood on the shore
Waiving his lamp.

They built the lighthouse
Of limestone and bricks.
The Captain moved in
Back in 1876.

They raised eleven children
There on the shore.
Each little child knew
They must do their chores.

For forty-seven years
He worked through the night.
He knew the ship captains
Would search for his light.

They tried to retire him
Back in 1925.
He never would leave
Because the lamp was his life.

The Captain was sly.
He didn't take flight.
When they came for him
He had passed in the night.

His spirit walks by.
I hear the thump of his cane.
The lightkeeper is working.
He keeps the ships safe.

Fifty!

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Fifty!
I never thought I'd live this long.
The years just drift by,
One day at a time.

I'm shocked
when my grandchildren
look at me,
astonished at my "advanced" age.

Insulted
when a waitress,
who looks old and abused,
pats my hand offering the senior citizen's discount.

Fifty!
What have I done?
What difference have I made?
How much time is left?

Time.
The world hasn't changed much
since I was young.
It's still confused, violent, and beautiful.

Technology.
Yes, our technology has advanced
driving mankind further apart.
My hands are unclean.

News
twenty-four hours a day.
Same story but
they keep getting the facts wrong.

Email
allows us to keep in touch
with misunderstood words
we drift further into the abyss.

Take care!
Do not waste the day.
They are too few.
Quickly becoming yesterdays.

No time.
We live in the present.
Caught here
for all eternity.

Love
like there is no tomorrow.
Say everything
that needs to be said.

Touch
with tenderness.
There's too much violence in the world.
Gentleness is scarce.

Youth.
Reach back in time with your mind.
What did you dream?
Dream it again.

Age,
they say,
is a state of mind.
It is what we make of it.

What will you make of it?

Hiding In The Park

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Behind a great oak
the little girl sits and waits
while Daddy pretends.

A proud young father
peeks around the great oak trunk
at his greatest gift.

Across the green grass
they chase one another
on warm summer days.

Lighthouse

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Lightly you drift across my mind
Icon of home
Gently, bringing memories of
Hearth, family, and friends,
Times of childhood, and
Holding my daughter's hand while
Out the pier we walked
Under the boardwalk with
Seagulls flying overhead.
Each memory is a jewel.

Missouri River

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Missouri River
flows to the Mississippi
while the northwind blows.

Old highway fourty-four
keeps heading west to the "rez"
under Dakota's sun.

A young Lakota man
moves slowly towards home
As the wind whistles.

Nude On The Beach

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

On the warm white sand
a nude girl warms in the sun
watching the sunset.

Safe in Daddy's arms
the baby giggles with glee
tickling his neck.

Around the driftwood
she chases him with a squirt gun
as he falls laughing.

Prison - An Acrostic Poem

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

People caught in time
Reaching into darkness
In search of new beginnings
Stopped dead in their tracks by private realities
Only they can begin to understand
No one else may enter.

Prison - An Acrostic Poem

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

People caught in time
Reaching into darkness
In search of new beginnings
Stopped dead in their tracks by private realities
Only they can begin to understand
No one else may enter.

Rainbow Hunt

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Early on Saturday morning
We rise and get ready to go.
Down to the Dowagiac River
on the search for the big rainbow.

A mist rises above the water
as it flows down the old St. Joe.
The sun rises behind the pines
As we search for the big rainbow.

We may fish the shore of Lake Michigan
or head up to Au Sable.
We'll go anywhere that seems fishy
on our search for the big rainbow.

So tie on a flashy streamer
or a fly like salmon roe.
Cast her across and upstream
and hook yourself a big rainbow.

Rocky Mountain Chapel

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

In a field stone chapel
Christian monks pray for peace on earth
at evening vespers.

Snow

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Softly flying above the trees
Nearing the realm of man.
On inconstant wings of wind
Will you float or fall?

Son of Kuwait

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Have you lost your mind,
son of Kuwait?
What were you thinking?
Why do you hate?

Two Americans you shot
while I slept in my bed.
A father and husband
lays upon your sand, dead.

I don't understand
how you could do this sad deed.
Was it not my people
that made your land free.

Did you forget
who came to your aid?
How could that be?
Its only been a decade.

Will you cry for our help
The next time you're attacked?
If you do,
how should we react?

On my humble thoughts
I hope you'll reflect.
And remember the day
you lost my respect.

South Dakota Blues

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

I've got those
South Dakota Blues.
Oh Lord, those
South Dakota Blues.
I'm out of work
Feeling like a jerk.
What am I supposed do?

What do
the miners say?
Tell me, what do
The miners say?
Well there ain't no gold
And the winters are cold.
Won't you send some cash our way.

What do
The farmers fear?
Tell me, what do
The farmers fear?
Well they survived the cats
And the bureaucrats
But the corporate farms are near.

Where do
The buffalo roam?
Tell me, where does
Tatanka roam?
Well they lost the range
when the white man came
and now they have nowhere to roam.

What do
The lumberjacks say?
What do
The lumberjacks say?
Well, the lumber was good
So we chopped the wood
And hauled it all away.

What did
The Governor say?
What did
The Governor say?
A vote for me
Will set you free
On election day.

I think I'll head up
To USD,
That premiere
University.
I'll take some tests
And do my best
To earn a Ph.D.

Then, I guess
I'll play the fool.
Go ahead
And teach some school.
Yes, I'll work all day
For a little pay
Cause the student loans are due.

The Old Musicians

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

There was an old man from Juneau
Who played bluegrass tunes on the banjo.
He'd plinked at it all day
Whiling the time away
While his wife polished her halo.

Another old gent from Berlin
Liked to play a red mandolin.
He'd sing old folk songs
While his wife played mahjongg
and dreamed of the sweetest of sins.

Another dude from Kalamazoo
Like to play classical kazoo.
The three made a trio.
They sang up in Rio
'til their wives taught 'em the blues.

Wading in the stream

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Colorado canyon
bluegrass music sweetly plays
under the mid-day sun.

The cool mountain stream
cools my hot, sore, aching feet
as I walk it's path.

Happy revelers
bathe in cool water
While the sun beats down.

Mental photographs
warms the chilled places of my heart
during winter's cold.

Water

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Waves carry my dreams out to sea
Away to distant shores
Toward the setting sun, on
Eternal tides and currents they
Run away and come back again.

Where are the elephants?

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

A dandy old gent on Main Street
bounced up and down on his feet
Waiving his arms
and raising alarms,
he didn't appear too discrete.

A rookie by the name of Dan Picket
walked up to give him a ticket.
The old man did say,
"I keep the elephants away!",
as he waived a crooked old digit.

Officer Dan soon confessed
he wasn't impressed.
"There's no elephants here
in downtown Lapeer",
he said looking very distressed.

The old dandy gleefully cried,
"You'll not find an elephant nearby!
The evidence is clear.
They've all disappeared
Which proves that my theory is right."

Where I make my home

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Where I made my home
the fog horn sings lullabies
in the foggy mist.

Where I made my home
newly fallen snow covers
multi-colored leaves.

Where I made my home
hot sand burns the children's feet
running to the shore.

Where I made my home
gulls sail above foamy waves
and the crimson sun.

Where I make my home
I'm greeted with tenderness
in the weary hours.

Where I make my home
a woman's love warms me
on a winter's day.

Who Knows no. 2

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Who knows
The places you'll see
When you stand up tall
And follow your feet?

Who knows
The things you may learn
If you study each day
And strive to discern?

Who knows
The people you'll meet
When you put out your hand
And smile so sweet?

Who knows
What your future may hold?
You need to be ready.
You need to be bold.

Why do you weep, Lady Liberty?

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Why do you weep, Lady Liberty?
Why do you hide from my eyes?
We can still walk this land freely
Though some would deny us our rights.

Stand tall and face adversity.
Don't let them back you down.
Speak loudly for the love of freedom
And always stand your ground.

Talk plainly to your neighbors.
Sing sweetly to your guests.
Speak loudly against the folly of war.
Show everyone you're still the best.

You speak

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

You speak for the lives of the unborn.
You say it's a sin to take human life.
You salute the flag unfurling,
But can you distinguish between wrong and right?

Won't you consider the innocent children
Who watch for your plans in the sky?
Why do you listen to the words of politicians
And silently stand on the side?

Lady of Kalamazoo

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

A lady of Kalamazoo
Was driving her blue Subaru
Through hill and dale
Drinking a pale ale
And playing melodies on a kazoo.

Old man from Montana

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

The old man from Montana
was wearing a red bandana.
On his banjo he played,
"I've got foot in the grave
And the other's on a banana!"

Mexican Food

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Two boys in know from Minnesota
Like eating their tacos with soda.
They often giggle
when the bubbles tickle
but they don't relish the salsa.

Labor's Limerick

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Hickory Dickory Dock.
The workers watch the clock.
When the clock strikes four,
They run for the door.
Hickory Dickory Dock.

Hickory Dickory Day.
They're waiting for payday.
They'll pick up their checks
And pay their debts.
Hickory Dickory Day.

Hickory Dickory Dee.
They're ready to start the party.
The week is done
so let's start the fun.
Hickory Dickory Dee.

Hickory Dickory Dough.
It's back to work they go.
It's a blue Monday
but they need their pay.
Hickory Dickory Dough.

Hickory Dickory Dum.
It beats being on the bum.
The boss is a bore
and the work's a chore.
Hickory Dickory Dum.

Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
We all watch the clock.

Old Jack

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

When I was young and needed a friend most
Old Jack was a friend to me.
We'd ride his motorcycle throughout the town,
Just two boys, wild and free.

With the wind in our hair and the sun on our backs,
Silent in a shared revelry.
Dreaming of the girls, sunbathing at the beach,
Just two boys, wild and free.

A Lady of Dixon

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

I met a young lady in Dixon
Who advertised herself as a vixen.
She said, "Come on in
And together we'll sin
Until we fall asleep on a bear skin.

Deer Hunting

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

There was a young man from St. Joe
Who liked to hunt deer with a bow.
He was drinking a beer
When along came a deer
But he couldn?t tell a buck from a doe.

Fargo

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

I met a young man in Chicago
Who rode the rails in with the cargo.
"It's a pitiful life,
Full of woe, pain, and strife,
But it sure beats being stuck back in Fargo.

Grayling

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

There was a young lady in Graying
Who complained she was too often ailing.
I looked up her nose
'twas plugged up with snow
That she was secretly inhaling.

Is your head in the sand?

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Is your head in the sand?
Why is it you cannot see?
What?s happening here now
Might happen to you or to me!

People cry out in the night.
Searching for their lost loved ones.
Because warplanes came stealing through the night
Firing their deadly quick guns.

The families had nowhere to go.
There was no time to run.
They were cut down before they could hear
The thunderous report of the guns.

The pilots are never were told
Of the targets their bullets have found.
And the people silently pray
As the innocent are laid in the ground.

Is your head in the sand?
Why is it you cannot see?
What?s happening here now
Might happen to you or to me!

Lady of Brazil

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

A lovely lady of Brazil
Complained of being quite chilled.
As she rode a toboggan
Through the hills of Cheboygan,
Her shivering gave me a thrill.

Sioux City

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

The folks in Sioux City are proud of their town.
They'll tell you it's the best town around.
But, a trip to this city is something to fear
'cause the stench of the stockyards are a pain in the rear.
The sewer treatment plant on the south side of town
greets the mall shoppers and gives them a frown.
It assaults the stadium where baseball is played.
So, no thank you. I don't care to go there today.

Lost on the prairie

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Here I sit, on the great American outback.
Wondering, what am I doing here?
Why aren't I hiking my homeland's forests
or hunting the white-tailed deer?"
I could be standing in an icey stream
casting flies to wild rainbow trout.
Instead, I'm here on the prairie.
What's this all about?

Secret Weapon

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

You can solve two problems at one time.
Calm the mood of the nation and
Save the children of Iraq by
Sicking the telemarketers on Saddam.

Pills

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

There's pills to relax you.
And pills to make you sleep.
Pills to take before making love.
And pills for aching feet.

Pills to make you happy,
And pills to make you pee.
Pills for hypertension.
Pills to give you speed.

Pills to help you remember.
And pills to help you forget.
Pills for indigestions, and
pills to give your pet.

Some pills are illegal.
And some you get for free.
You see them in gas stations
and broadcast on TV.

Pills are all around us.
They're in your bathroom now.
These pills will soon take over
'cause we've forgotten how.

Wanji

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

One world.
One people.
One God.

The Prison Smoking Corner

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

The guard said, the smoking corner is off limits to visitors.
Inmates only"
Can't have any positive influences here.
What do you think we're trying to do,
Rehabilitate someone?
Move along, go teach your class.
Then get out of here.
These aren't people you want to know
And they don't need to know you.

I silently walk away wondering "why not?"
Where is the humanity?
What kind of models are we creating?

Cotton Candy Clouds

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

If I could look at the world through the eyes of a child.
I'd see cotton candy clouds in these South Dakota skies.
I'd see a furry teddy bear dancing in the moonlight,
And fairy Godmothers, and Princesses all dressed in white.
If I saw as children see all the people would be good.
They'd be kind to one another just as they should.
If only I could see through the eyes of a child.

Usama Bin Laden

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Do you think you're something special?
A natural Son of Man,
Born to change the future like the wind upon the sand?
Is there evil all around you?
Strangers in your land?
Do the Masters make their fortunes on the labor of your hands?

Look out!
The soldiers are coming now.
Hide out!
Bombs are falling now.
Watch out!
They're coming to get you today.

Do the infidels listen?
Do many understand?
Is a new day dawning in the future of man?
Do you hear the prophet speaking?
Are you making a holy stand?
Do innocent people die at the sound of your command?

Look out!
They're getting closer now.
Hide out!
There's nowhere to hide now.
Watch out!
They're coming to take you away.

Do you sleep well at night?
Do you dream of riches grand?
Can you see the wondrous beauty within your fellow man?
Are you hiding in a cave?
Are you eating from a can?
Do you know you face is hated by every civilized man?

No longer a bridegroom

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

He's no longer a bridegroom
She's no longer a bride.
Yet, they still care enough
To keep their friendship alive.

Imagine the challenge
These estranged lovers face.
See how they face each other
With humor and grace.

Circle of Courage

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Granny, oh Granny
Where's that Circle of Courage?
I need it now
To show me my way.
?Well, don't you know Son?
It's all around you.
In the eyes of your children
As they laugh and play.?

The Circle of Courage
Is a guide for living.
It taught me how
To live a good life.
Grandma handed it down
To us little children.
And it's been our guide
Between what's wrong and right.

Now sometimes I've strayed
And sometimes I've wandered.
These things that we do
Stay with us for life.
It's through our mistakes
that we learn life's hardest lessons.
And life is too short
To waste time on regrets.

Life is a course
Packed full of choices.
Our best intentions
Can often go wrong.
But if we follow
The Circle of Courage,
We can find our way back
To where we belong.

Politically Correct?

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

You want me to be politically correct.
Have you lost what was left of your mind?
You want me to say that wrong is right,
And listen to you endlessly whine?

You may find me to be a little brazen.
You might find me slightly uncouth.
But don?t hold your breath waiting for me
To turn a blind eye to the truth.

Speaking Frankly, Boss

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

How can I speak frankly
When my head is on the block?
How can I share openly
When it's my job that may be lost?

When you ask me a question,
What would you have me say?
Do I dare to speak the truth
Or be smart and play it safe?

Do you want to hear the truth
Or do you want me to suck up?
Should I tell you what I really think
Or is it better to just shut up?

Blow the foghorn (Song lyrics)

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

When I was a boy I lived on the shore.
Blow! Blow! Blow the foghorn!
When the horn blew at night I would peacefully snore.
Blow! Blow! Blow the fog horn!

Blow! Blow! Blow the foghorn!
It's sweet tune will guide us all home.

Now I live on the prairie. It's a sea made off grass.
Blow! Blow! Blow the foghorn!
Do I miss my home waters? You can't bet your sweet...
Blow! Blow! Blow the foghorn!

Blow! Blow! Blow the foghorn!
It's sweet tune will guide us all home.

I've seen the great Rockies and the Black Hills too!
Blow! Blow! Blow the foghorn!
But I'll take my harbor country if it's alright with you.
Blow! Blow! Blow the foghorn!

Blow! Blow! Blow the foghorn!
It's sweet tune will guide us all home.

There's apple orchards and grape vineyards too.
Blow! Blow! Blow the foghorn!
Big steelhead swim in waters so blue.
Blow! Blow! Blow the foghorn!

Blow! Blow! Blow the foghorn!
It's sweet tune will guide us all home.

Cowboys

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Cowboys!
Don't get me wrong.
I enjoy a good burger just as much as the next guy.

But, driving home from Yankton, South Dakota, I stopped at a light.
I was sitting behind a big red Diamond-D livestock trailer sporting an Iowa license plate when I noticed that familiar essence.

Just then I noticed a pair of the biggest brown eyes you've ever seen.
They were peeking out at me.
Yes, this is cattle country.

First one pair.
Then two.
I noticed a few more head riding in this death wagon being hauled behind a four-wheel drive Ford F-250 pick-em-up truck.

Yes, I live in cattle county but I'm not from here.
Michigan is my home.
Growing up there, back east, I wanted to be a cowboy.
I even wore cowboy duds and a pair of six shooters.
Now, I'm here but I'll never be a cowboy.

I'm content to eat my burgers innocently.
Ignoring the deaths my lunch represents.
Ignorant of the fact that cows have feelings too!
But, I can't.

I could have been...

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

I could have been a pilot and flown high in the sky.
Or, maybe a doctor who could save somebody's life.
I might a been a banker dressed in a three-piece suit.
But, I chose to be a teacher. What about you?

Metamorphis of the didactic lecture

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Song lyrics

As I was walking down the hall
... down the hall
... down the hall
As I was walking down the hall
what do you think I saw?

Two pretty coeds up ahead
... up ahead
... up ahead
There were two pretty coeds up ahead
and what do you think they said?

I overheard their yackity yack
... yackity yack
... yackity yack
I overheard their yackity yack
and talking about my class.

The first one asked, "Did you read the book?"
... "read the book?"
... "read the book?"
The first one asked, "Did you read the book?"
so I listened very close.

The other one said, "Why should I?"
... "Why should I?"
... "Why should I?"
The other one said, "Why should I?
The lecture says it all."

Well, what do you think I did about that?
... did about that?
... did about that?
What do you think I did about that?
I decided to make them work.

Now my lectures are a sneaky game.
... a sneaky game.
... a sneaky game.
Now my lectures are a sneaky game
and this is how it's played.

I allowed myself to make mistakes.
... make mistakes.
... make mistakes.
I allowed myself to make mistakes
and the students had to catch them all.

I praised them all for busting me.
... for busting me.
... for busting me.
I praised them all for busting me
and we all had lots of fun!

What do you think my students did?
... my students did?
... my students did?
What do you think my students did?
They started to read and learn.

Now my students want to read.
... want to read.
... want to read.
Now my students want to read
and get one over on me.

There, but for Grace, go I

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

I saw a man today
carrying everything he owned
along highway I-29
in the brisk wind
of a Dakota winter day.
And I thought to myself,
"There, but for Grace, go I."

I saw a young girl tonight
She was crying
as she stood in a chilly rain.
Three months pregnant
and alone in the night.
No one to turn to.
No man to claim.
And I thought to myself,
"There, but for Grace, go I."

Moving On?

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

What the hell am I doing here?
There is nothing I can say that will be heard.
Nothing I can do that will last.
Our mission is lost in a jungle of hidden agendas.
Academic standards are waning.
Lame excuses are rampant.
Back-biting is commonly practiced by the leadership.
Faculty morale is low.
The nation may very well be at risk.
Perhaps it's time to move on?
I miss those days of working hard to achieve the improbable.
The days when my efforts mattered to the organziation.
The days when I was a part of the team.
I long to code mission critical applications again.
The joy of being the first to market.
The bleeding edge of technology.
"Quality in everything we do" was more than a slogan.
It was a life style.
Lord, do I miss the joy of a true technical challenge.
Perhaps it's time to move on?

Happy 18th Brithday

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

You turn 18 today.
There is no gift I can offer you
that can express the joy you've added to my life.
No gift that can express
how deeply I love you.
Or how empty this home will soon be.
Thank you for this chance to see
through the eyes of a child again.
Thank you for tolerating my reluctance to
recognize you passage into womanhood.
Thank you for your hugs and kisses.
For you heart-breaking smiles.
And for calling me Daddy.
You will always be the precious jewel of my life.

Happy Birthday.

Marriage

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

Sometimes I want to leave you.
To break!
To bolt!
To run!
Yes, I hate to admit it but sometimes love sucks.
Yet, when the anger's ended and over love somehow survives
I wonder why I'm so lucky to have you by my side.

Open the gates

by

Dr. Mark Winegar

What happened?

What happened to this land?

To "Give me your tired,
Your poor
Your huddled masses learning to be free?

People welcomed with open arms
Not smuggled across the border
In the dark of the night.

Open arms made America great.
Open your minds.
Open the gates.