Art and Poetry by Earl McClellan

How Much is That Doggie
by Earl McClellan

Come my dear
Let me comfort thee
For there’s no one left
But you and me.

Take my hand
Don’t cry no more
I’ll get your wrap
We’ll walk the shore.

Remember how
We used to talk
And the three of us
Would take our walk

And she would
Always run ahead
Our steps would quicken
Our faces turn red

She brought such joy
Into our life
I miss her too
My dear sweet wife

The rain has stopped
I won’t be long
You’ll sing again
I’ll buy a song

Now look it here
Ain’t she so cute
So much like Starr
And broke to book

It was a very
Trying trial
I’m full my dear
I love your smile

It’s so very nice
To have the norm again
The pain will ease
Our hearts will mend

Now lets be fair
Don’t have to shout
You win my dear

I’ll let the puppy out

Perhaps
by Earl McClellan

Perhaps
I should not give
The way I feel
In the age I live

Or to wonder
How it would be
To not be surrounded
By apathy

To rewind the clock
Would be so nifty
To shed the nineties
Put on the fifties

When children sang
From sea to shining sea
Use to mean
So much to me

To hear the playgrounds
Sing with glee
“For purple mountains
majesty”

Oh, the life
I’ve lead
Makes me want
To hang my head

For I became
A product of time
A penny for your thoughts
Now it’s a dime

Perhaps this life
I live
Has made me
Much too sensitive

To ease the pain
We talked it out
Now we kill
Now we shout

Well we certainly
can’t change
so we adapt a bit
we re-arrange

It’s too confusion
I need a different map
If I could, I would
perhaps…

Do You Know What I Mea-naa
by Earl McClellan

I wake up every morning put mv chair by the bars and listen intently for the passing of cars
Nothing, no sound or no smell and hasn’t been for years
just the cries of the convicts with their tears and their fears
Twenty six if you’re counting or perhaps thirty five, all these souls to their maker lucky me left alive
The word lucky is not said with distaste and it’s not said for kicks
it’s said cause my life has been blessed by Minutes Before Six
You say you haven’t heard of this site well that’s truly your loss
check it out look it up and say hi to Dina she’s Minutes Before Six’s boss
I’ve wondered for days what MB6 could possibly mean
perhaps it could be apostage rush drop or dinner with a very unruly teen
Well Mr. News Man time to out this dilemma to bed
grab a pen and your check book and quit scratching your head
Send a nice healthy sum to MB6 and Ms. Dina
don’t bring out my Italian side
if you know what I mea-naa

Pride and Pain

By Earl McClellan

Some were honest, some were scoundrels

Some were full of hell

They came from castles, they came from shacks

And some came straight from jail

These were the folks that settled our land

Our country tis of thee

They brought their corn, their pumpkin pies

And staked their claims for free

The strong survived the natives slain

And that’s what made their life

They toted guns and brutal strength

And took away the knives

It wasn’t fair but then it seldom is

Our pilgrims had their way

They cleared the land and built their homes

And declared Thanksgiving Day

My heart is full of pride and pain

For the history that happened then

For you see although I’m an American

I’m also one quarter Indian

By Earl McClellan

I crave the morning sunshine

which never will I see

The sound and smell of fallen leaves

The weeping Willow tree

The falling snow

The biting hail

The brave young lad

Who brings the mail

A summer night, a babbling brook

New York’s finest, a fleeing crook

So many things I long to feel

A Christmas tree, a turkey meal

But alas this cannot be

I cannot feel I cannot see

And you’re probably wondering why

I’ll never hear a baby cry

Or understand the whys or war

Or venture through a grocery store

Nor witness a lover’s sigh

A hurried breakfast, a kiss good-bye

Or how about a crescent moon

The eclipse of the sun in the dead of noon

The finish line, the touchdown pass

Or the serenity of a midnight mass

On and on I could go

What it would be like 

to know…

But since you’re thoroughly confused

And I for once am amused

I’ll enlighten you, my friend

And bring this satire to an end

And vow to never

write again

I’m out of ink

For I’m a pen 

Earl McClellan 151845 Lakeland Correctional Facility 141 First Street Coldwater, MI 49036