"In A Perfect World"

 

In a perfect world

we wrap our children within love, beauty, and grace

the fear

of heavy hands or words that scorch

of empty stomachs and lonely nights

of filth and destitution

            slayed

In a perfect world

we protect the Mother

            the rape

                        of forest and field

                        of streams and oceans

                        of mountain peaks and sloping valleys

            eradicated

In a perfect world

we honor knowledge by encouraging free thought

            the condemnation

                        of different traditions

                        of diversity in truths

                        of multiplicity of dreams

            abolished

In a perfect world . . .

 

Copyright 2013 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

           

   

"Don't Tickle the Dragon"

The Dragon Slayer by David Chapman

She soars above river and ravine in magnificence

while despair and fear play hide-n-seek with her smoky shadow.

With penetrating eyes, she seeks and destroys all defiance.

She melts lives with fiery breath and renders fair fields fallow.

Her arbitrary death paralyzes her innocent prey

by syphoning hope from their simple souls one-drop-at-a-time.

Her teeth and claws razor flesh leaving misery and dismay

As she devours their life-blood—without reason, without rhyme.

On bended knee, mankind prays to the ancient gods for relief

And many brave souls with sword and shield challenge her to the death.

Enflamed by anger, she slays them all—fueled on by pagan belief.

All hope becomes lost to young and old—all fear her scorching breath.

Offerings of their children temporarily satiate her greed,

‘til the young princess stands by lakeside awaiting destiny.

A Christian knight from lands unknown approaches on steady steed.

He vows to slay the beast if all pledge to Christianity.

His lance pierces the dragon’s thick hide with a near fatal blow;

with the princess’s girdle, he leads the creature from the lake.

With Ascalon, he impales the dragon—watches her blood flow.

The people cheer, the king sings praise, and an alter he does make.

From the alter spouts water pure, curing all ailments that grow.

The villagers gather ‘round each eve to dance and sing again

of lessons learned from valley to peak that all children should know—

“Don’t play with fire. Don’t pee in the wind. Don’t tickle the dragon!”

Copyright 2013 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

“Repair”

 

            Many years ago, we found a delightful weathervane for our backyard. On the top perched a fairy instead of the typical rooster or bird. The first fairy to decorate our outside, she began a collection that gradually grew into special pieces gathered through the years. When a particularly vicious storm blew through one spring, she disappeared. My garden grew, and my hopes dimmed of ever finding her hiding place.

  

         I debated replacing the piece with something new, but eventually enough vines wrapped around the remaining pole that I decided to leave it in its place. Time passed with no sign of her winged figure, and I stopped looking for her altogether. After back-to-back winters of hard freezes, I knelt in my garden hacking away at death and destruction when my hands unearthed her rusted shape. The delight I felt lived shortly once I realized she’d never sit atop her perch again. Rust and time had erased part of her entirely. I tucked her away in an outside bin after my artistic husband and son stated she was beyond repair. No longer lost, but still hidden away, she nagged at all of us until a few weeks ago when my husband and son decided they could recreate her by using their 3-D printer.

            A trial and error cycle began with failures on wing design and attachment landing a couple of prototypes onto the counter. One design finally didn’t fail, and we cheered as she sat upon her newly repainted pole. The UV resistant paint dried quickly, and we waited to see how her resin would handle our August heat. It didn’t! A subtle warp scarred her. Another round of research, a different type of filament, and victory adorned her new design and color!

            Our long lost fairy couldn’t be repaired, but a new blend of art and technology, of hope and determination, adorns the original weathervane.     

Copyright 2025 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

“Hibiscus Surprise”

 

 

            A few years ago, I purchased a nearly dead hibiscus from the discount section at Walmart’s garden center. I’ve never tried to grow this plant and reasoned if I could repot it in a larger container with good soil, it would survive. I liked that it had a braid of branches that twined around and kept my fingers crossed that it would survive and bloom.
            Delight flooded me when the first buds formed on one of the small limbs, and I waited impatiently for the first flowers. Eventually a bright red blossom danced in breeze, and two other buds hinted at healthy growth. My attention focused on the luster of the leaves and the number of buds forming, but I didn’t note their hints of color. The best surprise of this woven bush arrived within a few days when different, lovely blooms glowed!  
            This year, my hibiscus continues to surprise us with three different, vibrant colors. I plan on shifting it into a larger pot soon. With care, it will continue to bring brightness to my garden for years to come.

 

Copyright 2025 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman

“Could’ve, Would’ve, Should’ve

 

            We have a defunct hot tub out back that forced me over the last few months to go through a “could’ve, would’ve should’ve” routine. Calls to several removal companies for bids left me questioning spending a lot of money to remove something because a part of me then feels like I’m not gaining anything but space. The cost, too, would make a huge dint out of the funds I’d allocated for my yards and gardens. I could open up the space, but it would remain an ugly, empty space until next year.
            In a more secure financial year, I would’ve replaced the hot tub with a new model. I would’ve shopped around and indulged in something new and fancy. The decrepit hot tub would’ve been carted away as part of the purchase deal. Of course, I would’ve taken on a new debt, too, at a time when job security and economic safety seems uncertain.
            So I settled on my “should’ve” possibilities. I should view the decrepit hot tub with a different eye. Further research showed how to convert it into a raised garden, a lounge area, or even a pond. Although these ideas should fit into our budget easily, I decided to dive into the easiest option—storage! Like most people, we have items that we don’t use, but may eventually need. When we replaced our floors with tile, we had several boxes left over that shifted from the garage to being stored under an old desk covered with tarps. Various art projects left us with wood and cuts of PVC. I dove under the tarps of two old desks to reveal odds-n-ends that we don’t use frequently, but still want to keep.  
            I should’ve known that this solution—storage-- turned into a simpler task than all of the other possibilities. I cleaned the hot tub interior, hauled and organized various items into its wells, and barely tapped into the space. As I clean, clear, and shift items from the garage and various bins out back, I’ll reorganize with an eye of shifting things into the hot tub.
            I should’ve known that sometimes the most obvious solution is the best one. My ugly hot tub received a much need coat of paint and we covered it with a new tarp to keep it water tight. Instead of removing it, or replacing it, we’re embracing it.

 

Copyright 2025 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman