American Heritage Poetry Collection
()
About this ebook
LTC Roy E. Peterson
LTC Roy E. Peterson authored three books of poetry “Beyond Darkness and Light” (2011), “Guardian Angel” (2012), and “American Heartland Poetry, Wit, and Wisdom”. In recent years he authored six more books of fiction, nonfiction, relationships, and juvenile literature. LTC Peterson was born and raised in South Dakota, the American Heartland, and then moved with his family to Texas at the age of thirteen. His writings bear testimony to his diverse experiences both in growing to manhood and then becoming a Military Intelligence Officer and analyzing Soviet/Russian military and foreign policy. A graduate of Hardin-Simmons University (BA degree) in Abilene, Texas, LTC Peterson holds three Masters degrees in Business (University of Phoenix), International Relations (University of Southern California) and Political Science (University of Arizona). His first poem was published while at Hardin-Simmons University. LTC Peterson served in the Army as Commander, Portal Monitoring, of Soviet missiles under the INF Treaty for the On-Site Inspection Agency, Military Intelligence and Security Advisor to the Army Staff in the Pentagon, Commander of a Military Intelligence Company in Germany for the 66th MI Group, and Assistant Army Attaché in Moscow. Roy Peterson was selected by the US Department of Commerce as the First Foreign Commercial Officer in the Russian Far East at the newly opened US Consulate in Vladivostok, Russia and as a Visa Issuing Officer for the US Department of State. IBM offered and he accepted a position as the first IBM Regional Manager in the Russian Far East, a territory the size of the continental United States. More recently, Roy Peterson taught Elites in Government, American History Since 1945, Marketing, and Global Management for the University of Phoenix in San Diego and Southern California. He opened an international trade business and sold product to foreign countries.
Read more from Ltc Roy E. Peterson
American Heartland Poetry, Wit, and Wisdom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGuardian Angel: All My Tomorrows, Poetic Passions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFight of the Phoenix: Order of the Delta Dragon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to American Heritage Poetry Collection
Related ebooks
The Secret Path of Destiny Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican Poet, American Patriot, Wake up America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdsit’S Poetry Anthology, Volume I: Thoughts and Inspiration Afield Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Rhyming Poetry Scroll Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCollected Poems Richard Greene Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Poet, The Soldier and the Freemason Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBorn in the USA - Exploring American Poems. The New England Poets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Evolution of a Love Story: 1975–1976, Volume 3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSomewhere We'll Leave the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEverywhere Home: A Life in Essays Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAcrostics Poetry & Creative Writing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSomething Borrowed, Something Blue: Poetry, Essays, Art Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOld and New Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two Hearts Dancing: A Spiritual Journeybook for Gay Men: The Companion Volume to Two Flutes Playing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTime and Fevers: New and Selected Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCenzontle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Song of My Soul: Poems by an American Man of Color to Commemorate the 2019 Harlem Renaissance Centennial Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReflections in Time: Journey Continues Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNever Catch Me Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wishful Thinking Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPeter's Poems: Poetry from a Christian Gp Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRail Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5San Diego Poetry Annual 2010-11: The Best Poems from Every Corner of the Region Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlue Be the Night Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sound: New & Selected Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe First Day: Albert Camus Meets Crazy Horse in the Kingdom: A Metaphysical Drama in Seven Acts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhere the Mesquite Tree Grows: Growing up Along the Rio Grande – an Anthology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSon of the Queen Cities: A Black Banker’S Civil Rights Era Memoir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDarkness Sticks to Everything: Collected and New Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Onyx Rose: A Collection of Poetry and Prose Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Poetry For You
The Things We Don't Talk About Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pillow Thoughts II: Healing the Heart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daily Stoic: A Daily Journal On Meditation, Stoicism, Wisdom and Philosophy to Improve Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Prophet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Better Be Lightning Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inward Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love Her Wild: Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Odyssey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Way Forward Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond Thoughts: An Exploration Of Who We Are Beyond Our Minds Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bedtime Stories for Grown-ups Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selected Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Poems of John Keats (with an Introduction by Robert Bridges) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Waste Land and Other Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dante's Inferno: The Divine Comedy, Book One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leaves of Grass: 1855 Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Enough Rope: Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tao Te Ching: A New English Version Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dream Work Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edgar Allan Poe: The Complete Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Iliad: The Fitzgerald Translation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dante's Divine Comedy: Inferno Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Odyssey: (The Stephen Mitchell Translation) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twenty love poems and a song of despair Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Letters to a Young Poet (Rediscovered Books): With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad of Homer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for American Heritage Poetry Collection
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
American Heritage Poetry Collection - LTC Roy E. Peterson
AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: 1-800-839-8640
© 2013 by LTC Roy E. Peterson. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
Published by AuthorHouse 12/12/2012
ISBN: 978-1-4772-9728-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4772-9726-1 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4772-9727-8 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012923279
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION
FOREWORD
PART I MY COUNTRY
Awake Young Eagles
Fight For Right
May Old Glory Always Wave
Rend The Night
Fight Of The Phoenix
PART II MY SOCIETY
Coal Eyes
I Watched A Country Lose Her Soul
Our Selfishness
Bank Robbers Robbed Us Again
Beware The Ivy Bound Towers
Twinkies Forever
PART III MY HERITAGE
American Heartland
Farmer Of The Forties
South Dakota Boy
Lilacs And Roses
Battle Of Bonesteel
PART IV MY NATURE OBSERVATIONS
Night Storm
New Birth
A Brook’s Way
The Sea
Paradise Found
Little Trick Of Laughing
The World’s With You
Pane Of Another Day
Clear Image
The Best Comes Last
Take A Step
Contrast
A Day Of Grace
One Spring Day
PART V MY FAMILY
Tribute To Dad
Elegy For Mom
Grandfather Of The Middle Prairie
PART VI MY MUSIC
Blackberry Picking Morning, Minnesota Kind-Of-A-Day
Tucson Sunday Morning
All My Tomorrows: Wedding Song
Lost Miner
I May Never Pass This Way Again
I’ll Meet You Tomorrow
Becky Was A Twirler
Last Date (Tune Of Last Date)
Pretty Little Texas Girls (Music)
PART VII MY HISTORY AND LEGENDS
The Legend Of Texas Trooper Sammy Long
The Trapeze Artist Who Never Left
How Maximilian Lost His Treasure
Billy Sol And The Fertilizer Tanks
My Texas Hometown Confessions
Million Barrel Oil Tank
PART VIII MY LOVE POEMS
Finding Your Love
Wishing
Cup Of Love
Precious Promises: Now We’re Engaged
Love In The Afterglow
Life And Death Of Jeannie
PART IX MY HUMOR
How To Hit Upon A Girl
Love My Soda In A Bottle
Southern Rebel
I Shot An Arrow
Ode To Toilet Paper
Don’t You Think It Is A Crime When A Poem Doesn’t Rhyme
Fractured Birthday Greetings
When All Else Fails
How I Got Divorced
You Warped Me
Facebook Follies
King David
Fill My Facebook
Publicus
Disappearing Ink
PART X MY HOLIDAYS
A Furtive Valentine
Impish Irish And St Patrick’s Day
Memorial Day 1955
Fall Fantasy
Halloween Trick
Halloween 2012
Thanksgiving 2012
First Of December
Christmas Letter 2009
If There Were No Christmas
I’ll Never Forget The Christmas
Christmas Letter 2012
New Years Eve
PART XI MY MYSTICAL MOMENTS
I Believe In Angels
I Am Your Guardian Angel
Counter Invictus?
Though Worlds May Die And Silent Be
Someone Who Wasn’t There
Poe Would Approve
In The Dark Of The Night
My Soul To Take
Phantom Girl In My Dreams
What Sweet Madness
There Is A Secret Garden
Heavenly Body
Ghosts Of Old Mhs
PART XII MY MEMORIES
I Am The Keeper Of Memories
If I Could Go Back In Time
I’m Yesterdays Fool
A Birthday Wish To A Friend
My Heart Was Foolish Once Again
PART XIII MY THOUGHTS
Decisions, Decisions
Avoiding The Abyss
Explaining The Unexplainable
Facebook Fears
I’m Sorry I’m Not Perfect
Baggage
Roses And Dirt Bags
The Poet And The Painter: Introspection
On Greatness
Some Things Drive Me Crazy
Crusader
Boats And I Do Not Agree
My Promise
My Prayer
Advice From Marine Colonels
Looking For Your Sanity
Vampires Of New England
Velvet Hammer
Doggerel Days
Me, My Boss, And Corresponding Lady Friend
Patience Is A Virtue
Treasures In Heaven
Ode To The Narcissist
Love At Lost Lake
The Ice Cream Truck
My Litter Box
Dickens On The Strand
PART XIV ANIMAL CRACKERS
If I Were An Animal, Which One Would I Be?
Badger, Badger
My Neighbor’s Dog
Seattle Slew
Bees
You At The Zoo
Animal Crackers
If I Ran The Rodeo
My Perfect Pet
Books Authored by LTC Roy E. Peterson
Albert: The Cat That Thought He Could Fly (Juvenile)
American Attache in the Moscow Maelstrom (Cold War History)
American Heartland Poet (Poetry)
Between Darkness and Light (Poetry)
Fight of the Phoenix (Vietnam War History)
Guardian Angel: All My Tomorrows (Poetry)
Iron Ikon (Historical Fiction about US Foreign Commercial
Officer Service/Diplomat/Foreign Service)
Magnetism to Marriage (PreMarriage Relationships)
Russian Romance (Historical Fiction about IBM Penetration of
the Russian Far East)
Soviet Intelligence Process (Out of Print)
Books Planned by LTC Roy E. Peterson
American Agenda: Regeneration Blueprint (Politics)
Maturity: Mind Over Matter (Relationships)
Intelligence: Collection, Collation, and Communication
(Government)
Order of the Delta Dragon (Historical Fiction)
Power of the Pentagon (History)
Precious Promises: Engagement Means Commitment
(Relationships)
Victorville Visions: Development, Disappointment, and Drama
(Historical Business Fiction)
DEDICATION
American Heritage Poetry Collection
LTC Roy E. Peterson, January 2013
American Heritage Poetry Collection is dedicated:
To inventors and achievers,
To aspirers and believers,
To writers and their readers,
To the honest and good deeders.
To industrial manufacturers,
To entrepreneurs and lecturers,
To the nurses and to preachers.
To our parents and to teachers.
To the patriots and good soldiers,
To the life and character molders,
To the men who move the boulders,
To the younger and the older.
To the farmer and the fireman,
To the cleaners with the dustpan,
To the family and the clansman,
To the cook stirring in her saucepan.
Roy Peterson
Tucson, Arizona
January 2013
FOREWORD
The American Heritage Poetry Collection
This collection of poetry is as diverse as America and as thought provoking as the passionate people inhabiting its expansive borders. In the confines of this tome are combined fifty years of poetry, running from 1962 to 2012. I provided the dates of first writing on the majority of the poems and they incorporate the decades and gaps in writing in the later decades until personal rediscovery of the early years of love, romance, nature, and social critique matched by more recent reflections on past life and the approaching departure from my earthly home.
As most poets do, I found the need for a collected works edition. I used virtually every poem that I deemed worthy of inclusion in my life works volume from three volumes of poetry:
Between Darkness and Light: Coal Eyes and Fight for Right, is a focused collection of early works that were the basis for songs, readings, and personal presentations to friends and relatives.
Guardian Angel was my resurrection of poetic passion as I wrote a song for my son’s wedding; historical figures and events of my second home, which was in the oilfields of West Texas; and introspective, reflective, and humorous poems sculpted in 2011 and early 2012.
American Heartland is being published at approximately the same time as this comprehensive American Heritage collection. Many of these poems were written with greater intensity after ruminating through the classics that I loved.
All three volumes are worthy of purchase not just for the poetry, but for the extensive and often humorous lists, witty sayings and proverbs with twists, and wisdom that is exuded throughout the volumes.
I may never return to preparing a full volume of poetry and anticipate being content to let this stand as my seminal work in the field.
PART I
MY COUNTRY
img1.jpgBy Dawn’s Early Light Painting by Edward Moran
AWAKE YOUNG EAGLES
By Roy E. Peterson (1976)
Awake young eagles! Rise and spread
Your wings of glory overhead.
Descend from mountain crevices,
And lend to us your services.
Tell your fathers strong and proud
That freedom cast aside its shroud
To join us on this foreign strand,
Where it was safe from monarch’s hand.
From every craggy mountain top
Young eagles rise and naught can stop
Your daring exploits for the cause
Of Freedom’s plea to form new laws.
Let’s set for every man the right
Of trial by jury, not by might.
Let’s build freedom’s sacred house,
And give democracy a spouse.
A new breed will come to plow the land,
Cut down the wilderness by hand.
A strong and great and mighty man
Will be one called American.
FIGHT FOR RIGHT
By Roy E. Peterson (1965)
A great war now is facing us
Between the minds of men.
On every side are battle lines
Drawn by our so-called friends.
When we face the enemy
Will we be strong and true,
Or will we fall before them all
As they come rushing through.
To arms,
the bugle’s sounded clear.
It’s time to fight again,"
But now it’s on a different scale,
It’s for the minds of men.
Each night as I lie thinking
An angel comes to me
And says, "Go fight for what is right,
Be strong for liberty."
A golden crested eagle
Stares at me without fear
And says, God’s might is all that’s right,
Your calling’s very clear.
I scooped my helmet quickly up,
And bade my love goodbye.
I said, I’m going to fight for what is right.
For freedom I may die."
It takes a man to give his life.
It takes a mighty man
To say, "I have to fight for what is right.
I’ll serve as best I can."
And when this great