Poetic License: Then and Now
Pelicans Are Uneasy
(Telecast on Fox News, March 15, 2007)
Pelicans are uneasy, the gulls grim,
Umbilical drawbridge will be severed soon,
On Sanibel Causeway the cause is dim.
A fixed bridge rising high from rim to rim
Ready to block full view of the moon,
Pelicans are uneasy, the gulls grim.
No grates to raise, no warning bell to ring,
Cruise ships and tankers under each pontoon,
On Sanibel Causeway the cause is dim.
No orange sunset on San Carlos brim
While eighteen wheelers thunder out of tune,
Pelicans are uneasy, the gulls grim.
Day-trippers wait for the tolls to trim,
City and county each other impugn,
On Sanibel Causeway the cause is dim.
Pile drivers pound and gone is the dream
Of gated island from mainland immune.
Pelicans are uneasy, the gulls grim,
On Periwinkle Way the cause is dim.
Pelicans Glide Easier
Pelicans glide easier, gulls are gay,
New causeway curves like “bird in flight”-
The sun shines bright on Periwinkle Way.
The fixed bridge rises in splendid array,
View from the top a breathtaking sight.
Pelicans glide easier, gulls are gay.
Six dollars no longer too much to pay,
Day-trippers pour in like Budweiser Lite,
Store windows light up on Periwinkle Way.
No semi- truck slowdown or drawbridge delay,
Traffic continuous from morn to night,
Pelicans glide easier, gulls are gay.
No cruise ships or tankers to block the bay,
No tall mast showboats to make us all wait,
No drivers uptight on Periwinkle Way.
From sunrise to sunset of luminous day,
The view from new bridge a tourist delight –
Pelicans glide easier, gulls are gay.
Everything’s now right on Periwinkle Way