Painting Poetic Pictures from the Scenic Ohio Hills

By Glada Barker Jenkins

This is a collection of poetry depicting the author's interesting life experiences and observations from pre-World War II to the present times, including graphic, poetic accounts of the Pearl Harbor and 911 attacks on the US.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 6, 2009
• ISBN: 9781462835133

Glada Barker Jenkins

About the Author-Glada Barker Jenkins Born during the roaring twenties in the hills of southeastern Ohio, near the small town of Oak Hill, she was witness to the devastations of the great depression of the 1930’s, followed by the disaster at Pearl Harbor. She graduated from Oak Hill High School in 1944, and married her high school sweetheart after he returned from duty in the U.S. Navy during WWII. Two sons were born to this marriage. She and her husband purchased a farm where they built their home and a large poultry operation which they operated until 1970. She entered Rio Grande College in 1971 where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree, and became a registered Medical Technologist (ASCP). She was employed at Holzer Medical Center, Gallipolis, Ohio for twenty years until her retirement in October, 1993. She and her husband have traveled extensively in the U.S. including Hawaii and Alaska and in the foreign countries of Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas as well as in several countries in Europe. Her first few poems were written as high school assignments. After her graduation she didn’t have much time for writing until she retired. Then she found it was interesting to describe events, memories, opinions, etc. poetically rather than in prose.

Book preview

Fairies of the Fireplace

Fairies of the fireplace

Frolicking to and fro,

In the sparks above the embers

Of the glowing fire below.

But as we often find in nature

All too soon they’ll wither and die,

Leaving just a swirl of smoke

Drifting up the chimney to the sky.

Glada Barker,

Oak Hill High School

1944

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FLAME

Fire, in her flaming red coat,

Moving ever onward,

Driven by a relentless wind,

Leaving a funeral black,

Along her path of destruction.

Glada Barker

Oak Hill High School

Published in the National High

School Anthology 1944

TO THE CREW OF THE PUNCHY P

(THE USS PARKER DD 604 WORLD WAR II)

In years gone by

We sailed the seas,

From Atlantic to Pacific

On the Punchy P.

We cruised not for pleasure

But to engage our foes,

In the life or death battles

That a war bestows.

Our ship was quite sturdy

The crew quite adept,

While we faced many dangers

Our safety was kept.

Many years now have passed

Since we lived on the sea,

But we’ll never forget

How bad war can be.

Though our perils were many

Our casualties were few,

Thanks to God and the men

Of the Punchy P crew.

Written 1998 by

Glada Jenkins

June, 1999

On December 7, 1941 I was a fifteen year old high school freshman. I first heard the news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor while at my grandparents house when a news bulletin came on the radio there announcing the attack.

It was a somber moment indeed for the whole family, for we knew then that our country would be involved in the terrible war that had been raging over seas. My sister and I felt very sad to think that our male classmates would undoubtedly be drafted into service as soon as they were eighteen.

The drive back to our home that evening was solemn, indeed. My father had served in the U.S. Army in France during WWI and knew from experience how bad it could be.

I wrote the following poem after visiting Pearl Harbor three years ago with my husband He had been my high school boy friend at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. After his graduation he had served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during WWII on his ship the U.S.S. Parker. DD604.

Glada Barker Jenkins

THE DAY OF INFAMY

On the island of Oahu

Many miles across the sea,

Came a brazen sneak attack

That transformed history.

’Twas a peaceful Sunday morning

’Til that air raid was begun,

By those Japanese marauders

From the Land of the Rising Sun.

They bombed and strafed Pearl Harbor

With war planes diving from the sky,

And left the U.S. Navy reeling

Before the noon was nigh.

Exploding bombs tore ships asunder

Flames lit up the morning sky,

Nineteen ships were sunk or damaged

Many sailors were doomed to die.

At nearby Wheeler and Hickam fields

The destruction was immense,

Where they caught and clipped the wings

Of our napping air defense.

It was a blow that stunned our nation

But the fight had just begun,

With those Japanese marauders

From the Land of The Rising Sun.

On that day that lives in infamy

December 7th of ’41,

For the U.S. population

World War II had just begun.

Written by

Glada Jenkins

June 1999

THE OHHS CLASS OF