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 Aug 2017 Shang
Nat Lipstadt
~~~
a poem derived from these words of
Joel M Frye
"Poetry is a self-policing agency, enforcing nothing
~~~

The Truth Burden
is the accursed need obligatory,
the sacred sanctity requisitioned,
when the whenever,
chooses to drops in and
upflag the mailbox,
an uninvited invitation,
announcing with precise bluntness,
that precisely now,
is the tool crafted moment
and you fool,
are the selected tool

you must render unto Ceaser,
by your own hand,
render your own rendering,
do your own undoing,
go forth and in haste,
will thyself into the cauldron of the
Great Mystery of Creation

you cannot lie in poetry

-one can only validate-

you will tell the whole truth,
and nothing but,

all in good order,
to secure me to thee,
to muddle
our molecular cocktail mix,
you must,
must give only
truth in poetry,
or give
nothing

police yourself
in every aleph bet,
don't substance abuse us with deceit,
give only your unburdening,
force us to lip kiss
when
we face each other,
when
pronouncing the blessed script of
ourselves,
that we have been granted by sharing
each other's unvarnished lettres

the burden is
to un burden

cut out what needs
to be bridged from
the secret walled-in safe,
and give form, life and breath,
expose it to the atmosphere,
reform your bleak introspection
and white horseradish bitter realism,
turn blue blood veined internal
into an amberina red,
all by being
unsaved, unsavory, unsafe

you are the enforcer,
you are the police,
you are the validation
and the validator,
enforcing this sole law,
police your self,
give us

with no agent in between,

give us
nothing but,
a voice
one will recognize instantly
as the whole fats milk of
truth

oh, how I will embrace thy
one and only,
when given,
your

one and only

for do we dare disagree that is
each other's truths that
shall set us free?

•••

for we are the inhabitants,
of this wild land of
no inhibitions,
no rule of laws,
except one,

defend the essence,
protect the defenseless integrity,
promote the mystery of the
human poem
2/20/16
 Aug 2017 Shang
Nat Lipstadt
as promised, a tip for and to nolly



•<>•

“Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else.”
David Foster Wallace

•<>•

it is as if I've been stripped bare and their is no air or
barrel handy,
bankrupted by exposure of my less-than-clean ***** secret,
scrapped from under my tongue, my genuine creativity,
it is no different than yours or hers or anybody else, but

"
I need to believe," he screeches, "say it ain't so!"

time again to tally up the wins and losses,
check the standings, the numerical columns,
nope, wasn't selected to be MVP or even loved by the
algorithmic ridiculous secret sauce
"poem of the day" blah blah blah

bottom line: "You’re Pretty Normal"

comfort or consternation, exhalations of relief,
or just another nail in the shutting of
your depression coffin calculation

this no longer unspoken arrogance undressed
brings me to a quiet place,
where you are welcome to sit beside,
this puzzle together, nuzzled,
perhaps more soluble

they don't make Advil for the mind,
so read the good ones,
and be reminded of this

your published spoken courageous poetry need satisfy
only you, and no one more

in there lies the rub, the vive la difference, we identically different,
no longer a secret,
every poem is the difference you make

August 2017
in the sunroom,
Shelter Island
<•>

BONUS POEM!!!

Nolly's Haiku #17/#70

with good knowing that
distress and forethought,
are its mother and father
that this poetic output but a derivative
of your unique self,
see,
maybe, you be
maybe
just wise enough

to curse the birth of poem at age seventeen

but just wait Nolly,
till you are seven tens, and poetry's folly,
make you even more practiced in cursing,
still asking, why
and getting the sendoff, kiss off,
of the one true answer,
nobody knows
so scribble a life time when you start at 17
and when the ripe and wizened answers in your old age
have yet to arrive

then you can call yourself an accursed
wizened but wise'ed old poet
SY: who more than anyone loves my poetry, so much so, he aint afraid
to kick my **** (hope u stumble on this) and reminds me ;that
greatness is
yours for  the taking and good enough is oft, ;pretty great too
 Aug 2017 Shang
Nat Lipstadt
for Alyssa Underwood
~~~

my poems do not trend, go viral,
Fast and Furious!


yet, they do not die


they lay in plain sight pebbles scattered,
smoothed by time,
upon the surface of the
green earth waiting patient, virtuous,
purposed for itinerants bards
to trip over one
one some someday

somehow they accrete a readership,
slow stepping and steady from,
|the seekers and the stumblers,
the droplet drinkers,
meanderers of the tomes and tombs of prior years,
miners for nuggets in the poem pools that form
beneath the alluvial streaming
of the waterfall crescendo
of words

I like this

when another traveler sends me a like,
a petite amuse-bouche bite of appreciation,
for a long ago, barely recalled, writ,
allowing them to carve their initials upon the
external, visible roots of my tree trunk,
invading me, by darkening a prior tree internal ring,
forcing me to look down,
look back,
take measure of myself,
accepting myself as not wanting,
nor lacking in other's acceptance

these statements are neither  boastful or illusory,
yet still joyous, like caramel pleasures,
slow to chew, fast to the taste,

reminding me of old friendships,
well valued,
though no longer fully employed,
their uncovering is my own refreshed exposure,
their discovery is my own re-discovery,
exposing flaws and fallacies,
even fallow,
mostly shallow facts
about me

all of them,
a sundae of truths and lies, sharing a happy laugh
with and at
me,
when I think to myself,

"crap,, did I write that?"

copyright 2015 by Nat Lipstadt
all true.
sometimes I type in the search mode a word unusual, offbeat,
of my own choosing,
and let it lead me to the older nuggets of others,
familiar and unfamiliar,
from under the trees of their forest...

Oct. 7, 2015
4:21am
Manhattan Island
 Aug 2017 Shang
beautiful tragedy
Have you ever had your first kiss? He asked
No I haven't I replied proudly
he was shocked, actually everyone else was too
what !?! look at you, your hot
and he looks at me up and down
I felt naked and I got upset
because people look at me for my looks only
but dont take the time to know who I am
Did you ever had ***?
Nope, I'm actually waiting to marriage
I know I know
your probably wondering
"oh you say that now, your mind is going to change when you get older"
things change
but not my belief
I am going to wait
and I am going to do it and prove people wrong
Do you smoke or drink?
No, I honestly hate the idea of it
I know you cant hate what you never tried
but I do and I dont plan on doing that ever
and I am serious
Your probably wondering
aw this girl is no fun
I dont need to do all those things to be
"fun"
I am just a 16 years old girl
lost in her own thoughts
people say boys "chase me"
but for what reason
only for my face and to get in my pants
I just want to be alone
they dont realize how difficult I can be
I'm different from everyone else
get to know me, you will be scared
Dont let my looks fool you
just because I look beautiful
doesnt mean its beautiful inside
I'm not a bad person
but I am slowly dying
and I dont think anyone wants to see that
just because I dont want to be like everyone else
doesn't mean you need to get at me
I love to be different
if I have to walk alone on this earth
I will
I am proud to say
I am a 16 years old girl
focusing on my future
and is still a ******
never had my first kiss
and hates smoking and drinking
I love that I am like that
Just to let you know theirs nothing wrong with anyone that does any of those things. I'm jiust writing on what I believe and what I get tormented for
 Aug 2017 Shang
James M Vines
You give me distant gazes as though you are looking through me. When I talk in a certain way you don't laugh like you used to. Our special moments seem like we are going through the motions. Just as the seasons change so have you changed to me. More and more you find ways to not see me and when you do it is as if you are not there. I must accept that your heart is gone but your body is still here, so I will have to learn to just let you go.
 Aug 2017 Shang
EJ Aghassi
drivel
 Aug 2017 Shang
EJ Aghassi
‪consciousness ‬
‪the chemical reaction ‬

‪the growing of trees ‬
‪and the silent cascade‬

‪of hardened browned‬
‪leaves, dropped to their knees
and it never makes any more sense
 Aug 2017 Shang
Pea
in your veins
 Aug 2017 Shang
Pea
when you wake up in the morning
and the sun doesn't shine,
you'll find it in your arms,
seeping in your veins
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