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My one regret is the bloodline I derived from
I’m not a pedigree or a monkey’s uncle
My father is a penniless swami
My mother is a peace creep
We live up the river,
near a civil war battle ground
When there is a downwind,
the water has a polluted, toxic smell
A few years ago, I needed a pair of glasses
Never received them,
No insurance, no money!
My mother ***** slapped me a few times,
thinking that would help straighten my eyes out
Now I have short eyes!
****, she’s dumb.
My brother, who is three years younger,
Is a laughing child
Anything someone says, or does, he laughs
Through the years he was whipped, punched, beaten and dragged in the mud by a horse
he’d still get up and laugh
One bizarre thing he still does is hover on the side of the outhouse
He enjoys listening to someone **** or ****
I call him the bathroom slunk
Growing up over here is rough
We have a dead car,
that sits on bricks waiting for a set of tires,
and an engine
The trailer we live in,
is a ramshackle nightmare
Lots of junk and brick-a-brac’s,
decorate this two room trailer
We do breed chickens
Were all chicken lovers
Chicken for lunch, dinner, as a pet and for target practice
Easter Sunday is around the corner
We don’t attend church or get all dressed up
Our Uncle who lives down the river,
Takes his small, dilapidated boat and docks near our place
We call him the pirate, since he has a wooden leg,
and always wears a black eye patch
He’ll bring nothing but himself for our Easter dinner
Overall, I’m a pretty happy kid
In a better world I would just like to have something besides chicken for dinner.
till the ****** of love
she sang

till the drapes
in tatters, wail
they shiver
threads,
to ribbons
as tears
frail in spring breeze
stiff
bony breath of winter
chills the soul
readies me for the wound

she could dance
belly and all
entrance my naked heart, my dizzy doldrums
how all I'd wanted
was her
in the midst
of my forest

mistake my love
for the stars
she did
for the myriad
she tossed her well
into my coin
and I drank her in
leagues deep
with one penny
for her mind
read her life
saw her perfection stem
in my interest
coffers full
no rust, pon my copper touch,
dividends of time, we had
and yet
by the hour, struck every eve,
the penny wast all I had
for, spat back, my penny went

a man can love a woman
but should his penny be worth her life
her love, her heavens, her crown,
men,
with wallets heavy as banks
will buy her drunk
ego, pride, unmerciful
to the brim
with lust
save one's penny, she'd be rich

though poor all her days, without you...
Who knew soul mates could be so cruel... and uninterested in love.
Zywa Apr 18
The rich people feed

each other, so the hungry --


have to do the same.
Bertolt Brecht, quoted in the poem "Die hiefel en die fiefel" ("Ole and Axel", 2006, Antjie Krog)

Collection "Wean Di"
Manx Pragna Apr 17
You couldn't tell if I was crazy
If you were even any sane!
And you're not.
You couldn't tell if I was sane
If you weren't any crazier!
But you are!

Does it hurt your head to think?
Why, let it stop!
Does it hurt your chest to breathe?
Why, just quit it!

Soemone else can do that for you,
You can just take the credit!
For if the heart should ache
You're better off without it!

But serious-
The cloud tells the rain
What is & is not water.
Do the falling droplets care?
"What are these foreign definitions?"

The destination is the same,
Their own priorities remain,
And perspective is unchanged.

These strange properties,
Words themselves as elements
When strung together by sentence.
Is repentance within a reflection?
Redemption by sight through a drop of liquid?

What grippings within these pensions,
What potential within these tensions,
What whippings within these conventions.

By the accounts of every party attended,
What stern material has been cobbled.
Yet, poverty is worn stronger.
That which itself is as the weather,
I think it closer to trinkles
Than shine & twinkle.

What do the poor pour?
What do the bums toast?
What do the homeless shower?

A buddy of mine
Left really only notes.
Another was a rotten cheater.
I knew one that liked to play with guys,
Knew one that liked masks & needles.
Comes what? What goes? Who knows.

It can't be worse than before,
But that's not something you remember.
Of course, I mean, not someone you know.
Izan Almira Apr 13
There was a black man on the street, asking for a handout.
The glass between his hands was empty
as he begged the people that passed by
who, ashamed, looked down and walked away.

They glanced at the black man,
and they saw a blade under his worn-out coat;
a man who wasted his money on ****, ***** and drugs;
someone who didn’t want to study.

What I saw was a desolate man.
Someone who had tried to live, but hadn’t been allowed to.
Someone who wasted his spare money on food to feed the
kids he had had because he couldn’t afford protection.
Someone who invested the little that remained
on Spanish lessons so he could thank the few people
who looked at him like he was human, real;
thank them for the five cents they gave him.
I saw a man who wanted to get off the street.

A sweet and desperate man.
A man that was born on the wrong side of the tracks.

A hard-working man.
I spared some change for him,
and he held my hand
(Gracias)
His touch was rough after working;0
rough after building the foundations
of the buildings where people
who looked down when he begged
lived in.

Don’t blame him when they tear down.
Pauvre peuple de nos pays
Pauvre peuple de chez nous
Pauvre peuple de partout
Pauvre peuple d’Haïti
Un peuple qui est pauvre, désorienté et fou
Je ne dirai plus 'pauvre Haïti'
Haïti est un pays plein de richesse
Haïti, un pays plein de ressources
Pour les autres
Haïti est un paradis et de bonnes sources
Pour les autres
Haïti est un pays plein d’hypocrisie
De peuples miséreux, misérables et de peines
Haïti est un lieu plein de traîtres et de haine
Haïti, Haïti ! Quelle ignominie !
Où ses dirigeants sont incompétents, mauvais et fous
Les jeunes d’Haïti n’ont pas de chance
A cause de ces faux leaders, et des laideurs avares sans sens
Quelle honte pour un peuple qui souvent a tant souffert
Les cimetières sont partout ainsi que les calvaires
Il y a tant de misère parce que les malandrins, les filous
Les hypocrites, les bandits, les fous et les crapules sont partout
C’est le pays où tant d’innocents meurent par les balles, par le fer
Par la haine, par l’hypocrisie, par la vengeance et par la misère
Quel saint doit-on invoquer pour ce peuple sans espoir
Pour nos frères et sœurs sans avenir qui meurent de désespoir ?
Quel Dieu sourd et saoulé doit-on prier pour sauver ces chrétiens
Qui lamentent, qui pleurent, qui crient et qui aboient comme des chiens ?
Quel mot doit-on utiliser pour muscler, dynamiser ce peuple affaibli
Et l’état qui existe malheureusement pour punir les victimes appauvris ?
Pauvre peuple de nos pays
Pauvre peuple de chez nous
Pauvre peuple de partout
Pauvre peuple d’Haïti
Pauvre peuple des États Unis.

P.S. Traduction de’ Poor People Of Our Countries’.

Copyright © Avril 2025, Hébert Logerie, Tous droits réservés
Hébert Logerie est l'auteur de plusieurs recueils de poésie.
Poor people of our countries
Poor people everywhere
Poor people of Haiti
People who are poor, disoriented, and crazy
I will no longer say ‘poor Haiti’
Haiti is a country full of wealth
Haiti, a country full of resources
For others
Haiti is a paradise and rich in resources
For others
Haiti is a country full of hypocrisy
Of destitute, miserable and suffering peoples
Haiti is a place full of hatred and backstabbers
Haiti, Haiti! What a disgrace! Where its leaders are dumb, evil, and crazy
Haitian youth and young people are very unlucky
Because the false and fake leaders are greedy, ugly and senseless
What a shame for a people who have often suffered so much
The Cemeteries are everywhere, so are the Churches and the Calvaries
There is so much misery there because the thieves, the crooks
Hypocrites, henchmen, bandits, madmen, and scoundrels are everywhere
This is the country where too many innocent people die by bullets, by iron
By hatred, by hypocrisy, by revenge, by ignorance and by poverty
Which saint should we invoke for these hopeless people
For our brothers and sisters without a future who are dying of despair?
What deaf and drunken God should we pray to save the followers of Christ
Who lament, who weep, who scream, and who bark like dogs?
What word should we use to strengthen and energize these weakened people
And the state which unfortunately exists to punish the impoverished victims?
Poor people here where we are
Poor people of our countries
Poor people everywhere
Poor people of Haiti
Poor people of these United States.

P.S. Translation of ‘ Pauvre Peuple De Chez Nous, De Nos Pays’.

Copyright © April 2025, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poetry.
Zywa Mar 23
There's nothing to eat in the kitchen
of Charles Frank Watchman
born here in this town

and deceased last winter
We polish the worktop
made from his gravestone

There is not a scratch on it
The coffin in which he lay
have we traded for

nothing, bacon and beans
Times are changing
but inequality is not

no matter how many marches
we walk to the Great Golden
White, Pink, or Blue House
La Casona (Great House) in Caracas, Domus Aurea (Golden House) of Emperor Nero in Rome, White House in Washington DC, Bely Dom (White House) in Moscow and Bishkek, Casa Rosada (Pink House) in Buenos Aires, Cheong Wa Dae (Pavilion of Blue Tiles) in Seoul, and Plavi Dvorac (Blue Palace) in Cetinje

"Mijn zwagers in Venezuela bleken kilo's afgevallen" ("My brothers-in-law in Venezuela turned out to have lost kilos", September 5th, 2016, Koen Greven in NRC)

Collection "On living on [2]"
I feel like society stupider with each year that passes by
In an ocean of tears "cancel culture" has bred to cry
Going deeper and deeper into debt
A diving submarine
Deeper than bottom of world's largest explored ravine
No oxygen to saturate lungs because we keep cutting down forests
Is it just me or does it seem like to Earth the human race is nothing but tourists?
Just the smoke of warfare lingering once the end is reached
Solution that will save our planet is one we choose not to teach
I feel it is too late to make this sinking ship float
No light at end of tunnel
No safety net
No lifeboat
I don't believe in God above so there is nothing to rescue me now
Just shallows which are strewn with sharp rocks anyhow
Where the price of living increases quality of life plummets fast
Predators prowl
Disguised politicians controlling crowds amassed
Nights filled with sounds of crying infants and gunfire
Cats and dogs euthanized in shelters
Number growing ever higher
The majority of generation too busy clubbing to care
How come only a couple of us are aware?
Treating less fortunate like carpets on the floor
Unless happening to them issues are easier to ignore
Miniscule portion of millennials are willing to ***** their expensive boots
Rather dance to mindless beats
(That is until someone short-circuits and shoots)
That's what it necessitates for them to focus on what matters
Oblivious up to the instant their sensory defenses shatter
Then victims share their harrowing account
False sense of security revealed
They tally up the body count
Experiences that in past would change character for the greater
Now shrugged off with a wave
(As long as there's a compensator)
And the judicial system mostly for show
Judges and prosecutors more corrupt than population could know
I'm searching for tangible proof this is truly the "land-of-the-free"
If I establish this message until echoed will I have weapons pointed at me?
Our government abandoned us
Requests are seldom heard
Self-protecting entities whose morals are all blurred
The people stumble through mud looking for a light
Darkness used to divide us pretending there's only black-and-white
It's one extreme or other
Exists no in-between
Stuck inside the matrix distracted by a slow-motion routine
Cycle repeated historically at such length it's difficult to recognize
This facade is choreographed right in front of our very eyes
Meandering as if we are born lost sheep
Badly deficient of guidance
***** we're climbing too steep
We require a little push in the right direction
Declaring difference between patrol and protection
Each of us is so immersed in the pursuit of our own bliss
Don't realize in the process of grabbing we also fall into the abyss
And pull others with us so at least there's company there
When you're alone failure is much harder to bear
Reality is a ticking bomb nobody wants to face
If we don't figure out an answer eventually mankind will be erased
For things to become better we ALL must take a stand
Stop acting selfishly instead lend those suffering a hand
Some musings about the state of this country I am stuck in
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