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"detroit" poems
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0
Jan 12, 2015
Jan 12, 2015 at 10:53 AM UTC
*Watch* the match Detroit vs Toronto live HD TV
Black girl can’t twerk. Black girl can’t handle hair grease. Black girl is half white girl is Grey girl is White girl on 8 mile is Black girl in cop cars is Not black enough is Basking under the “Yes, there are black people in Portland” sign. Black girl’s dad left so white girl sits at Mormon thanksgiving. Black girl says “wus good” to wake up and work with within “welcome to Starbucks what can we get started for you today?” White boy says “you a real ***** Black girl turns around and says “I already know.” You’ve told me my whole life, You’ve never let me forget it. Black girl ties my hair scarf at night. White girl does not fear the rain in the morning. Other white girl tells me she’s “only ******* black girls after me.” I. white girl answer back “umm that makes me uncomfortable.” Grey girl has the Beatles tattooed on her left arm, Stevie wonder in progress on her right. Black girl was not adopted from white Momma, grew from her womb, still carried out misunderstanding. Black girl wonders why white girl stays silent so often. Black girl is screaming at herself in the mirror too scared to scream for Jason Washington even too scared to scream for Trayvon too scared to scream for anything. We forgot “why are you always stopping me” but remember “I can’t breathe”. Only black boys last words are worth remembering. Black girl hides behind white girl’s voice in retail and traffic stops and phone calls. Grey girl, Waiting for the phone call. The Dad’s in jail brother is dead phone call The How dare you let them take credit for you phone call. When I moved away I was a success story. I was black magic Detroit dame not dangerous city girl in the good way. With the good hair. With the way in which black girl works three times as hard but I, white girl, still presents her work.
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Jan 6, 2019
Jan 6, 2019 at 7:11 PM UTC
Grey Girl
Black girl can’t twerk. Black girl can’t handle hair grease. Black girl is half white girl is Grey girl is White girl on 8 mile is Black girl in cop cars is Not black enough is Basking under the “Yes, there are black people in Portland” sign. Black girl’s dad left so white girl sits at Mormon thanksgiving. Black girl says “wus good” to wake up and work with within “welcome to Starbucks what can we get started for you today?” White boy says “you a real ***** Black girl turns around and says “I already know.” You’ve told me my whole life, You’ve never let me forget it. Black girl ties my hair scarf at night. White girl does not fear the rain in the morning. Other white girl tells me she’s “only ******* black girls after me.” I. white girl answer back “umm that makes me uncomfortable.” Grey girl has the Beatles tattooed on her left arm, Stevie wonder in progress on her right. Black girl was not adopted from white Momma, grew from her womb, still carried out misunderstanding. Black girl wonders why white girl stays silent so often. Black girl is screaming at herself in the mirror too scared to scream for Jason Washington even too scared to scream for Trayvon too scared to scream for anything. We forgot “why are you always stopping me” but remember “I can’t breathe”. Only black boys last words are worth remembering. Black girl hides behind white girl’s voice in retail and traffic stops and phone calls. Grey girl, Waiting for the phone call. The Dad’s in jail brother is dead phone call The How dare you let them take credit for you phone call. When I moved away I was a success story. I was black magic Detroit dame not dangerous city girl in the good way. With the good hair. With the way in which black girl works three times as hard but I, white girl, still presents her work.
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72
# I visited the heavens today all gods were absent looked out the window we were in the clouds landed in Detroit on a dreary day why would it be any different? this skeletal remain of a city at least the bartender was great but now I’m drunk wandering around Detroit hope I wake up in my hotel #
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Sep 24, 2018
Sep 24, 2018 at 11:17 PM UTC
Detroit
-------x----------x----------x----------x-------- Just a small piece enjoy ★ ---------- *And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit Or the windswept plains of Nebraska They look up at the same night sky They fill their heart with the same dreams And they are infused with the breath of life By the same almighty creator! --A poem by President Donald Trump*   -----x----------x----------x-----------x------- **Extremely beautiful, President Trump thank you for this** ♡
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Jan 29, 2017
Jan 29, 2017 at 5:03 PM UTC
President Trump's Inaugural Address
I took a walk today and listened to the birds choking on the smog, broke my mother's back with every step and outran a stray dog. I picked you a bouquet of dandelions from the field because flowers can't grow when the sun's always concealed. I put them in a vase and filled it with water from the tap they died within an hour, now I know for sure you won't come back. I always swore I'd never own a broken home but it's hard not to when the only one's who stay are the garden gnomes — but someone's been smashing them in the middle of the night, or maybe they're blowing out their brains to escape my company and the blight. There's no magic left in this city, so chronically gray storms are always passing though and the rainbows are too scared to stay... I wanted to run away with you from the hood and past the burbs to somewhere where the air is clean and filled with singing birds. But instead I'm stuck here on this couch, microwaving Ramen while I search for words.
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Jan 21, 2015
Jan 21, 2015 at 2:00 PM UTC
Rhyme for Detroit
while i do love the taste of unhealthy t.v. dinners for every meal and i do enjoy the slobbery salisbury steaks, extra salty ramen noodles and those little tuna cans, it's great to come home after a long emotional roller coaster week and have abuela cook up some arroz con garbanzos and unas buenas chuletas, get the latest family gossip, comments on how el gobernador is being the biggest pendejo in power at the moment, watch the news, see how many were killed this week, and just shake our heads as the island crumbles into Detroit like madness (at least we've got great beaches), ah but yes, abuela's cooking, what i need to forget the girl with the pretty hair.
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Mar 1, 2014
Mar 1, 2014 at 2:28 PM UTC
Abuela's cooking
there are invisible children hidden behind miles of above ground swimming pools and wooden swing sets. they've seen life sized doll parts scattered across their front lawns and were taught how to take their first steps as though they were being sent off to war; knees straight. head tall. don't flinch at the sight of blood. a few weeks ago i turned on the local news, the upcoming story took place in the west side of Detroit. a photo of a young, colored girl wearing butterfly shaped barrettes in her hair comes up, the headline at the bottom of the screen reads, 3-YEAR OLD SHOT IN FRONT YARD the news reporter talks about the situation as though she's being forced to discuss the weather in the middle of a heatwave; it's the same. **** thing. every. day. i'll tell you what no one pictures when they hear about another ****** in the same city that might as well *start building their front doors like cemetery gates.* picture the mother trying to sell a cradle so she has the money to buy a 3-foot long casket. picture her walking into her daughter's room to tuck her into bed & remembering that she's got nothing left but empty hands. dear america, tell me why some of us were born with targets sewn into our backs, tell me if it disturbs you at all that there are children who want to chip off their skin, that want to be painted a new color because they want to see if the light will hit them in a different way, & make them less invisible.
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Apr 10, 2015
Apr 10, 2015 at 8:52 PM UTC
dear america,
BOX cars run by a mile long. And I wonder what they say to each other When they stop a mile long on a sidetrack. Maybe their chatter goes: I came from Fargo with a load of wheat up to the danger line. I came from Omaha with a load of shorthorns and they splintered my boards. I came from Detroit heavy with a load of flivvers. I carried apples from the Hood river last year and this year bunches of bananas from Florida; they look for me with watermelons from Mississippi next year. Hammers and shovels of work gangs sleep in shop corners when the dark stars come on the sky and the night watchmen walk and look. Then the hammer heads talk to the handles, then the scoops of the shovels talk, how the day's work nicked and trimmed them, how they swung and lifted all day, how the hands of the work gangs smelled of hope. In the night of the dark stars when the curve of the sky is a work gang handle, in the night on the mile long sidetracks, in the night where the hammers and shovels sleep in corners, the night watchmen stuff their pipes with dreams- and sometimes they doze and don't care for nothin', and sometimes they search their heads for meanings, stories, stars. The stuff of it runs like this: A long way we come; a long way to go; long rests and long deep sniffs for our lungs on the way. Sleep is a belonging of all; even if all songs are old songs and the singing heart is snuffed out like a switchman's lantern with the oil gone, even if we forget our names and houses in the finish, the secret of sleep is left us, sleep belongs to all, sleep is the first and last and best of all. People singing; people with song mouths connecting with song hearts; people who must sing or die; people whose song hearts break if there is no song mouth; these are my people.
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3.6k
Work Gangs
BOX cars run by a mile long. And I wonder what they say to each other When they stop a mile long on a sidetrack. Maybe their chatter goes: I came from Fargo with a load of wheat up to the danger line. I came from Omaha with a load of shorthorns and they splintered my boards. I came from Detroit heavy with a load of flivvers. I carried apples from the Hood river last year and this year bunches of bananas from Florida; they look for me with watermelons from Mississippi next year. Hammers and shovels of work gangs sleep in shop corners when the dark stars come on the sky and the night watchmen walk and look. Then the hammer heads talk to the handles, then the scoops of the shovels talk, how the day's work nicked and trimmed them, how they swung and lifted all day, how the hands of the work gangs smelled of hope. In the night of the dark stars when the curve of the sky is a work gang handle, in the night on the mile long sidetracks, in the night where the hammers and shovels sleep in corners, the night watchmen stuff their pipes with dreams- and sometimes they doze and don't care for nothin', and sometimes they search their heads for meanings, stories, stars. The stuff of it runs like this: A long way we come; a long way to go; long rests and long deep sniffs for our lungs on the way. Sleep is a belonging of all; even if all songs are old songs and the singing heart is snuffed out like a switchman's lantern with the oil gone, even if we forget our names and houses in the finish, the secret of sleep is left us, sleep belongs to all, sleep is the first and last and best of all. People singing; people with song mouths connecting with song hearts; people who must sing or die; people whose song hearts break if there is no song mouth; these are my people.
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Look at us, I'm carrying a basket made of trash and you're carrying a mouse, well the dog chewed up your glasses but you're still rockin it you have a single drop of coffee on your nose, we're ready to go to D.C. I had another where-are-we moment, it was fun. Good, that's downtown Baltimore right there, ****** capital of the world.   An elaborate mural graffiti. Wall after brick wall. A rustbelt city like Grand Rapids Detroit Cincinnati. Did you sleep well? Yes I woke up feeling like a clam in a cocoon. A sea creature inside of a forest insect, okay. I've wasted too much time on both desire and regret. Yellow bridge. Blue-green supports. Singer on the radio saying, we're young right now. There's a healthy and an unhealthy way of dealing with pain, I'm sorry for my selfish behavior in the islands. I want to go back and leave a better legacy. 'Word.' Last night to come see you I drove I-95 N, the overpass and though the rest of the city was really moving I was all alone up there, it was like driving in the sky. We pass signs saying: Icy Conditions: bridges and ramps freeze first. And a billboard: Learning Kick Flips Takes Work, So Does College We listen to our favorite island song: love the islands, love the islands, oh. You look like a rasta snowboarder girl There's something really right about having you in this car
0
Mar 26, 2013
Mar 26, 2013 at 1:31 PM UTC
Coconut Baltimore
Byron and I play The All Topics Open. Eighteen holes   Invariably draws nostalgic. Byron mentioned he went to the WWF in Detroit. I sliced into a childhood memory Of midgets at Cobo Hall: Cobo Hall, Saturday Night. Be there! Byron started pitching old wrestlers and holds: Leaping Larry Shane, great with the Anaconda Vice; Killer Kowalski vs. Bobo Brazil, pinned by the Crucifix and Abdominal Stretch; **** the Bruiser* tagging with The Sheik To defeat Gorgeous George and Crybaby McCarthy. Byron went on in detail, with tabernacle authority: “It was a Bear Hug that quickly swung in to a Quarter, then Half, then Full Nelson; Crybaby bounced off a knee, Was driven to the mat and pinned By a Front Sleeper.” (Jimmy's newborn picture faded in, and the pose he naturally struck baby arms cocked like a sideshow muscle man   Daddy quipped: **** the Bruiser*. I was Leaping Larry Shane. Daddy quipped: Larry the Stooge. I didn't see that move) Byron was intense. I could hear, but I was zoning. Crybaby and Front Sleeper dazed me. How time Venns. I was pinned today. I recognized the feeling. Tagged, then pinned by The inescapable Baby Nelson. You know the hold. On your back. Baby on chest, face down. Pinned.
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Aug 9, 2014
Aug 9, 2014 at 10:05 AM UTC
The Baby Nelson
On the day Liz Taylor died, CNN called Larry King out of retirement to eulogize her during the mornings breakfast segment. Tears were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, TEPCO stated that one of the Fukushima nuclear reactors was on fire. Tears of cataclysm were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, government officials warned that Tokyo's water was contaminated with radiation and was not fit for infants to drink. Tears of anguish were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, the crew of the USS Ronald Reagan scrubbed the deck clean of TEPCO radiation. Tears of worry were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, Oregonians rushed out to buy potassium iodine tablets to counteract radiation poisoning. Tears of affliction were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, NATO forces continued to fire missiles and drop bombs on Libya. Tears of agony were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, a terrorist bomb exploded in Jerusalem, killing one and injuring many. Tears of vengeance were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, the Syrian Army fired on demonstrators calling for reforms. Tears of hostility were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, The USA Today reported that during the past decade the population of Detroit declined by 25%. Tears of loss were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, a dilapidated brownstone in Philadelphia collapsed; city officials expect many more to occur. Tears of distress were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, President Obama cut short his Latin American trip by skipping a tour of Mayan ruins. Tears of dismay were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 67.39 points. Tears of joy were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, Elton John dedicated the song, Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me to the memory of his departed friend. Tears were shed. You Tube Music Video: Elton John, Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me Lewes DE 3/23/11 jbm
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Feb 27, 2013
Feb 27, 2013 at 2:23 PM UTC
The Day Liz Taylor Died
On the day Liz Taylor died, CNN called Larry King out of retirement to eulogize her during the mornings breakfast segment. Tears were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, TEPCO stated that one of the Fukushima nuclear reactors was on fire. Tears of cataclysm were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, government officials warned that Tokyo's water was contaminated with radiation and was not fit for infants to drink. Tears of anguish were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, the crew of the USS Ronald Reagan scrubbed the deck clean of TEPCO radiation. Tears of worry were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, Oregonians rushed out to buy potassium iodine tablets to counteract radiation poisoning. Tears of affliction were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, NATO forces continued to fire missiles and drop bombs on Libya. Tears of agony were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, a terrorist bomb exploded in Jerusalem, killing one and injuring many. Tears of vengeance were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, the Syrian Army fired on demonstrators calling for reforms. Tears of hostility were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, The USA Today reported that during the past decade the population of Detroit declined by 25%. Tears of loss were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, a dilapidated brownstone in Philadelphia collapsed; city officials expect many more to occur. Tears of distress were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, President Obama cut short his Latin American trip by skipping a tour of Mayan ruins. Tears of dismay were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 67.39 points. Tears of joy were shed. On the day Liz Taylor died, Elton John dedicated the song, Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me to the memory of his departed friend. Tears were shed. You Tube Music Video: Elton John, Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me Lewes DE 3/23/11 jbm
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steel oil engineering labor converge round a Rocket 88 dead man’s curve prescient precocious capitalists concoct Edsels Vegas Chevelles leaping Impalas leak oil staining every American driveway Pintos chase Gremlins across The Great Plains gassing up at Rt 66 fillin stations scramblin Midnight Ramblers detour to take refuge with Goats in Big Sky Indian garages 440 Mustangs nip 327 Stingrays and Mach IV Cobras get snake bit by Dart wielding Mopar muscle cars long fins chrome bumpers and round fenders still get bent in Havana but Motor City is broke nations outta gas whole **** country needs an overhaul Ike Turner/Jackie Brenston: Rocket 88 Nelson Riddle: Route 66 7/19/13 Oakland jbm
0
Oct 30, 2013
Oct 30, 2013 at 10:57 AM UTC
Detroit
no bison on the menu at the Buffalo; this diner never served it   Big Mike, long gone named it for the high shelf   on the prairie behind it   where Lakota learned to stampede beasts over the edge, massacring hordes without bow or sweat the gully below, their forgotten bone yard, left little trace of them save half a skull Mike exhumed and hung on the wall in the time of polio before the wide whizzing interstates when truckers still landed on his dusty lot   their rolling behemoths content in pasture in a new millennium, the cafe highway is but an accidental detour; the shack guarded by thistles, long departed the Detroit steel the truckers now in the ground, their bones free from pillage, but the Cyclops on the wall remains, eyeing the vacant prairie they all once roamed
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May 11, 2016
May 11, 2016 at 8:05 PM UTC
the Buffalo Cafe
With Easter approaching it made me think of a little girl I used to babysit Her father was one of the Russian hockey players here in Detroit I'm not really sure of what they believed about God but they didn't attend church at that time. While her father was away, playing hockey in Germany due to a lock out in the NHL and her mother was out of town, I found myself alone with her on Easter weekend. I knew I wanted to attend services, so just before bed one night I approached the subject of God with her. She was young, probably 7 or 8 at the time, so initially she was afraid. I think she said something like if God came to her front door she would get her Dad & he wouldn't let him in. Her Dad was a fairly robust defensemen, so God would surely no better than to mess with him lol. I went on to explain as best as I could that God was her friend. Of course we also discussed how we can't see him and what Heaven is, and who knows what really went through that pretty little head of hers, but she did listen intently. We went to church, I was able to even get her in a dress, a true miracle in itself as she was quite the tomboy back then, She didn't say a great deal, and no doubt at such a young age she had little if any real understanding, But now she is a young woman, a believer in Christ, living an amazing life, an encourager, strong like her father, and I can't help but hope a little that those tiny seeds I planted so many years ago may have helped shape her into the person she is today. A few years back she shared with me on facebook a little poem I had given her before they moved out of state. The poem was worn & tattered but to know that she had held onto it after some 15 years is one of the greatest gifts she could have ever given me. I may never have children of my own, Not always an easy thing to accept, But I do thank God for the time I was given in helping to raise such a beautiful girl.
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Mar 23, 2016
Mar 23, 2016 at 3:54 PM UTC
A poem, worn & tattered
With Easter approaching it made me think of a little girl I used to babysit Her father was one of the Russian hockey players here in Detroit I'm not really sure of what they believed about God but they didn't attend church at that time. While her father was away, playing hockey in Germany due to a lock out in the NHL and her mother was out of town, I found myself alone with her on Easter weekend. I knew I wanted to attend services, so just before bed one night I approached the subject of God with her. She was young, probably 7 or 8 at the time, so initially she was afraid. I think she said something like if God came to her front door she would get her Dad & he wouldn't let him in. Her Dad was a fairly robust defensemen, so God would surely no better than to mess with him lol. I went on to explain as best as I could that God was her friend. Of course we also discussed how we can't see him and what Heaven is, and who knows what really went through that pretty little head of hers, but she did listen intently. We went to church, I was able to even get her in a dress, a true miracle in itself as she was quite the tomboy back then, She didn't say a great deal, and no doubt at such a young age she had little if any real understanding, But now she is a young woman, a believer in Christ, living an amazing life, an encourager, strong like her father, and I can't help but hope a little that those tiny seeds I planted so many years ago may have helped shape her into the person she is today. A few years back she shared with me on facebook a little poem I had given her before they moved out of state. The poem was worn & tattered but to know that she had held onto it after some 15 years is one of the greatest gifts she could have ever given me. I may never have children of my own, Not always an easy thing to accept, But I do thank God for the time I was given in helping to raise such a beautiful girl.
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41
Thirty years had passed me by I was approaching fifty one For my birthday I thought I would go to New York and take my son I'd been there once many years ago When my boy was not yet born With his mother gone, I thought it time To go back there with my son I checked the web and booked a room In a hotel that looked real nice It was just three blocks from Broadway I guess I should have checked it twice We flew on in from Michigan We were set to see some games We would also go to Broadway And see some plays with some big names I should have seen it coming Problems arising from the start Our plane was late in leaving They had crashed the luggage cart An hour to reload it Got us off and in the air With a strong tail wind behind us The pilot said we'd soon be there We landed at the airport Waited forty minutes for our bags You see, when they loaded us in Detroit They forgot to fasten all our tags We went outside to get a cab We were almost to our stop We would find the Biltmore Hotel My young son and me...his pop We told the taxi driver To the Biltmore Hotel please He said "Sir, are you certain" "They've had bed bugs and there's fleas" "I checked it on the internet" "It looked nice and was cheap" The driver said "OK Sir," "But, the Biltmore...it's a heap!" I thought a bit, but said...."come on" "It cannot be that bad" But as we pulled of Broadway The neighborhood looked quite sad The street was dark and nondescript there was no one to be found Except for idle yelling You could not hear a sound Windows were all boarded up The farther we went east I thought, for thugs and hoodlums this street would yield a feast I thought the cabbie might be right A new hotel we'd get But, I still had not decided Even though the streeted was quite the threat The sign outside the hotel Was burned out in some spots But, I guess from our reaction We both deserved what we had got I told the cabbie, do not stop Just floor it and we'll go The sign outside the Biltmore lit up as "BI T MO ** I wasn't gonna stay there We went back and made it quick Just looking at the Biltomre Well, it really made me sick I learned one thing this trip Next time, I'll call ahead And won't book at the "BIT MO ** For I might just wake up dead.
0
Jun 17, 2012
Jun 17, 2012 at 7:30 PM UTC
The Biltmore Hotel
Thirty years had passed me by I was approaching fifty one For my birthday I thought I would go to New York and take my son I'd been there once many years ago When my boy was not yet born With his mother gone, I thought it time To go back there with my son I checked the web and booked a room In a hotel that looked real nice It was just three blocks from Broadway I guess I should have checked it twice We flew on in from Michigan We were set to see some games We would also go to Broadway And see some plays with some big names I should have seen it coming Problems arising from the start Our plane was late in leaving They had crashed the luggage cart An hour to reload it Got us off and in the air With a strong tail wind behind us The pilot said we'd soon be there We landed at the airport Waited forty minutes for our bags You see, when they loaded us in Detroit They forgot to fasten all our tags We went outside to get a cab We were almost to our stop We would find the Biltmore Hotel My young son and me...his pop We told the taxi driver To the Biltmore Hotel please He said "Sir, are you certain" "They've had bed bugs and there's fleas" "I checked it on the internet" "It looked nice and was cheap" The driver said "OK Sir," "But, the Biltmore...it's a heap!" I thought a bit, but said...."come on" "It cannot be that bad" But as we pulled of Broadway The neighborhood looked quite sad The street was dark and nondescript there was no one to be found Except for idle yelling You could not hear a sound Windows were all boarded up The farther we went east I thought, for thugs and hoodlums this street would yield a feast I thought the cabbie might be right A new hotel we'd get But, I still had not decided Even though the streeted was quite the threat The sign outside the hotel Was burned out in some spots But, I guess from our reaction We both deserved what we had got I told the cabbie, do not stop Just floor it and we'll go The sign outside the Biltmore lit up as "BI T MO ** I wasn't gonna stay there We went back and made it quick Just looking at the Biltomre Well, it really made me sick I learned one thing this trip Next time, I'll call ahead And won't book at the "BIT MO ** For I might just wake up dead.
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72
As a teenage boy I used to fall asleep at night listening to the graveled voice of Ernie Harwell fashion for me word-images of the exploits by a band of superheroes called the Detroit Tigers. In those semi-lucid moments before slumber, I could see the shimmering outline of my destiny: you see all American boys are meant to be Tigers. So imagine my confusion, when I fractured the right talus bone my Junior year of high school, even putting on weight around the middle, where no athlete worth his pin stripes would gain. My karma had begun to take on mass. I began to acquire knowledge, as the only perceived defense against some parallel universe impinging upon reality. Oh, I had everyone convinced, even my keenest teachers believed I was destined to make my mark in scholarly pursuits. But no one saw the crying ego of one meant to be a Tiger, nor how that bottled up the emergence of the Man. Never reconciled, the Man curled up in fetal dormancy. Lifespan became synonymous with interstellar drift. And every encountered star of knowlege was dwarfed, having long ago collapsed of its own gravity. Still the heavens of knowledge are auspicious, so I looked outward, when all the answers lay concealed within. Only as my life left the outskirts of occluded reality did I then begin to inherit from my instinctual id, begin to listen to disconsolate internal voices, who had known me all along, perhaps better than myself. The thing is ... the stage has long been set on middle-age, what props lie about are encrusted with patina, laden with a dust impossible to gauge or preempt, made worse by the lack of cast, save one. Neither Beckett, nor Pinter, could have absurded this. So, when my acts strike you as quixotic, when I cut with a penknife through propriety, it's because I finally remember what it meant to be a Tiger.
0
Dec 1, 2012
Dec 1, 2012 at 7:15 PM UTC
We All Die Unhealed
As a teenage boy I used to fall asleep at night listening to the graveled voice of Ernie Harwell fashion for me word-images of the exploits by a band of superheroes called the Detroit Tigers. In those semi-lucid moments before slumber, I could see the shimmering outline of my destiny: you see all American boys are meant to be Tigers. So imagine my confusion, when I fractured the right talus bone my Junior year of high school, even putting on weight around the middle, where no athlete worth his pin stripes would gain. My karma had begun to take on mass. I began to acquire knowledge, as the only perceived defense against some parallel universe impinging upon reality. Oh, I had everyone convinced, even my keenest teachers believed I was destined to make my mark in scholarly pursuits. But no one saw the crying ego of one meant to be a Tiger, nor how that bottled up the emergence of the Man. Never reconciled, the Man curled up in fetal dormancy. Lifespan became synonymous with interstellar drift. And every encountered star of knowlege was dwarfed, having long ago collapsed of its own gravity. Still the heavens of knowledge are auspicious, so I looked outward, when all the answers lay concealed within. Only as my life left the outskirts of occluded reality did I then begin to inherit from my instinctual id, begin to listen to disconsolate internal voices, who had known me all along, perhaps better than myself. The thing is ... the stage has long been set on middle-age, what props lie about are encrusted with patina, laden with a dust impossible to gauge or preempt, made worse by the lack of cast, save one. Neither Beckett, nor Pinter, could have absurded this. So, when my acts strike you as quixotic, when I cut with a penknife through propriety, it's because I finally remember what it meant to be a Tiger.
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36
There are walls waiting, crumbling as pockmarks of decay beside sidewalks along motor cities’ streets. There are terminal and forsaken structures colonized with ungrateful squirrels that abandon attics for creaking kitchens with corroded sinks. Un-shoveled snow melts slow on walkways unfamiliar with worn heels or rubber soles. There are forlorn relics patient and waiting for us to join them.
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Nov 14, 2012
Nov 14, 2012 at 11:33 AM UTC
Abandoned in Detroit
This is Detroit and we ignore what the rest of the world has to say about us, we wear our stink like a badge of honor and we laugh at the fear on your face knowing where you are and what youve heard. This is Detroit the motor-city which means you better own one because our public transportation ***** our roads aren't much better and our gas prices are high which means the speed limit is unacceptable in the fast lane in fact, anything thats not 10-15 over is not acceptable treat our highways like the autobahn This is Detroit and any Coney Island you go to you shouldn't see any fries underneath the chili and cheese regardless how small It may be This is Detroit and its a city that refuses to die because of its artistic output from Motown to Eminem and our failures that catch the eye of the world yet we live on through the hardship that builds our character as they scoff This is Detroit and every pothole every decaying building every makeshift into a new business is a character trait where banks become pizza shops and theaters parking lots This is Detroit where we still show up and party for a football team that has never won a Superbowl This is Detroit we are dangerous we are lawless we know our own and we wouldn't want it any other way
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Sep 24, 2014
Sep 24, 2014 at 7:13 PM UTC
Free World (Detroit)
At what point does one's status Change from normal to elite? Is it when a career is ended ? Or is it after just one feat ? When does a "Boy of Summer" Reach that level...at the end ? After playing at a high level, Is that when he ascends? Hitting streaks, get watched each year But most just come and go They try to reach game 56 Like Joe Diamggio! Legendary status was bestowed upon this man Hitting  for 56 straight games no one who's followed can. Ted Williams was an all star The "Splendid Splinter" with the bat His records's stood since '41 And that my friends is that A .406 average is baseballs holy grail It's one that every batter Tries to reach , But they all fail These marks made these men legends No more "Boys of Summer" here They've moved on up in status To one that no one will come near But others, have no records They played a solid, workman game Do they deserve the recognition? Will you even know their names? Al Kaline with the Tigers The World Series... never his But in Detroit...he was baseball A Legend you can't dismiss Reggie Jackson...there's another In October he was great but for all the other times he played He was just average at the plate The list, you see, is endless It's one you think of and discuss Is he now of Legendary status or  a "Boy of Summer", just like us? Over time he may make Legend Over time he may drop back But, you can always ask the question Each time you hear the bat go "crack" So, If you are a fan of baseball Just watch the game like me You can watch these "boys of Summer" And just wonder...what will be.
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May 20, 2012
May 20, 2012 at 12:35 PM UTC
Boys of Summer
At what point does one's status Change from normal to elite? Is it when a career is ended ? Or is it after just one feat ? When does a "Boy of Summer" Reach that level...at the end ? After playing at a high level, Is that when he ascends? Hitting streaks, get watched each year But most just come and go They try to reach game 56 Like Joe Diamggio! Legendary status was bestowed upon this man Hitting  for 56 straight games no one who's followed can. Ted Williams was an all star The "Splendid Splinter" with the bat His records's stood since '41 And that my friends is that A .406 average is baseballs holy grail It's one that every batter Tries to reach , But they all fail These marks made these men legends No more "Boys of Summer" here They've moved on up in status To one that no one will come near But others, have no records They played a solid, workman game Do they deserve the recognition? Will you even know their names? Al Kaline with the Tigers The World Series... never his But in Detroit...he was baseball A Legend you can't dismiss Reggie Jackson...there's another In October he was great but for all the other times he played He was just average at the plate The list, you see, is endless It's one you think of and discuss Is he now of Legendary status or  a "Boy of Summer", just like us? Over time he may make Legend Over time he may drop back But, you can always ask the question Each time you hear the bat go "crack" So, If you are a fan of baseball Just watch the game like me You can watch these "boys of Summer" And just wonder...what will be.
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Timmy Ray, poor boy from Kentucky. Football scholarship. Degree in Business Administration. Respectable job, bored. Enlists with best friend in Marines as a macho trip. Vietnam, what a crock. This ain’t football. And it ain’t fair. Schemes to get out, ignores an order to go out on patrol, ******** mission, but the friend goes, gets shot up bad. Timmy Ray runs out to help the friend, is shot. It’s all blood and mud, man, blood and mud. Friend paralyzed, Timmy Ray okay. Court-martial for Timmy Ray, discharge. The friend takes an overdose. “No moral here,” Timmy Ray says. “My war story. That’s all.” Timmy Ray makes sculptures, big metal things. No people. “The human body’s been done,” he says. Downtown Detroit in front of an office he welds a pile of globes, names it “Love” so he’ll get paid but he says it’s really “Moose Brain.” These days, Timmy Ray’s hand trembles. He volunteers at a suicide hot line. No moral there, either. Moose brain.
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Jun 25, 2015
Jun 25, 2015 at 12:23 PM UTC
Moose Brain, No Moral
Last year's version of the mind-body problem: my mind gives orders that my body won’t obey. It’s a problem. The body’s warranty has expired and spare parts are scarce. Plastic tubes To help me drain have become part of my day. So there’s still a will. But sometimes no way. I am now my sister’s age when she died. And some nights as I lie down in darkness there’s a moment of wondering could this be the night of the Great Reckoning when everything I’ve said and done goes mute and I am gone. And crawling over me like a slow stain is dread that everything important in life has already happened. I remember some days less than my dreams. But friend, not this tone! Let us write a history of now. Body and soul, stand up and shout “Baseball road trip!” Car: check. Best friend: check. Nostalgia for a simpler time. We can fake that one. The red zigzags on our map turn into places: Six ballparks in a week. Detroit haze, gasping Chicago wind, Milwaukee self-serve micro brew Cincinnati chili and watering eyes, Cleveland’s defiant self-love, Pittsburgh’s Primanti brothers monstrosity sandwich— Burger, coleslaw, and fries on toast. The American dream tastes like fast food, But the mystery lives between the lines. Thwack of fastball into catcher’s glove, Whock! of line drive into the gap, Ball rolling free across the green While the runner speeds for home. Home. Let’s keep going, friend. There’s another bridge up ahead and a ballpark’s lights shining somewhere in the dusk of the upper Midwest and the open road unrolls toward the setting sun.
0
Jan 20, 2019
Jan 20, 2019 at 7:16 PM UTC
2018: Road Trip with Last Year’s Man
Last year's version of the mind-body problem: my mind gives orders that my body won’t obey. It’s a problem. The body’s warranty has expired and spare parts are scarce. Plastic tubes To help me drain have become part of my day. So there’s still a will. But sometimes no way. I am now my sister’s age when she died. And some nights as I lie down in darkness there’s a moment of wondering could this be the night of the Great Reckoning when everything I’ve said and done goes mute and I am gone. And crawling over me like a slow stain is dread that everything important in life has already happened. I remember some days less than my dreams. But friend, not this tone! Let us write a history of now. Body and soul, stand up and shout “Baseball road trip!” Car: check. Best friend: check. Nostalgia for a simpler time. We can fake that one. The red zigzags on our map turn into places: Six ballparks in a week. Detroit haze, gasping Chicago wind, Milwaukee self-serve micro brew Cincinnati chili and watering eyes, Cleveland’s defiant self-love, Pittsburgh’s Primanti brothers monstrosity sandwich— Burger, coleslaw, and fries on toast. The American dream tastes like fast food, But the mystery lives between the lines. Thwack of fastball into catcher’s glove, Whock! of line drive into the gap, Ball rolling free across the green While the runner speeds for home. Home. Let’s keep going, friend. There’s another bridge up ahead and a ballpark’s lights shining somewhere in the dusk of the upper Midwest and the open road unrolls toward the setting sun.
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45
Procession line Vicar, Speaking with the lowly vigor, He picked up from a Detroit ****** Calm down…no one said ****** Found prosperity Through a bottle of clarity Gift wrapped for charity Then stolen in hilarity. Refrain borrowed from a borrowing line **** rolling down on an incline Rest at the bottom to recombine. Face up, mouth open; laying supine Riots over a turn of phrase Vanquished hope in lost praise Lawyer’s bout due for a raise Pointless comment regarding gays…
0
Feb 8, 2015
Feb 8, 2015 at 6:34 PM UTC
Indecisive Polarity
Grandpa loved angels Kept them scattered throughout his room, his house, his life On everything from pictures, to figurines, to trinkets Alissa found a penny with an imprint of wings with the year of her birth on it shortly after he died How strange, we all thought Grandpa had a lot of things, Luck charms, knick-knacks, practical jokes he carried just in case He kept his humor in his back pocket I visit my grandmother in her home that used to be theirs She is now as vacant as the Detroit winters are cold; the ten years without him have stripped her of any warmth I think a part of her left when he did I enter his study and look through every drawer, discovering a part I neglected to understand when it was present I never showed much interest in anything he told me when he was still around I only really knew of the things he kept in drawers, cabinets, on shelves Everything he owned is as constant as it ever was His belongings remain untouched as if he hasn’t been gone for over a decade I feel too much alive in this office of a dead man I run curious fingers over the bindings of books, stopping to pull at Dickinson, a faded collection of poetry inked with flowers on the front cover I remember the dictionary the size of my six-year-old palm that intrigued me so greatly; the ability to fit so many words into such a small area was nothing short of fascinating It is the one physical memory I took home with me after the funeral I had wanted it always I now picture it hiding in the back of my drawer in my childhood bedroom where I know it still is On his desk there are so many key chains, bills from another generation, maps, postcards, watches So many things I am not sure what to call them I am not sure about a lot but Grandpa loved angels Angels and ***** jokes One to keep you safe and the other to make you laugh I keep both with me always, Just in case.
0
Feb 18, 2015
Feb 18, 2015 at 4:32 PM UTC
Angels
Grandpa loved angels Kept them scattered throughout his room, his house, his life On everything from pictures, to figurines, to trinkets Alissa found a penny with an imprint of wings with the year of her birth on it shortly after he died How strange, we all thought Grandpa had a lot of things, Luck charms, knick-knacks, practical jokes he carried just in case He kept his humor in his back pocket I visit my grandmother in her home that used to be theirs She is now as vacant as the Detroit winters are cold; the ten years without him have stripped her of any warmth I think a part of her left when he did I enter his study and look through every drawer, discovering a part I neglected to understand when it was present I never showed much interest in anything he told me when he was still around I only really knew of the things he kept in drawers, cabinets, on shelves Everything he owned is as constant as it ever was His belongings remain untouched as if he hasn’t been gone for over a decade I feel too much alive in this office of a dead man I run curious fingers over the bindings of books, stopping to pull at Dickinson, a faded collection of poetry inked with flowers on the front cover I remember the dictionary the size of my six-year-old palm that intrigued me so greatly; the ability to fit so many words into such a small area was nothing short of fascinating It is the one physical memory I took home with me after the funeral I had wanted it always I now picture it hiding in the back of my drawer in my childhood bedroom where I know it still is On his desk there are so many key chains, bills from another generation, maps, postcards, watches So many things I am not sure what to call them I am not sure about a lot but Grandpa loved angels Angels and ***** jokes One to keep you safe and the other to make you laugh I keep both with me always, Just in case.
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