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"grandfathers" poems
the angel amongst us ~for Alexander, master splasher~ *flexibility is important when poetry writing in a warm tub and a long day ahead is scheduled; so willingly accept the autocorrect for I am both an experienced poet and bath soaker and believer in wondrous mystery and unexpected fumbles that lead to to miracle touchdowns ~•~ the two mathematicians examine the angle, measure the degree of difference at intersection and bless it with an identity, calling it by its name, perhaps obtuse, perhaps right, perhaps both two sets of eyes examine the angle, study its ****** expression the old man says: see the angle on the clock formed by the big handle on the twelve and the little hand on the eight? this is angle of eight o’clock: time to stop the splashing and start the get-readying for we have miles to go before the ocean can say hello! little angel says angle no go and slashes the water with both hands to establish the firmness of his views and change Einstein’s time from present to future the angle depends on the perspective of the viewer the old poet comprehends leaving a warm tub is a regretful thing but he measures the degree of difference at this intersection of time and bath and blesses it with an identity “time to go” the angle of my angel is now 2 pointed arms, pointed straight up, at the twelve o'clock, as he stands up in fevered protest, my arms sweep his little legs to a point at eight o’clock, angel, commenting on his swift flight disputes the grandfathers physics "no go now, now go later^" though the angle is unchanged the perspective of time and space (and traffic), yet differs one sees an angle, the angel sees time eternally folding in on itself* that is the angle amongst us
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Aug 29, 2018
Aug 29, 2018 at 8:58 AM UTC
the angle amongst us
the angel amongst us ~for Alexander, master splasher~ *flexibility is important when poetry writing in a warm tub and a long day ahead is scheduled; so willingly accept the autocorrect for I am both an experienced poet and bath soaker and believer in wondrous mystery and unexpected fumbles that lead to to miracle touchdowns ~•~ the two mathematicians examine the angle, measure the degree of difference at intersection and bless it with an identity, calling it by its name, perhaps obtuse, perhaps right, perhaps both two sets of eyes examine the angle, study its ****** expression the old man says: see the angle on the clock formed by the big handle on the twelve and the little hand on the eight? this is angle of eight o’clock: time to stop the splashing and start the get-readying for we have miles to go before the ocean can say hello! little angel says angle no go and slashes the water with both hands to establish the firmness of his views and change Einstein’s time from present to future the angle depends on the perspective of the viewer the old poet comprehends leaving a warm tub is a regretful thing but he measures the degree of difference at this intersection of time and bath and blesses it with an identity “time to go” the angle of my angel is now 2 pointed arms, pointed straight up, at the twelve o'clock, as he stands up in fevered protest, my arms sweep his little legs to a point at eight o’clock, angel, commenting on his swift flight disputes the grandfathers physics "no go now, now go later^" though the angle is unchanged the perspective of time and space (and traffic), yet differs one sees an angle, the angel sees time eternally folding in on itself* that is the angle amongst us
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44
Sitting on my bed Gazing out at the view Laptop in lap I wonder Being of mixed race The truth of my origins The blood coursing through my veins Goffle they would say But iv always believed a man's skin colour doesn't define who he is Kwabulawayo A place where he is being killed Home of the Ndebele My hometown Built on the ruins of a Royal town uMzilikazi ,Leander Starr Jameson ,Lobengula ,Cecil john rhodes Men of courage Black and white Fought struggles Years before my birth Mater Dei Hospital My journeys beginning My grandfathers end. Joy and pain My hearts memories From Primary Whitestone Green fields Where i spent my childhood Life's little joys Clay-yaki In the rain Barefoot. Speargrass How it stung Running through the grass Taller than i was Forts Built with shoelaces Marbles Fights in the sand Afternoons spent picking mullberyys The girls dormitory Offbounds. Matrons Got me the cain Thursday Nights Prefects Priveleges Sports Cross country The houses of Tuli, Shangani, Shashe lifelong friends made A place frozen in memory Home of the best years of my life Tears streaming down Every Sunday evening The way back A boarders sentiment Lasting 5min till reunited with friends Tuck shared Eskimo Hut The Green Mamba Or Pink Panther The food hall Quiet Till dessert came Mr Haworth Everyday "The queen would be disgusted if she saw u eating" The tide of his time Wandering around my childhood I bumped unintentionally into Maturity Starless nights First kisses A little bit older i was
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Aug 21, 2010
Aug 21, 2010 at 8:34 AM UTC
Hometown
Sitting on my bed Gazing out at the view Laptop in lap I wonder Being of mixed race The truth of my origins The blood coursing through my veins Goffle they would say But iv always believed a man's skin colour doesn't define who he is Kwabulawayo A place where he is being killed Home of the Ndebele My hometown Built on the ruins of a Royal town uMzilikazi ,Leander Starr Jameson ,Lobengula ,Cecil john rhodes Men of courage Black and white Fought struggles Years before my birth Mater Dei Hospital My journeys beginning My grandfathers end. Joy and pain My hearts memories From Primary Whitestone Green fields Where i spent my childhood Life's little joys Clay-yaki In the rain Barefoot. Speargrass How it stung Running through the grass Taller than i was Forts Built with shoelaces Marbles Fights in the sand Afternoons spent picking mullberyys The girls dormitory Offbounds. Matrons Got me the cain Thursday Nights Prefects Priveleges Sports Cross country The houses of Tuli, Shangani, Shashe lifelong friends made A place frozen in memory Home of the best years of my life Tears streaming down Every Sunday evening The way back A boarders sentiment Lasting 5min till reunited with friends Tuck shared Eskimo Hut The Green Mamba Or Pink Panther The food hall Quiet Till dessert came Mr Haworth Everyday "The queen would be disgusted if she saw u eating" The tide of his time Wandering around my childhood I bumped unintentionally into Maturity Starless nights First kisses A little bit older i was
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74
i am  not your ****** nor your sister. i do not know the meaning of these words, mister. except in instances where i hate us like they hate us. a putrid loathing sprouting from different colored grounds but a dangerous flower nonetheless. they are not just words, they are drops of blood spilled from the lashed backs of our enslaved triple grandfathers and mothers. our slang replaces hoses pushing us back during marches and righteous riots. aggression equals regression equals deppression. and now, it's all our fault. now it's black on black assault. now it's fly shoes and ghetto booties. poppin' bottles and poppin' caps, running through nights like street ******* rats. what would W.E.B. DuBois say if he'd seen this backstep taken after we'd come this far, after reaching for stars and dropping the ball? now i love this color. i love this color and prefer no other. all i'm saying is, let us pick one day when we put the negroidian away put ****** back in it's roots. no, not the movie, don't me toby. let us get the dream rollin' Mister King style, not Master P style. no big rims, or leather seats. none of that **** for awhile. i'm saying takeover. i'm saying african-america makeover. i'm saying, let's take our pride back, like our homeland lions. let us make black a taste not so sour. i'm saying, Black Power.
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Nov 18, 2010
Nov 18, 2010 at 8:03 AM UTC
My ******
A proud man, Upright and unshakable In belief and morals, Once only I did I see him Without a tie. A child of Edwardian England, The links Of his watch chain Glinted As they hung With formality and elegance From his waistcoat pocket, Yes, even as he worked. And work he did. Patiently, Brilliantly and tirelessly With ingenuity and imagination. A craftsman from a bygone age. A master of his tools. Grandfathers are soft, Playful, bear-like in their Gruff-whiskered familiarity. Not Poppy. Unwittingly aloof from his grandchildren, We avoided the need for directly addressing him, Unsure of where we stood. He’d probably have secretly Loved the informality Of our secret nickname. I hope he knew. The chapel piano did for him. Too much weight for his work-weary ticker. Grandma gave me his pocket watch to keep, And for a time I treasured it, Measuring its weight Like a smooth round pebble In my palm. A workman’s watch; Practical. A yellowing face Behind a scratched And hazy glass. But accurate, And precise. Reliable as the man. Detached in life, I liked to hope that Gazing down, Watching, He just might have Laughed In loving acknowledgement of his Grandson’s curiosity And foolishness Sitting cross-legged on the carpet, With heart-thumping nausea Adrift in a sea of springs.
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Mar 21, 2011
Mar 21, 2011 at 3:15 AM UTC
Lost Link
The knife in the back was held by one, It holds the bottle Daddy couldn't drop, Mine crack and bleed because of my condition, My grandfathers curled up as he lay dying, just as his mind had years before, as I watched, My mothers shook as I held her close, I held his and he pulled me down into hell with it, And my grip is becoming weak, Its so hard to hold onto you, when the hands are pulling me away. Nothing has been handed to me, but pain.
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Dec 16, 2014
Dec 16, 2014 at 9:21 PM UTC
Hands
The imaginers of now were children once, each day they each imagined tomorrow. Their daddies had just won the war happy days were really here again, this time. --- Now, we see what we see, it's not what we saw. And this is better than I imagined. My first oral book report was on 1984, in 1962. Percentages and stats, the odds, out of 8 billion… I carry my weight, saltwise, I'm light, too. Immaterial in fact. I watched the internet take form before my very eyes, magi technic never seen since Darius the Mede. Good job, geeks. Reared on radio waves your grandfathers never heard, your signal receptors from mito-mom, oh, what a plan. The promised ones. Many sons. hmmm 60 cycle white noise in the field, the field of fields, Future Farmers of America and stuff Powers we imagined, a color TV we could watch in the backseat for days on Route 66, a restaurant just for kids Toys 'r' Us oh, wow, those came and went and our Grand kids are imagining tomorrow, doin' fine with less of what we thought was cool, taking for granted all I accepted as granted, in the "It is Finished" Golden Parachute Package deal, Grace and Peace that multiplies.
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Oct 27, 2018
Oct 27, 2018 at 4:32 AM UTC
The imaginers of now
I hurt I think it's loss and disappointment from "Hopes" that were never born, Which leaves me so forlorn. Oh, and I cry almost every day now and I sigh, then he always asks why.... The pain in my heart, Why does it go so deep? the way I weep; I grieve so hard, they say I even call & cry in my sleep. Pictures in my mind of children at play a dream, a hope, never to be. My grandfathers were veterans of war, they say. Agent orange says "one out of four" you see. Uncle Sam says "no compensation" for me, No big family to be all around me. I think I'll give up on me, sometimes.... "Please make it go away!" I say, he can't, and so he turns away. Our future we cannot see, afraid to dream, afraid for me. Going through the motions, trying to do what's right. Tried all the magic potions, but too much DNA's twisted up too tight. Now I'm hurtin and bleedin all of the time! Doctor says its gotta go, this womb of mine. Adenomyosis, got into me, says I'll be fine. But, no more babies! don't you see I was not finished with my family! I dont want to, but I know I gotta go. Now its gone, still PMS-ing Now I'm not healin' right! Its depressing..... 8 weeks now, still not released and the mourning has not eased Anger abounds when i awake but I can't eat, so then I shake. So I just cry, and blessed be, ask God, Jesus and the angels to have mercy on me
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Oct 25, 2014
Oct 25, 2014 at 8:05 PM UTC
Balanced Translocation (or dream babies)
Old fathers, great-grandfathers, Rise as kindred should. If ever lover's loneliness Came where you stood, Pray that Heaven protect us That protect your blood. The mountain throws a shadow, Thin is the moon's horn; What did we remember Under the ragged thorn? Dread has followed longing, And our hearts are torn.
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4.5k
Love's Loneliness
Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! The world is holy! The soul is holy! The skin is holy! The nose is holy! The tongue and **** and hand and ******* holy! Everything is holy! everybody's holy! everywhere is holy! everyday is in eternity! Everyman's an angel! The bum's as holy as the seraphim! the madman is holy as you my soul are holy! The typewriter is holy the poem is holy the voice is holy the hearers are holy the ecstasy is holy! Holy Peter holy Allen holy Solomon holy Lucien holy Kerouac holy Huncke holy Burroughs holy Cas- sady holy the unknown buggered and suffering beggars holy the hideous human angels! Holy my mother in the insane asylum! Holy the ***** of the grandfathers of Kansas! Holy the groaning saxophone! Holy the bop apocalypse! Holy the jazzbands marijuana hipsters peace & junk & drums! Holy the solitudes of skyscrapers and pavements! Holy the cafeterias filled with the millions! Holy the mysterious rivers of tears under the streets! Holy the lone juggernaut! Holy the vast lamb of the middle class! Holy the crazy shepherds of rebell- ion! Who digs Los Angeles IS Los Angeles! Holy New York Holy San Francisco Holy Peoria & Seattle Holy Paris Holy Tangiers Holy Moscow Holy Istanbul! Holy time in eternity holy eternity in time holy the clocks in space holy the fourth dimension holy the fifth International holy the Angel in Moloch! Holy the sea holy the desert holy the railroad holy the locomotive holy the visions holy the hallucina- tions holy the miracles holy the eyeball holy the abyss! Holy forgiveness! mercy! charity! faith! Holy! Ours! bodies! suffering! magnanimity! Holy the supernatural extra brilliant intelligent kindness of the soul! Berkeley 1955
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4.3k
Footnote To Howl
Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! The world is holy! The soul is holy! The skin is holy! The nose is holy! The tongue and **** and hand and ******* holy! Everything is holy! everybody's holy! everywhere is holy! everyday is in eternity! Everyman's an angel! The bum's as holy as the seraphim! the madman is holy as you my soul are holy! The typewriter is holy the poem is holy the voice is holy the hearers are holy the ecstasy is holy! Holy Peter holy Allen holy Solomon holy Lucien holy Kerouac holy Huncke holy Burroughs holy Cas- sady holy the unknown buggered and suffering beggars holy the hideous human angels! Holy my mother in the insane asylum! Holy the ***** of the grandfathers of Kansas! Holy the groaning saxophone! Holy the bop apocalypse! Holy the jazzbands marijuana hipsters peace & junk & drums! Holy the solitudes of skyscrapers and pavements! Holy the cafeterias filled with the millions! Holy the mysterious rivers of tears under the streets! Holy the lone juggernaut! Holy the vast lamb of the middle class! Holy the crazy shepherds of rebell- ion! Who digs Los Angeles IS Los Angeles! Holy New York Holy San Francisco Holy Peoria & Seattle Holy Paris Holy Tangiers Holy Moscow Holy Istanbul! Holy time in eternity holy eternity in time holy the clocks in space holy the fourth dimension holy the fifth International holy the Angel in Moloch! Holy the sea holy the desert holy the railroad holy the locomotive holy the visions holy the hallucina- tions holy the miracles holy the eyeball holy the abyss! Holy forgiveness! mercy! charity! faith! Holy! Ours! bodies! suffering! magnanimity! Holy the supernatural extra brilliant intelligent kindness of the soul! Berkeley 1955
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42
Law, say the gardeners, is the sun, Law is the one All gardeners obey To-morrow, yesterday, to-day. Law is the wisdom of the old, The impotent grandfathers feebly scold; The grandchildren put out a treble tongue, Law is the senses of the young. Law, says the priest with a priestly look, Expounding to an unpriestly people, Law is the words in my priestly book, Law is my pulpit and my steeple. Law, says the judge as he looks down his nose, Speaking clearly and most severely, Law is as I've told you before, Law is as you know I suppose, Law is but let me explain it once more, Law is The Law. Yet law-abiding scholars write: Law is neither wrong nor right, Law is only crimes Punished by places and by times, Law is the clothes men wear Anytime, anywhere, Law is Good morning and Good night. Others say, Law is our Fate; Others say, Law is our State; Others say, others say Law is no more, Law has gone away. And always the loud angry crowd, Very angry and very loud, Law is We, And always the soft idiot softly Me. If we, dear, know we know no more Than they about the Law, If I no more than you Know what we should and should not do Except that all agree Gladly or miserably That the Law is And that all know this If therefore thinking it absurd To identify Law with some other word, Unlike so many men I cannot say Law is again, No more than they can we suppress The universal wish to guess Or slip out of our own position Into an unconcerned condition. Although I can at least confine Your vanity and mine To stating timidly A timid similarity, We shall boast anyway: Like love I say. Like love we don't know where or why, Like love we can't compel or fly, Like love we often weep, Like love we seldom keep.
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4k
Law Like Love
Law, say the gardeners, is the sun, Law is the one All gardeners obey To-morrow, yesterday, to-day. Law is the wisdom of the old, The impotent grandfathers feebly scold; The grandchildren put out a treble tongue, Law is the senses of the young. Law, says the priest with a priestly look, Expounding to an unpriestly people, Law is the words in my priestly book, Law is my pulpit and my steeple. Law, says the judge as he looks down his nose, Speaking clearly and most severely, Law is as I've told you before, Law is as you know I suppose, Law is but let me explain it once more, Law is The Law. Yet law-abiding scholars write: Law is neither wrong nor right, Law is only crimes Punished by places and by times, Law is the clothes men wear Anytime, anywhere, Law is Good morning and Good night. Others say, Law is our Fate; Others say, Law is our State; Others say, others say Law is no more, Law has gone away. And always the loud angry crowd, Very angry and very loud, Law is We, And always the soft idiot softly Me. If we, dear, know we know no more Than they about the Law, If I no more than you Know what we should and should not do Except that all agree Gladly or miserably That the Law is And that all know this If therefore thinking it absurd To identify Law with some other word, Unlike so many men I cannot say Law is again, No more than they can we suppress The universal wish to guess Or slip out of our own position Into an unconcerned condition. Although I can at least confine Your vanity and mine To stating timidly A timid similarity, We shall boast anyway: Like love I say. Like love we don't know where or why, Like love we can't compel or fly, Like love we often weep, Like love we seldom keep.
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60
No matter what I do theres always something I want more Like a camera or a trip or even just something just a little bit better than what I have, even if its older, because sometimes things of old are so much better than the new, like how I look at These cameras I dream of in stores, in flea markets, I hold their predecessors, their grandfathers and feel the cold calm of the metal body in my hands, and know that things just aren’t built this way any more, and people aren’t what they used to be, or so it seems, from the history classes and all the books I read, about life before it was my time and how people seemed to give a **** and didn’t just sit and whine and waste so much time, but how did they live before Facebook how could they fall in love without Tinder, or read the news without Twitter or pass their classes without google on their Androids in their laps to pass the answers on the test before them? So I guess they were just tougher than us, like these old cameras I want, and they didn’t want, like we want to pretend we need so we don’t have to accept what’s right in front of us. Our excuse that We need to wait for film To develop.
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May 27, 2014
May 27, 2014 at 8:39 PM UTC
Old Cameras
To the freshman sitting alone on the bus Counting the scars on your wrists like train tracks Creating a laundry list of the socially acceptable ways To **** yourself. Wondering if you'll jump off a bridge this year Or bleed out in your bathtub next summer, They'll be watching you. You wish you could tell them they're wrong You're different than all the depressed emo kids in the bad movies Plastered to the television set like gum on the bottoms of desks You're popular But you're not pretty Or happy. To the freshman can I just tell you In four years, you'll be happy. To the freshman can I just tell you You are pretty, you are beautiful, they all love you. To the freshman can I just tell you That the amount of likes you have on your profile picture Equates to dust dissipating in the distance To the freshman can I just tell you The earth's curved wall will keep you grounded as you go through Hell To the freshman can I just tell you You don't know what *** feels like right now But it is both amazing, like birthday balloons racing through your stomach And overrated. To the freshman can I just tell you That a friend's overdose, two grandfathers' deaths, and one suicide later You're still here. To the freshman can I just tell you Losing friends is the only way you know you can rely on yourself It hurts like crazy, but the bleeding heals And you find your own skin was the agent. To the freshman can I just tell you You'll go through horrific fashion trends (Though none worse than the skeletons of middle school) And still come out looking **** To the freshman can I just tell you Graduation is not far away. To the freshman can I just tell you You're going to be ******* fantastic. To the freshman can I just tell you How ******* fantastic it is To grow up to be me.
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Jun 9, 2015
Jun 9, 2015 at 11:30 PM UTC
To the Freshman
To the freshman sitting alone on the bus Counting the scars on your wrists like train tracks Creating a laundry list of the socially acceptable ways To **** yourself. Wondering if you'll jump off a bridge this year Or bleed out in your bathtub next summer, They'll be watching you. You wish you could tell them they're wrong You're different than all the depressed emo kids in the bad movies Plastered to the television set like gum on the bottoms of desks You're popular But you're not pretty Or happy. To the freshman can I just tell you In four years, you'll be happy. To the freshman can I just tell you You are pretty, you are beautiful, they all love you. To the freshman can I just tell you That the amount of likes you have on your profile picture Equates to dust dissipating in the distance To the freshman can I just tell you The earth's curved wall will keep you grounded as you go through Hell To the freshman can I just tell you You don't know what *** feels like right now But it is both amazing, like birthday balloons racing through your stomach And overrated. To the freshman can I just tell you That a friend's overdose, two grandfathers' deaths, and one suicide later You're still here. To the freshman can I just tell you Losing friends is the only way you know you can rely on yourself It hurts like crazy, but the bleeding heals And you find your own skin was the agent. To the freshman can I just tell you You'll go through horrific fashion trends (Though none worse than the skeletons of middle school) And still come out looking **** To the freshman can I just tell you Graduation is not far away. To the freshman can I just tell you You're going to be ******* fantastic. To the freshman can I just tell you How ******* fantastic it is To grow up to be me.
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44
The houses of my Babylon lean upon each other. They will not fall, not until the last hard hand quits the last hammer, not until misfortune loses prey, not until the least last child is gently packed in wool and sent to play. Sooner will you hear their see-saw hinges wail. Will you then ask of them a song of home? The windows of the houses of my Babylon lay bear the walls around them. Who but gray grandfathers marking time press their noses to the glass? The visions of their lonely vigils fade, half life unrecorded, shadows on parade, whispered secrets kept secret. You will never know with what intent they overlook your passing through. Rain tears on the windows of the houses of my Babylon, the bath of unattended panes dropped free from heaven. They will not wash clear. They will ever wear the haze of tainted air. You think this stain the mark of unrepentant sin. Who, then, gives the absolution of so many brown-burned fingers that will not scrub up?
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Nov 10, 2012
Nov 10, 2012 at 1:21 PM UTC
Babylonian Exile
Our mother, Gaia, shall never die Though for us I cannot speak When Terra does turn her back to our kind Our might shall seem so meek Roaring flames do lick her skin While Chaos’ storms do rage But Mother Earth will retreat within And turn to a blank new page. Zeus will fall when the skies go black His wife, Hera, to follow when families dissolve Once the gods fall there’ll be no way back And hubris will be our final resolve. Chronus may falter when there’s nobody alive To observe the passage of hours When the clocks have all stopped, Gears unturning under toppled clock towers No grandfathers left to chime. But Gaia will live on in sleep so bereft Long after we’re lost to time. With no men to wage wars, Ares will fade Athena too as innovation runs dry Aphrodite may weep when there’s no love to be made Hermes, when there’s nowhere to fly And though our sun will live past our end, There’ll be no chariot of gold No homes, no hearths for Hestia to tend And no music for Apollo to behold We have long lost one of the faces Of Artemis, the huntress under moonlight’s reign And civilization (so-called) now erases Pan, the wild god, and his sacred domain What next, I now ask, shall we bid our farewell? What aspect of humanity lost? As we stumble along nearer to Hell Whom shall be the next forgot? But fear thee not, for life’s most precious gift is the transience, the temporal nature of Earth All will change, all will shift and perhaps a different Cosmos may birth. Once the stardust settles, a new something to arrive And we shall perhaps there meet once again Tied by fresh cords of fate to share new lives. And all the while, she’s waited for us Watching and loving those souls immortal Taking new forms now from different dust She’ll rejoice and rebirth the primordial They will rise and then fall and eventually make way For the pantheon of a new universe to arise Perhaps not all will look the same-- But close enough for essence to find.
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Sep 5, 2023
Sep 5, 2023 at 3:54 PM UTC
The Earth Shall Not Die
Our mother, Gaia, shall never die Though for us I cannot speak When Terra does turn her back to our kind Our might shall seem so meek Roaring flames do lick her skin While Chaos’ storms do rage But Mother Earth will retreat within And turn to a blank new page. Zeus will fall when the skies go black His wife, Hera, to follow when families dissolve Once the gods fall there’ll be no way back And hubris will be our final resolve. Chronus may falter when there’s nobody alive To observe the passage of hours When the clocks have all stopped, Gears unturning under toppled clock towers No grandfathers left to chime. But Gaia will live on in sleep so bereft Long after we’re lost to time. With no men to wage wars, Ares will fade Athena too as innovation runs dry Aphrodite may weep when there’s no love to be made Hermes, when there’s nowhere to fly And though our sun will live past our end, There’ll be no chariot of gold No homes, no hearths for Hestia to tend And no music for Apollo to behold We have long lost one of the faces Of Artemis, the huntress under moonlight’s reign And civilization (so-called) now erases Pan, the wild god, and his sacred domain What next, I now ask, shall we bid our farewell? What aspect of humanity lost? As we stumble along nearer to Hell Whom shall be the next forgot? But fear thee not, for life’s most precious gift is the transience, the temporal nature of Earth All will change, all will shift and perhaps a different Cosmos may birth. Once the stardust settles, a new something to arrive And we shall perhaps there meet once again Tied by fresh cords of fate to share new lives. And all the while, she’s waited for us Watching and loving those souls immortal Taking new forms now from different dust She’ll rejoice and rebirth the primordial They will rise and then fall and eventually make way For the pantheon of a new universe to arise Perhaps not all will look the same-- But close enough for essence to find.
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50
I get home, to a hand crafted note, one you wrote, with the old calligraphy pen, that sits at grandfathers writing desk. You even used the envelope, sealed by candle wax, stamped a red wax, my initial, touching, folded paper, a kiss of brass. The art of, manliness, unforgotten left on the pillow, of this grandiose four poster bed, mahogany homemade, the resting place, for weekend affairs. You refuse to kiss, ruby covered lips, as I remember the calling card, you used as a formal introduction, perfectly groomed, you entered my life, unregrettably. You, a man learned from his, grandfather his own father passing away, whilst away at sea, that cold and distant war, my tears fell as you pursued his path. You looked so debonair, a tuxedo, measured to fit, all alignments and as I stare at you, eyes connecting all I wish for, are sweet kisses. I want your arms around me, softly whispering, of how you will gently caress, each and every curve, kissing my thigh. The letter, quite simply, hand typed, reads; Florence Rose, will you do me the honor of marrying me? I flush my arms around your neck, tears fall, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes. He embraces me, kisses those lips, lifts me to the bed, ********** me for minutes moments and hours, he makes love to me, and I know, I know he, is the only man I will ever need, or even know. © Sia Jane
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Feb 15, 2014
Feb 15, 2014 at 11:15 AM UTC
Unforgotten (manliness)
Somewhere in this town there is man with his feet bare. He has spent the last hour staring at his toothbrush and trying to remember how to leave this room. His fists hold fingers that are twisted into paleness: Like jaws too small for adult teeth. The bathtub gapes up at him, yawning in his peripheral vision, He remembers that two feet are just as good as six when it comes to sinking. He never did learn how to swim, but Like a fish out of water knows The sea can make short work of accidental sailors And the gurgle of a tap can sound like the tide coming in. The bathroom mirror is not kind to him: His imperfections make apologies he simply won’t accept. Ribs forming corrugations on his t-shirt, as though his bones are trying to escape from the confines of his skin. The porcelain lip of the sink continues to pout, its expression a perfect ‘O’. The plughole is wearing lipstick today; blood red, As it has been every day of this week. Thoughts are like spiders webs, he thinks, constructed by moonlight then torn down in the morning Occasionally he’ll still catch the dew. In the sterile light of an eco friendly bulb, he holds the mirror back with both hands, one hinge broken. He wears his heart on his sleeve, cufflinks cutting off his circulation. In the shadow of the cabinet, are kept row after row of soldiers he uses to fight off his demons And below that another regiment to handle the effects of the others. He says, “All I am now is a synonym; and alternative to what I used to be.” As alive is in likeness to living. As the sun is, to the infertile glow of his grandfathers TV.
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Oct 26, 2013
Oct 26, 2013 at 1:40 PM UTC
Fluoride
Somewhere in this town there is man with his feet bare. He has spent the last hour staring at his toothbrush and trying to remember how to leave this room. His fists hold fingers that are twisted into paleness: Like jaws too small for adult teeth. The bathtub gapes up at him, yawning in his peripheral vision, He remembers that two feet are just as good as six when it comes to sinking. He never did learn how to swim, but Like a fish out of water knows The sea can make short work of accidental sailors And the gurgle of a tap can sound like the tide coming in. The bathroom mirror is not kind to him: His imperfections make apologies he simply won’t accept. Ribs forming corrugations on his t-shirt, as though his bones are trying to escape from the confines of his skin. The porcelain lip of the sink continues to pout, its expression a perfect ‘O’. The plughole is wearing lipstick today; blood red, As it has been every day of this week. Thoughts are like spiders webs, he thinks, constructed by moonlight then torn down in the morning Occasionally he’ll still catch the dew. In the sterile light of an eco friendly bulb, he holds the mirror back with both hands, one hinge broken. He wears his heart on his sleeve, cufflinks cutting off his circulation. In the shadow of the cabinet, are kept row after row of soldiers he uses to fight off his demons And below that another regiment to handle the effects of the others. He says, “All I am now is a synonym; and alternative to what I used to be.” As alive is in likeness to living. As the sun is, to the infertile glow of his grandfathers TV.
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All Things Galore by Michael R. Burch (for my grandfathers George Edwin Hurt Sr. and Paul Ray Burch, Sr.) Grandfather, now in your gray presence you are somehow more near and remind me that, once, upon a star, you taught me wish that ululate soft phrase, that hopeful phrase! and everywhere above, each hopeful star gleamed down and seemed to speak of times before when you clasped my small glad hand in your wise paw and taught me heaven, omen, meteor ... Keywords/Tags: family, grandfather, grandchild, grandson, teacher, mentor, example, guide, guidance, guru
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Apr 14, 2020
Apr 14, 2020 at 10:42 PM UTC
All Things Galore
My great grandfathers wore dreadlocks Yet stood firm, proud as peacocks Patrolling their territory paddocks Today they are a source of mocks A representation of sheer evil In the world we foolishly call civil Like an attempt on a biscuit by a weevil We lost it. Our great forefathers drank milk And then over the mountains take a hike Had absolute no need for a bike Treated all men with respect alike We are taking concoction for drink May never cease to suffer sick Rounded and diabetic as tick We lost it. They went to schools to learn practice Learnt virtue and shunned away vice To obey all the elders without a voice Then there was little necessity for police We are learning to sit all day in office To treat subordinates with blowing malice Learning theory, understanding without choice We depend on book, written advice Alphabets unlike words know no justice Scratching as mice full of lice We lost it.
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Jun 23, 2012
Jun 23, 2012 at 5:21 AM UTC
WE LOST IT.
4 10:30 "Knock knock" Still in my pyjamas. We drank coffee and smoked cigarettes. He went to a rap gig the night before. Fifteen dollars wasted. 3 13:00 An old school friend. More coffee. We spoke of art, travel and vegetable gardens. In Japan they don't eat or show affection in public she told me. Aokigahara finally makes sense. 2 22:00 Lucky Coq. Girls would ****** for his hair. He told me of his grandfathers poetry recitals every Christmas. Idiosyncrasies are the ventriloquists of my heart. 1 23:00 We smoked under vine-entwined lanterns. He fell in love with a French girl once and lived with her in Versailles. He was young and went back home. Regret at the fork in the road. 0 23:30 Left to find a 24/7 bottle shop and go home. Crossed paths with old friends. "Come have a drink with us" -1 -2 -3
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Apr 10, 2016
Apr 10, 2016 at 11:04 PM UTC
Threshold Of An Introvert
#1-- Legacy This city was my ancestors' town. We have laid tar on your horse-paths- a university grew from Riverview roots- you chopped firewood from the great-great grandfathers of these trees. #2-- saint cloud sounds like midnight, shoemaker: haunted cries. munsinger's melody: scurries & chirps. when TNT shatters granite at the quarry. pucks' percussion at the brooks center. buzz of summers on lake george's shore. somalia & scandinavia, singing.
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Apr 21, 2015
Apr 21, 2015 at 1:16 AM UTC
hometown poems
Only fifteen, He is only Fifthy, He, her cake eaten, Her Grandfathers peer, the Child Fears, that man is so Filthy. Poverty is the biggest SINNER. Orphaned, Two little heads, 10 and 5 Dependant on this 15 year old mother-sister AIDS is the killer. Those groaning two little stomachs need a filler. Now destitute, She drops out, Looks but cant find work Whites say experience lacks Spotted by a mercedes benz driving malechavaunist She is robbed her innocence to put food in the table. Now one day, The mother-sister never returned, Exported to Mexico, Shes been sold. As a ********** *** slave, They made *** tapes The man called the woman by parts of herself. When she cried. "Shut up, you ***** You miss mama ******* Tapes Sold online. Be acknowledged These kids grew up with Aunt Biological parents deserted them just when the young were toddlers. Their mom in Gauteng, a Fan of *********** ..........just one day whilst watching **** on You tube she saw a child with a face like hers Blinked her eyes, looked again Her baby Her baby is a **** star. Called the mercedes benz driving old man... how could he have known? He was never there. oh He Sold her. They recognised their child from ***********
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Aug 14, 2015
Aug 14, 2015 at 8:32 PM UTC
***********
"Soldiers Heart" Two brothers on their way one wore blue and one wore gray one came home one stayed behind one mother mourns on a November's day. 212,938 bled and died on American soil. "Irritable Heart" 14 years in the Philippines far too many days 4200 died so many miles away. "Shell Shock" Johnny got his gun alive in the tomb of his mind no eyes no ears no arms no legs a beating heart an active mind alive with memories and sensations Paths of Glory leads the way and 53,402 stay while one came home. "Battle Fatigue" 291,557 perished. Nagasaki got its bomb six million died before our fathers and grandfathers liberated them. To the 38th Parallel we did go where old soldiers never die they just fade away with time. 33,746 died. "Stress Response Syndrome" Apocalypse Now Jacob had his ladder in the jungles of Vietnam Full Metal Jacket Born in the USA homeless veterans now aged still pay today while 47,424 lay in their graves. "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" My daughter my son-in-law bring it all back home to me Navy Medics seven years they traveled with the Marines picking up the pieces as they went their way many too many trips for all those young troops now we are seeing their heroism proceeding despite being afraid a price dearly we all pay. 5,282 and still counting.
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Nov 11, 2014
Nov 11, 2014 at 11:09 AM UTC
Veterans Day in the USA
*Fall In Love Or Fall In Lust. Make Plans, Or Make Cookies. There Is Living To Do Here. There Are Books To Read, And Movies To Watch. There Are Art Museums Meant To Wonder Through, And Ocean Waters To Taste. There Are Plays That Deserve Standing Ovations, And Musicals With Words That Need To Be Sung, There Are Girls That Need To Be Kissed, There Are Boys That Need To Know What It Feels Like To Have Their Hands Held. There Are Poems That Need To Be Screamed At The Tops Of Someone's Lungs. There Are History Books With Frayed Edges, And Broken Tea Pots That Died Before Their First Breath. There Are Heart Throbs Waiting To Make Teenage Girls Swoon. There Are Jeans, With Knees That Are Begging To Be Ripped Open. There Are Sunflowers That Have Never Been Told “You Are My Sunshine”. There Are Grandfathers With Empty Laps, And Mothers With Empty Wallets. There Are Law Students, With Hearts Ready For Humanity, There Are Babies With Broken Families. There Are Fortune Cookies With Untold Wisdom, And Grandmothers With The Best Rhubarb Crisp Recipe You Have Ever Tasted. There Are Undiscovered Passions, And Ancient Ruins. There Are Empty Canvases And Blank White Walls. There Are Silences, Recorded And Played Back For The Ears Of The Empty. There Are Places On This Earth Where The Sky Is The Color Of Bleeding Tissue Paper. There Are Places On This Earth, Where Dry Lightening Storms, Are As If God Himself Is Snapping Photos. There Are Lost Valentines, And Flickering Lampposts. There Are Forgotten Dates And Remember Birthdays. There Are Lost Puppies And One Man Bands. There Are Butterflies With Missing Wings, And Eagles That Mate For Life. There Are Places We Put Our Insane, And Others We Place Our Sick. We Have Tattooed Our Mistakes On Skin, And Branded Cattle To The Same Tune. There Are Times We Fall Together, And Others In Witch We Fall Apart. There Are Moments When We Gage Our Existence In The Breaths We Take, And Moments When We Gage It In The Moments That Take Our Breath Away. There Are Times We Take Chances And Times We Take Pills. There Are Moments When We Bruise Our Knees While Praying, And Others Where We Break Kneecaps For Dollar Bills. There Is Living To Be Done Here. There Are Words To Be Spoken, And Even More To Be Written.*
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Feb 27, 2012
Feb 27, 2012 at 8:26 PM UTC
Waldosia
*Fall In Love Or Fall In Lust. Make Plans, Or Make Cookies. There Is Living To Do Here. There Are Books To Read, And Movies To Watch. There Are Art Museums Meant To Wonder Through, And Ocean Waters To Taste. There Are Plays That Deserve Standing Ovations, And Musicals With Words That Need To Be Sung, There Are Girls That Need To Be Kissed, There Are Boys That Need To Know What It Feels Like To Have Their Hands Held. There Are Poems That Need To Be Screamed At The Tops Of Someone's Lungs. There Are History Books With Frayed Edges, And Broken Tea Pots That Died Before Their First Breath. There Are Heart Throbs Waiting To Make Teenage Girls Swoon. There Are Jeans, With Knees That Are Begging To Be Ripped Open. There Are Sunflowers That Have Never Been Told “You Are My Sunshine”. There Are Grandfathers With Empty Laps, And Mothers With Empty Wallets. There Are Law Students, With Hearts Ready For Humanity, There Are Babies With Broken Families. There Are Fortune Cookies With Untold Wisdom, And Grandmothers With The Best Rhubarb Crisp Recipe You Have Ever Tasted. There Are Undiscovered Passions, And Ancient Ruins. There Are Empty Canvases And Blank White Walls. There Are Silences, Recorded And Played Back For The Ears Of The Empty. There Are Places On This Earth Where The Sky Is The Color Of Bleeding Tissue Paper. There Are Places On This Earth, Where Dry Lightening Storms, Are As If God Himself Is Snapping Photos. There Are Lost Valentines, And Flickering Lampposts. There Are Forgotten Dates And Remember Birthdays. There Are Lost Puppies And One Man Bands. There Are Butterflies With Missing Wings, And Eagles That Mate For Life. There Are Places We Put Our Insane, And Others We Place Our Sick. We Have Tattooed Our Mistakes On Skin, And Branded Cattle To The Same Tune. There Are Times We Fall Together, And Others In Witch We Fall Apart. There Are Moments When We Gage Our Existence In The Breaths We Take, And Moments When We Gage It In The Moments That Take Our Breath Away. There Are Times We Take Chances And Times We Take Pills. There Are Moments When We Bruise Our Knees While Praying, And Others Where We Break Kneecaps For Dollar Bills. There Is Living To Be Done Here. There Are Words To Be Spoken, And Even More To Be Written.*
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drowning in what you call life chocking on what you call hope everyday i breathe in everything you say, everything  you do waiting for my big break speaking for what i think is right sprinting for my future the barriers of time slow me down but never break what i have in my mind as my happy ever after. a life a job a family with the morals of  our grandfathers no matter the dirt you cover me in the hurt you throw upon my shoulders i will reach my happy ever after.
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Aug 30, 2012
Aug 30, 2012 at 10:40 AM UTC
happy ever after
"The past is a bucket of ashes." 1 THE WOMAN named To-morrow sits with a hairpin in her teeth and takes her time and does her hair the way she wants it and fastens at last the last braid and coil and puts the hairpin where it belongs and turns and drawls: Well, what of it? My grandmother, Yesterday, is gone. What of it? Let the dead be dead. 2 The doors were cedar and the panels strips of gold and the girls were golden girls and the panels read and the girls chanted: We are the greatest city, the greatest nation: nothing like us ever was. The doors are twisted on broken hinges. Sheets of rain swish through on the wind where the golden girls ran and the panels read: We are the greatest city, the greatest nation, nothing like us ever was. 3 It has happened before. Strong men put up a city and got a nation together, And paid singers to sing and women to warble: We are the greatest city, the greatest nation, nothing like us ever was. And while the singers sang and the strong men listened and paid the singers well and felt good about it all, there were rats and lizards who listened ... and the only listeners left now ... are ... the rats ... and the lizards. And there are black crows crying, "Caw, caw," bringing mud and sticks building a nest over the words carved on the doors where the panels were cedar and the strips on the panels were gold and the golden girls came singing: We are the greatest city, the greatest nation: nothing like us ever was. The only singers now are crows crying, "Caw, caw," And the sheets of rain whine in the wind and doorways. And the only listeners now are ... the rats ... and the lizards. 4 The feet of the rats scribble on the door sills; the hieroglyphs of the rat footprints chatter the pedigrees of the rats and babble of the blood and gabble of the breed of the grandfathers and the great-grandfathers of the rats. And the wind shifts and the dust on a door sill shifts and even the writing of the rat footprints tells us nothing, nothing at all about the greatest city, the greatest nation where the strong men listened and the women warbled: Nothing like us ever was.
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2.4k
Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind
"The past is a bucket of ashes." 1 THE WOMAN named To-morrow sits with a hairpin in her teeth and takes her time and does her hair the way she wants it and fastens at last the last braid and coil and puts the hairpin where it belongs and turns and drawls: Well, what of it? My grandmother, Yesterday, is gone. What of it? Let the dead be dead. 2 The doors were cedar and the panels strips of gold and the girls were golden girls and the panels read and the girls chanted: We are the greatest city, the greatest nation: nothing like us ever was. The doors are twisted on broken hinges. Sheets of rain swish through on the wind where the golden girls ran and the panels read: We are the greatest city, the greatest nation, nothing like us ever was. 3 It has happened before. Strong men put up a city and got a nation together, And paid singers to sing and women to warble: We are the greatest city, the greatest nation, nothing like us ever was. And while the singers sang and the strong men listened and paid the singers well and felt good about it all, there were rats and lizards who listened ... and the only listeners left now ... are ... the rats ... and the lizards. And there are black crows crying, "Caw, caw," bringing mud and sticks building a nest over the words carved on the doors where the panels were cedar and the strips on the panels were gold and the golden girls came singing: We are the greatest city, the greatest nation: nothing like us ever was. The only singers now are crows crying, "Caw, caw," And the sheets of rain whine in the wind and doorways. And the only listeners now are ... the rats ... and the lizards. 4 The feet of the rats scribble on the door sills; the hieroglyphs of the rat footprints chatter the pedigrees of the rats and babble of the blood and gabble of the breed of the grandfathers and the great-grandfathers of the rats. And the wind shifts and the dust on a door sill shifts and even the writing of the rat footprints tells us nothing, nothing at all about the greatest city, the greatest nation where the strong men listened and the women warbled: Nothing like us ever was.
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