"pawpaw" poems
When Abraham Lincoln was shoveled into the tombs,
he forgot the copperheads and the assassin...
in the dust, in the cool tombs.
And Ulysses Grant lost all thought of con men and Wall Street,
cash and collateral turned ashes...
in the dust, in the cool tombs.
Pocahontas' body, lovely as a poplar, sweet as a red haw
in November or a pawpaw in May, did she wonder? does she remember?...
in the dust, in the cool tombs?
Take any streetful of people buying clothes and groceries,
cheering a hero or throwing confetti and blowing tin horns...
tell me if the lovers are losers...
tell me if any get more than the lovers...
in the dust...
in the cool tombs.
6k
Yes Spring has come to the land,
Mother Nature has shed her coat,
time to get off the couch and do what matters most. Live and have fun!
So I am out catching up on the chores and second duty, granddaughter watch,
prune here, rake there, now where has that little tike gone?
Perhapes if I give these little hands something to occupy,
why the best thing is a little water, yes that will bring a smile.
So here is the battle ground as the scene unfolds.
She has a little pail, I have the garden hose.
Her duty, quite simple,place some water on the plants,
end result however, water on PawPaw's pants!
So only to even the score, mind you no harm intended,
was to give the little tike a squirt and the battle would have ended.
Oh no, not today! This little tink has got some guts!
Why with every squirt I give that girl, I get a pail of slosh!
So of course, being the elder here and quite mature I say,
I give that girl her monies worth and let out a real good spray!
Soon the chores are all forgotten and the plants need water no more,
end of the day I can say she may have even tied the score!
Wow how much water do these pampers hold?!
Apr 3, 2012
Apr 3, 2012 at 7:28 PM UTC
Pawpaw would rock by the fireplace in his favorite rocker ! The occasional whiff of Oak firewood and Borkum Riff pipe tobacco , I was hanging on to every word ! A narrative about a little boy in 1925 . Standing by his chair , as proud as I could be ! He'd look straight into your eyes without even flinching , the smell of Old Spice aftershave and Kentucky Bourbon . A shot glass with a gold rim ..A pocket watch his Father passed on to him ..Stories of a little fella from the south side of Atlanta relayed to a captive audience of one ! A starstruck grandson with a cup of hot chocolate , cap pistol , belt , holster , pajamas and house shoes ! Astonished with tales of Buffalo Bill ! Sergeant York and Wild Bill Hickok !
Oct 21, 2015
Oct 21, 2015 at 8:14 PM UTC
Mist moves through early morning
Swirling a top the remaining craggy Gods
Standing tall to form the Appalachia
PawPaw trees hang heavy
Laden with fruit, ripened by Eastern sun
Precious ecosystem sustaining what shouldn't grow in this hemisphere
What's left that has not been removed
By blasting coal extraction
Towers above us still, breathing deep
Guarding us in silent repose
Footsteps weave to and fro
Sweet grass brushing sensitive skin
My laughter echo's through the Old Oaks
Honey bees gather pollen
Buzzing happily by my side
We must protect this special place
Turn away from stripping her of her glitter
Of her shine
Clean air, healthy soil
She can recover, she will survive
Aug 4, 2014
Aug 4, 2014 at 11:08 AM UTC
Children ask the most funny things
and you better give the answer a think,
you're sure to hear it more then twice.
Said yes there were plenty of times
when being scared was on the line,
I can recall a time or two.
There was the time ,way back before you,
I was scared of my old, dark room
but I had to learn to sleep there by myself.
The time your Aunt Jo fell out of that tree,
I was so scared I got down on my knees,
asked the Good Lord to help her heal.
The time I was sent to do somethings
the good folks here did'nt know where I went,
till they all read about it and saw it on the news.
Course I was scared when I Asked your MawMaw
for her hand,
did'nt know if she would take a man
like your PawPaw was back then.
Remember how my hands all shook,
the day they brought your Mama in the room,
so tiny and full of lifes demands.
Yes, Little Tink, I've been scared a time or two.
I was beyond scared when you came along,
it had been all so long,
since we had a little tike like you in the house.
So I guess when I talk to to you of being scared,
well, PawPaw knows what he's talking about.
May 2, 2012
May 2, 2012 at 5:20 PM UTC
Kingsville, Texas, 1955
A loaf of bread from the Piggly Wiggly
A quart of milk because MawMaw forgot
A Coke and a Mickey Mouse funnybook
A water pistol and Eskimo Pies
A pack of PawPaw’s brand of cigarettes
So he can watch his Yankees this afternoon
On the Sylvania with the rabbit ears
In gloriously static-y black-and-white
Plays called by Dizzy Dean and PeeWee Reese
In our childhood world, forever at peace
Jul 20, 2018
Jul 20, 2018 at 4:05 PM UTC
Welcome my Princess! Oh Heavens,
For the queen of my heart
Is about to offer to nature
Her complete beauty of Africa,
Give her the Kente cloth
In its rich, natural and splendid array,
And offer her newborn feet with
The golden sandals and diamond beads,
Behold! There she descends from the
Unapproachable eternal flames of the sun,
With the divine firmament
Fizzling at her flammable tune,
See how the precious fragrant branches
Of the clouds covers her lovely feet,
For the clouds have gathered and there is
Nothing more to expect but the storm,
Oh yes, I have found a ****** woman,
The beauty among the daughters of great men,
Whose eyes are as brilliant as the star
And as delightful as a sugarcane;
Behold, her face is as bright as palm wine;
Her hair sleeps like a slender thread,
And her stature is as that of a pawpaw tree,
She is called Obaahemaa Kabutuwaa
And truly she is Rasses Kabutuwaa
Whose eyes are those of the faithful dove,
Truly, Kabutuwaa whose
Gods is like that of bees,
Slim, black and full of sweetness,
Truly, Kabutuwaa is obedient and wise,
Truly, Kabutuwaa for whom
All men felt love in their hearts!
Come! Oh my unveiled one,
And expose thy soft and loamy face,
For the nations shall seek and
Behold thy enviable eternal beauty,
Ah, the proud effeminate shadow of Africa,
Please show the angelic face of
Thy love to my perturbed soul,
For thou art an African ****** indeed.
© PRINCE NANA ANIN-AGYEI
Email: [email protected]
Apr 8, 2013
Apr 8, 2013 at 6:58 AM UTC
Now see, I am forbidden
By my totem not to eat
The meat of the dog,
For my future cannot
Even distinguish between
Water and palm-wine,
Oh, life is ill,
When I went to the bush
To fetch the medicine,
I met a fearful fellow on the way,
But no, an evil ancestral spirit
Snatched the medicine
From my hopeless soul,
Unfortunately, fellow crusaders
Were looking ghastly at my
***** rag, not loosing
Sight of my plucky suffering,
None fetches firewood
From my bush anymore,
Where the tree of the
Pawpaw has fallen,
Not even my enemies,
Hmm, I was made to swear
The divine oath of solidarity,
But fairness was not found
In the heart of my companions,
Given me the hope that,
The everlasting python
Which live in the Birim river
Did not make a mistake in
Confirming my creation,
Indeed, when myth dies
Only force is made free.
© PRINCE NANA ANIN-AGYEI
Email: [email protected]
Apr 8, 2013
Apr 8, 2013 at 6:17 AM UTC
*For cold , crystal clear water , **** treats and sage advice
on quite a few hot , humid , June afternoons* ..
May 5, 2016
May 5, 2016 at 5:40 PM UTC
http://authspot.com/poetry/newborn-let-the-journey-begin/
Sep 26, 2010
Sep 26, 2010 at 2:26 PM UTC
*Spread over warm shortbread ,
a drizzle with molasses and cornbread
On a fresh baked apple , a dabble on a **** ,
a spoonful over your corn on the cob
Hoecakes , pancakes , johnnycakes and
hushpuppies
A crawfish boil , a 'smidge in the stew , *** liquor , fresh hominy in the fridge ,
drop biscuits , catfish breading and Columbus
grits
Grandmother's frosting with a -
Mason Jar
The Old Red Rooster sleeps in PawPaw's car
Barn Owl hoot 'n holler
Two York's in the afternoon wallow
Blackberry muffins on the rack
An afternoon stitch on Uncle Joe's back
Three legged pup in a red clay ditch
Mother whipping okra with a hickory switch* .....
May 2, 2017
May 2, 2017 at 8:55 PM UTC
I went out this morning
to clear the cobwebs
off the walking path
though truth be told
it was too cold for spiders.
The plants and trees
were more or less
hospitable.
That one **** spit
seeds at me --
will have to remember
to learn his name later.
The pawpaw trees
are looking well.
I greeted all the ones
on my level.
The violets winked.
A woodpecker drummed.
There were no still waters--
but I swear,
He restoreth my soul.
Apr 15, 2016
Apr 15, 2016 at 6:41 PM UTC
She will make it a perfect holiday
(“Don’t touch those cookies! They’re for later!”)
Just like the ones on H & G TV
(“Don’t touch Santa! I’ve got him where I want him!”)
With the perfect table and decorations
(“Who moved the Easter bunny, --- --- it!?”)
Exactly like the ones in the magazines
(“Just leave the tree alone; I’LL decorate it!”)
And smiling faces all around the house
(“I expect a little cooperation around here!”)
Perfectly wrapped presents with perfect bows
(“Turn the tree…not that way…LISTEN TO ME!”
Cute Easter baskets for each little child
(“Leave those chocolates alone! You’ll ruin your lunch!”)
Marshaled prettily for a photograph
(“Oh, ----! There’s a grass stain on your church dress!”
Meemaw and Pawpaw will be proud of them
(“---- it! I told you not to play outside in your church dress!”)
The children’s table is just like a picture
(“Not yet! We haven’t even said the ----ed grace!”)
A perfect holiday, or she’ll just die -
No matter how many children are made to cry
Apr 19, 2019
Apr 19, 2019 at 5:28 PM UTC
When he suffers, I suffer
When he sheds a tear, my heart breaks
His struggles become my struggles
I can taste his desire for independence
Trapped in a body that no longer
Adheres to his commands
Treated as an infant
By those who do not understand
He begs for people to listen
He pleads for a moment alone
He fights for a chance to try by myself
And, at night, he prays...
And I cry...
If only I could take your place
If only I could make you whole
if only I could take you back to yesterday
But I am allowed only to stand by your bedside
And, at night, I pray with you.
Jul 23, 2017
Jul 23, 2017 at 8:57 PM UTC
When it comes to you,
you are my frozen light,
The dots in your eyes shine like pawpaw seeds.
But often I wonder ,
Can you make a man happy ?
Or just shred his heart and drown his soul ?
A blissful kiss from a generous lover
that's what I offer.
Come be my lover.
Nov 1, 2018
Nov 1, 2018 at 1:39 PM UTC
Hey!
We have failed to open up mouth
Justice is eatened by like lion
That have mute our mouths
to speak peace.
See!
they have become rich
because of the poors hardworking
they are now top WHAT as millioniors
with port berries.
We have failed to express our needs
Just because we are now used to express our emotions.
But no peace to our mouth
Remember,
you're not a merely a lion
that can shut up our mouth to inner peace
we have our hearts.
Our mouth means free
to everything
but you have made us preys
to our own place of peace
Please free us,
You can't continue been righteous
Over our happiness
of our precious.
We are dying,dying,dying
inside our hearts .
Stop praying with our emotions
We labelled as humans.
Yourself,
You said, "No one is above the law. "
but you have failed to follow the rules,
You have even failed to show us
the true tree that barres good fruits
You can't claim to be a mango tree
but you're a produce of pawpaw
What kind of a tree are you?
as for I don't know.
Mar 22, 2019
Mar 22, 2019 at 7:17 AM UTC
slumberous thoroughfare
panning by--
the
weather
boldn
dry--
the day languorous
all
forgotten--
passing the
pawpaw
denude
of
fruit--
&
bluebells
blemished
by
winters barren
lossless
brew
see the
passage--
a few
steps--
through
palisade
unlatched--
eyes
reticent in
windows--
watching
pass
Jan 29, 2018
Jan 29, 2018 at 8:12 PM UTC
Work is less and
Jobless is blown
Struggle is high
The result is zero
And earth heated
Greens are fading
Breath insufficient
For all C emission
And all radiations
Yet, the brain is bright
And the heart working
Because, green is well
In the spaces of farm...
Feb 12, 2022
Feb 12, 2022 at 3:27 AM UTC
winter,
starts from
when strawberries are $4.5 per box
ends at $1.5 per box
winter ends when
i noticed i don’t panic as much
when my hand lost in my bag in search for real pawpaw
when i noticed my lips craving real pawpaw
Sep 17, 2019
Sep 17, 2019 at 11:50 PM UTC