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"quilts" poems
This old house, made just of wood, For years so proudly how it has stood, Perched high upon the hill nearby, The memories sweet, and some we cried. The roof was sturdy through many days, When storms came crashing in the ways, With rain that beat at times like a foe, Deep inside was where the love  still flowed. We painted it when time came round, From very top to the bottom ground, Polished the windows till shinny bright, Our old house standing, a lovely sight. Hung a porch swing for all to share, Forgot our troubles, the devil may care, Hugged one another on colder nights, Inside the swing there were no fights. The rickety furniture inside was there, But comfort was not on them to bare, And all the winter with quilts piled high, We slept like dreamers, not knowing why. So, as I leave old house to go, Inside my heart, I still love it so, And no matter where life now leads me on, Still at the old house is where I belong.
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Jan 27, 2012
Jan 27, 2012 at 6:17 PM UTC
This Old House
With cooler nights and soft warm days. quilts for the beds, days breeze welcome. We say goodbye to summer's blaze. Gold, orange and red are my Chrysanthemums, as fall doggedly leaves the desert kingdom. Soon will be gone, the light weight jackets. Leaves, will finally, dance from the trees. Goodbye to all the Farmer's Markets. While I warm my hands round a cup of hot tea, powdered sugar snow, in the hills I see. The bird bath has a coat of ice, small creatures go off and hibernate. My home is redolent with baking spice, red berries in the bushes, so ornate. It's Winters time to dominate.
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Nov 2, 2010
Nov 2, 2010 at 7:23 AM UTC
I Welcome Winter
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the hills The kinfolk were drinkin' as they tend to their stills The longjohns were hung by the chimney with care No stockings were found, just underwear The children were nestled so high in their bunks Their quilts made of skins from rabbits and skunks Granny with her false teeth and gun on her knee Was waiting for Santa as she sat by the tree From out of the barn there arose such a noise We thought it was Grandpa drinkin' with the boys But what to my wandering eye should appear It was just cousin Cleatus in mama's brassiere And then from the rooftop we heard it at last Like the sound of thunder or a shot gun blast We have Christmas dinner, it's finally here Granny kidnapped Santa while we shot his deer Venison all covered with onions for stew And even old Santa enjoyed some too His belly was full when he walked out the door But he couldn't resist when we offered him more Well that's the story of our Christmas here Merry Christmas to all 'til the same time next year © All Rights Reserved
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Dec 8, 2010
Dec 8, 2010 at 7:17 AM UTC
'Twas the Night Before Christmas (Hillbilly Style)
I sleep on white bed sheets with the windows open so the breeze can brush my face and the rain can fall on my lips. I sleep in the gray half-light that washes the color from my walls. My skin is bare, fingers tangled in the blankets, hair drying in the same air that dries the dew off of the leaves. Get drunk on dreams crumple the sheets ice packs and underwear poetry, bracelets, books. I sleep with tearstained cheeks swollen eyes and a runny nose and bite marks in my mouth. I sleep with a heavy heart and fingertips on fire. Dizzy, fuzzy eyesight and fantastic scenarios played out like film in my head. I sleep in the warmest and coldest room of my house. I sleep under quilts and blankets curled up against the cold, and I sleep naked with the air warm against my skin. I always sleep with a book at my bedside and the drapes opened so I can see the stars. I sleep through sunsets and sunrises and lightning that cracks open the sky. I sleep through delicate snowstorms and hazy summer smoke. I sleep by myself and I seize the quiet as a moment of my own, not shared not secret. I sleep for life and rebirth and tranquility, for peace and second chances. I sleep for mornings.
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Feb 8, 2015
Feb 8, 2015 at 12:04 PM UTC
Sleep
I am the flightless pelican. I’ve found myself with my mouth full, my stomach full, and so much still on my plate. Possessed by an inhuman hunger, I will gorge upon pure potential. I will yowl on and on, without sleep. - I have sand between my toes. My shoes are glued to my feet. Keep on running ‘til the calluses come. There has to be a point where I stop to sweat, and I’ll finally get my sigh of relief. I have one ride left on my bus pass. - I have a tendency to ramble and languish in my own stench. People tend to forget this at first; lured in by the false face of a genetic fluke. They want to know the impression I left, not the procrastinator; the cud-chewing goat. - I can’t sleep being held, or if I feel someone’s breath in the still. I start to feel the urge to burrow into the quiet quilts; patchwork Promised Land. I cater to the crowd that caters to themselves, but I’m no Utilitarian. Fox and Lion. - I have cousins like brothers, and I have brothers like strangers. Stray cats with names and a copy of The Mahabharata that I stash my money in. I’m sitting on a sunny pier with my hook in the water; avoiding conflict with no bait.   - Paper cuts from the gold leaf on the edges of hymn book pages with burgundy leather covers. These guilty cuts, bleeding for what seems like hours, while we steadily forget that anyone was singing. Alone with our thoughts in the crowd.
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Jan 6, 2015
Jan 6, 2015 at 9:54 PM UTC
I Am the Flightless Pelican
When I was a windy boy and a bit And the black spit of the chapel fold, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of women), I tiptoed shy in the gooseberry wood, The rude owl cried like a tell-tale *** I skipped in a blush as the big girls rolled Nine-pin down on donkey's common, And on seesaw sunday nights I wooed Whoever I would with my wicked eyes, The whole of the moon I could love and leave All the green leaved little weddings' wives In the coal black bush and let them grieve. When I was a gusty man and a half And the black beast of the beetles' pews (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of ******* Not a boy and a bit in the wick- Dipping moon and drunk as a new dropped calf, I whistled all night in the twisted flues, Midwives grew in the midnight ditches, And the sizzling sheets of the town cried, Quick!- Whenever I dove in a breast high shoal, Wherever I ramped in the clover quilts, Whatsoever I did in the coal- Black night, I left my quivering prints. When I was a man you could call a man And the black cross of the holy house, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of welcome), Brandy and ripe in my bright, bass prime, No springtailed tom in the red hot town With every simmering woman his mouse But a hillocky bull in the swelter Of summer come in his great good time To the sultry, biding herds, I said, Oh, time enough when the blood runs cold, And I lie down but to sleep in bed, For my sulking, skulking, coal black soul! When I was half the man I was And serve me right as the preachers warn, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of downfall), No flailing calf or cat in a flame Or hickory bull in milky grass But a black sheep with a crumpled horn, At last the soul from its foul mousehole Slunk pouting out when the limp time came; And I gave my soul a blind, slashed eye, Gristle and rind, and a roarers' life, And I shoved it into the coal black sky To find a woman's soul for a wife. Now I am a man no more no more And a black reward for a roaring life, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of strangers), Tidy and cursed in my dove cooed room I lie down thin and hear the good bells jaw-- For, oh, my soul found a sunday wife In the coal black sky and she bore angels! Harpies around me out of her womb! Chastity prays for me, piety sings, Innocence sweetens my last black breath, Modesty hides my thighs in her wings, And all the deadly virtues plague my death!
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5.3k
Lament
When I was a windy boy and a bit And the black spit of the chapel fold, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of women), I tiptoed shy in the gooseberry wood, The rude owl cried like a tell-tale *** I skipped in a blush as the big girls rolled Nine-pin down on donkey's common, And on seesaw sunday nights I wooed Whoever I would with my wicked eyes, The whole of the moon I could love and leave All the green leaved little weddings' wives In the coal black bush and let them grieve. When I was a gusty man and a half And the black beast of the beetles' pews (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of ******* Not a boy and a bit in the wick- Dipping moon and drunk as a new dropped calf, I whistled all night in the twisted flues, Midwives grew in the midnight ditches, And the sizzling sheets of the town cried, Quick!- Whenever I dove in a breast high shoal, Wherever I ramped in the clover quilts, Whatsoever I did in the coal- Black night, I left my quivering prints. When I was a man you could call a man And the black cross of the holy house, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of welcome), Brandy and ripe in my bright, bass prime, No springtailed tom in the red hot town With every simmering woman his mouse But a hillocky bull in the swelter Of summer come in his great good time To the sultry, biding herds, I said, Oh, time enough when the blood runs cold, And I lie down but to sleep in bed, For my sulking, skulking, coal black soul! When I was half the man I was And serve me right as the preachers warn, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of downfall), No flailing calf or cat in a flame Or hickory bull in milky grass But a black sheep with a crumpled horn, At last the soul from its foul mousehole Slunk pouting out when the limp time came; And I gave my soul a blind, slashed eye, Gristle and rind, and a roarers' life, And I shoved it into the coal black sky To find a woman's soul for a wife. Now I am a man no more no more And a black reward for a roaring life, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of strangers), Tidy and cursed in my dove cooed room I lie down thin and hear the good bells jaw-- For, oh, my soul found a sunday wife In the coal black sky and she bore angels! Harpies around me out of her womb! Chastity prays for me, piety sings, Innocence sweetens my last black breath, Modesty hides my thighs in her wings, And all the deadly virtues plague my death!
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60
2 am coffee rings on my bedside table procrastination at the expense of a letter grade Nana's hand-stitched quilt has never felt so soft But her funeral hit me hard That quilt draped over her coffin matched the color scheme of the one she made for a little girl who love butterflies and spring time I remember pool side juice boxes stuffed animals from a pretty lady she was nice to me her mom was mean to her she cried at the funeral Nana was a better mother to her than her own ever dared to be her sister found cigarettes shes so thin now I remember her lipstick its always been red it looks so red on her skin the color of the ash that falls from her stick matching the skin of Papa Nana's son He sang at her funeral He cried the whole time Everyone cried Not me but I cant cry Jade Green words she read them spotty reading with bad rehearsal but I remember her and I and him and my brother juice boxes quilts that pool its all her and I wish I had known her well enough to miss her
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Apr 7, 2015
Apr 7, 2015 at 9:01 PM UTC
Dot
When I was a windy boy and a bit And the black spit of the chapel fold, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of women), I tiptoed shy in the gooseberry wood, The rude owl cried like a tell-tale *** I skipped in a blush as the big girls rolled Nine-pin down on donkey's common, And on seesaw sunday nights I wooed Whoever I would with my wicked eyes, The whole of the moon I could love and leave All the green leaved little weddings' wives In the coal black bush and let them grieve. When I was a gusty man and a half And the black beast of the beetles' pews (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of ******* Not a boy and a bit in the wick- Dipping moon and drunk as a new dropped calf, I whistled all night in the twisted flues, Midwives grew in the midnight ditches, And the sizzling sheets of the town cried, Quick!- Whenever I dove in a breast high shoal, Wherever I ramped in the clover quilts, Whatsoever I did in the coal- Black night, I left my quivering prints. When I was a man you could call a man And the black cross of the holy house, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of welcome), Brandy and ripe in my bright, bass prime, No springtailed tom in the red hot town With every simmering woman his mouse But a hillocky bull in the swelter Of summer come in his great good time To the sultry, biding herds, I said, Oh, time enough when the blood runs cold, And I lie down but to sleep in bed, For my sulking, skulking, coal black soul! When I was half the man I was And serve me right as the preachers warn, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of downfall), No flailing calf or cat in a flame Or hickory bull in milky grass But a black sheep with a crumpled horn, At last the soul from its foul mousehole Slunk pouting out when the limp time came; And I gave my soul a blind, slashed eye, Gristle and rind, and a roarers' life, And I shoved it into the coal black sky To find a woman's soul for a wife. Now I am a man no more no more And a black reward for a roaring life, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of strangers), Tidy and cursed in my dove cooed room I lie down thin and hear the good bells jaw-- For, oh, my soul found a sunday wife In the coal black sky and she bore angels! Harpies around me out of her womb! Chastity prays for me, piety sings, Innocence sweetens my last black breath, Modesty hides my thighs in her wings, And all the deadly virtues plague my death!
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4.9k
Lament
When I was a windy boy and a bit And the black spit of the chapel fold, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of women), I tiptoed shy in the gooseberry wood, The rude owl cried like a tell-tale *** I skipped in a blush as the big girls rolled Nine-pin down on donkey's common, And on seesaw sunday nights I wooed Whoever I would with my wicked eyes, The whole of the moon I could love and leave All the green leaved little weddings' wives In the coal black bush and let them grieve. When I was a gusty man and a half And the black beast of the beetles' pews (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of ******* Not a boy and a bit in the wick- Dipping moon and drunk as a new dropped calf, I whistled all night in the twisted flues, Midwives grew in the midnight ditches, And the sizzling sheets of the town cried, Quick!- Whenever I dove in a breast high shoal, Wherever I ramped in the clover quilts, Whatsoever I did in the coal- Black night, I left my quivering prints. When I was a man you could call a man And the black cross of the holy house, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of welcome), Brandy and ripe in my bright, bass prime, No springtailed tom in the red hot town With every simmering woman his mouse But a hillocky bull in the swelter Of summer come in his great good time To the sultry, biding herds, I said, Oh, time enough when the blood runs cold, And I lie down but to sleep in bed, For my sulking, skulking, coal black soul! When I was half the man I was And serve me right as the preachers warn, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of downfall), No flailing calf or cat in a flame Or hickory bull in milky grass But a black sheep with a crumpled horn, At last the soul from its foul mousehole Slunk pouting out when the limp time came; And I gave my soul a blind, slashed eye, Gristle and rind, and a roarers' life, And I shoved it into the coal black sky To find a woman's soul for a wife. Now I am a man no more no more And a black reward for a roaring life, (Sighed the old ram rod, dying of strangers), Tidy and cursed in my dove cooed room I lie down thin and hear the good bells jaw-- For, oh, my soul found a sunday wife In the coal black sky and she bore angels! Harpies around me out of her womb! Chastity prays for me, piety sings, Innocence sweetens my last black breath, Modesty hides my thighs in her wings, And all the deadly virtues plague my death!
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60
it's as if the air is thinner and fresher and my lungs pull it in to roll around in and soak up its potent clarity exhales sure remind me of letting go of heavy quilts my frozen goosebumped mind longs to hide under there is nothing to hide from, not even black holes - for there is beauty within the unknown a fear of blossomed beauty is a fear of losing that pinnacle of infinitely heightened completeness One falls for this belief when shyness to greatness is solidified - belief they know depths and levels and proofs knowing is knowing, yes, unknown is everything If I knew where we were going, I'd drive or would tell you to drive not knowing encompasses everywhere and I'd sooner rather look into your green eyes and drift into a black hole of unknown beauty - where we could breathe in thinner and fresher air and reach the peak of One with just two
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Sep 3, 2012
Sep 3, 2012 at 8:13 AM UTC
atom
Robin hums as she tends her garden while birds perch all around waiting for rustling seeds to fill the slender columns. Humming birds hover   to sip sweet nectar mixed for them alone. On concert nights her voice takes flight. and fills the hall with her radiant soul. On quiet mornings graphite joins with paper and a flower's form and meaning are captured by her vision. A friend fallen ill or reeling from loss receives her gift of comfort words and a card or meal soon follows. Grandchildren rush to greet her and happily fill her arms. at night they cloak themselves In love quilts sewn by Grandma’s hands. If you want to learn how love abides or long to know its fullness follow my Robin for a day Her gift is in the gifting. July, 2006
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Aug 30, 2013
Aug 30, 2013 at 10:10 AM UTC
Songbird
I see your true colours shining through When you're making dinner, like you love to do I see your true colours when walking the dog Enjoying the time of releasing the daily bog I see your true colours when quilts you're making All the colors and patterns you're mixing and matching I see your true colours when you're helping someone Connecting to another even after you're done I see your true colours when you're singing your song Seeing the joy you're having, as I hum along I see your true colours as you communicate And the smile you get when you interrelate I see your true colours while you **** the garden Connecting with nature, your heart does open I see your true colours while you sort the laundry As you love to nurture and take care of your family I see your true colours as you write a poem Feeling the appreciation from your inner home I see your true colours as you tidy the house Being present allows spirit to grow in us I see your true colours as you share time with others Giving attention to them is all that matters
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Oct 5, 2010
Oct 5, 2010 at 7:38 AM UTC
I See Your True Colours
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the hills The kinfolk were drinkin' as they tend to their stills The longjohns were hung by the chimney with care No stockings were found, just underwear The children were nestled so high in their bunks Their quilts made of skins from rabbits and skunks Granny with her false teeth and gun on her knee Was waiting for Santa as she sat by the tree From out of the barn there arose such a noise We thought it was Grandpa drinkin' with the boys But what to my wandering eye should appear It was just cousin Cleatus in mama's brassiere And then from the rooftop we heard it at last Like the sound of thunder or a shot gun blast We have Christmas dinner, it's finally here Granny kidnapped Santa while we shot his deer Venison all covered with onions for stew And even old Santa enjoyed some too His belly was full when he walked out the door But he couldn't resist when we offered him more Well that's the story of our Christmas here Merry Christmas to all 'til the same time next year © All Rights Reserved
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Dec 5, 2010
Dec 5, 2010 at 8:14 PM UTC
Twas the Night Before Christmas Hillbilly Style
I tear through cobweb-curtains in the attic of my mind and gather dusty memories and things long lost I never thought I'd find Delicately, I collect old photos of forgotten smiles and love letters that once set my heart alight and broken lamps, love-stitched quilts, worn cookbooks with my mother's notes, and my trusted, rusted trike I pack them in a cardboard box with a smile and a wish, and with pride I tie a balloon for every year of my life and watch the memories rise As the box wanders into the clouded arms of the blue father-sky, the shackles on my ankles are undone and as I take weak steps like a newly mobile fawn, I know that I am free and my haunting is now gone
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Feb 20, 2012
Feb 20, 2012 at 12:51 AM UTC
Spring Cleaning
I have been told twice in one week that I am flirting with a boy Twice in one week I have associated with a male I have laughed at jokes I thought were actually funny I have given well deserved hugs I have walked away with a smile on my face I have been told twice in one week that I am flirting with a boy Once by my friend, who assumed I wanted to steal her "toy" Once by my teacher who refused to take my side I cannot simply speak to a species with different genitals Without being called "thirsty" or "flirty" I am not sure if anyone realizes that maybe the conversation is actually funny Maybe I actually understand the joke Maybe I'm engaged in conversation because it is more intellectual than talking about quilts Maybe there is more to me than the simple teenage girl you claim to know.
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Dec 16, 2013
Dec 16, 2013 at 9:20 PM UTC
Assumptions
A baby's smell. A rare seashell. The things sublime that make you rich. A wishing well. A gambler's tell. The quilts of time that have no stitch. An ocean swell. A schooner's bell. The poet's rhyme that has no niche. r ~ 30Jan14
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Jan 30, 2014
Jan 30, 2014 at 4:42 PM UTC
Baby Wants to Sail
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the hills The kinfolk were drinkin' and tending their stills The longjohns were hung by the chimney with care No stockings were found, just underwear The children were nestled so high in their bunks Their quilts made of skins from rabbits and skunks Granny with her false teeth and gun on her knee Was waiting for Santa as she sat by the tree From out of the barn there arose such a noise We thought it was Grandpa drinkin' with the boys But what to my wandering eye should appear It was just cousin Cleatus in mama's brassiere And then from the rooftop we heard it at last Like the sound of thunder or a shot gun blast We have Christmas dinner, it's finally here Granny kidnapped Santa while we shot his deer Venison all covered with onions for stew And even old Santa enjoyed some too His belly was full when he walked out the door But he couldn't resist when we offered him more Well that's the story of our Christmas here Merry Christmas to all 'til the same time next year
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Dec 6, 2012
Dec 6, 2012 at 11:09 AM UTC
'Twas The Night Before Christmas (Hillbilly Style)
My friends and I are forlorn fabrics haphazardly stitched into a quilt. Comprised of different textures and fabrics, frayed at the ends, rejected pieces meant for the trash, not good enough for made-to-wear mall clothes. My friends and I fit like a puzzle consisting of pieces from various other puzzles-- found under coffee tables, between couch cushions, tossed into the bowels of forlorn toy bins-- forming a collage of something disoriented and ambiguous. Crammed together, smashing our appendages, leaving crooked gaps, wrinkled, torn, ****** up, but feeling better here than in our small contribution to the bland image of our factory's design. My friends and I, outcasts, rejects, punks, convening in the junkyard heap where we dance and laugh among trash that makes us feel clean. Pure when we're filthy. Quilts and puzzles, to instill and befuddle; ****** treasures.
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Oct 12, 2016
Oct 12, 2016 at 11:53 PM UTC
****** Treasures
A young lady sashays across the kitchen floor .. Displaying a stunning , red Ball gown , beaming , contrarily to an fro , eager for a compliment from a proud seamstress . A fidgety young boy ,  hand -me -down jacket with slacks being tailored , patches cut , hand sewn at worn out knees ..Darning Papas socks , repairing a tablecloth , custom curtains ,  flour sacks made into napkins , aprons , quilts  and handkerchiefs . A wicker box that belonged to very gifted hands indeed
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Oct 7, 2015
Oct 7, 2015 at 3:31 PM UTC
Grandmothers Sewing Box
I just sat there Staring out the window Her words like blowing rain I close my mind a little tighter But her words blow through me Just the same Trees cushioned in quilts of snow Life has been frozen before, you know But in the comfort of our loft Our sheets are warm Her covers soft Seasons change like minds unmade And snow can fall as deep as pain Change shall come In a quickening breath And spring shall arrive In the time that's set...
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Mar 22, 2019
Mar 22, 2019 at 9:13 AM UTC
En-route
*we are not the nicholas sparks novel read wrapped in comfort of store-bought quilts on rainy days or an ed sheeran song in long-haul flights flying us into one another's longing embrace once in a blue moon how long will the movie screens and best-selling novels continue to romanticise a love like ours all of its torturous; troubling; tragic glory even with dreams of your laugh and the most short-lived imageries of your crescent eyes the sheets on your side of the bed remain perfectly uncreased i cannot stop my heavy lids and tired bones from gravitating into both Arcadia and Erebus: another sweet, wicked dream of you.*
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Feb 4, 2015
Feb 4, 2015 at 8:06 AM UTC
calliope
The next time you want to ban brown skin from your white land , consider the crimson floods spilt on burnt clay from red flesh. You want brownfolk in this country like we wanted pox in our quilts. As our history is ripped to tattered patches and replaced by a white silken sheet.  But this is the land of the free and this is the home of the brave. And when I say brave I don't mean that caricature drawn on the front of a baseball jersey, with buck teeth, a bird feather and  a tomahawk motion. I mean the brave souls that took a last stand against the Custers and the Mayflowers and colonial white powers. I mean the Sitting Bulls and Geronimos who’s histories are rewritten in Old Spaghetti Westerns. Where John Wayne is always the hero, and our people aren’t even cast to play our own roles.  Hollywood won't stoop to blackface but red face is PC.  Perfect Aryan models advertise American Apparel, one authentic-looking headdress and fifty-dollar native design crop top tank tops are like spoils to the victor. It's enough to make one sick. This is America, where they steal your culture and sell it back to you at ten times the price. Those faux hide moccasins, **** on old tradition, turn centuries old struggle into a fashion faux-pas.   I once had a conversation with a girl whose skin was made of privilege. She said, ”I thought Native Americans wanted to live on reservations..?” Let that resonate. Repeat. as if we were getting a room at the Four Seasons. It was called the trail of tears not the trail of whimsical wonder. But in this white washed world invasion is called settling genocide is industry and poverty is tax-free. Our heritage is endangered, our veins are booze-diluted but at least we have those scholarships which, I suppose, we’ll use to cram our brains with a history that never belonged to us. Perhaps, all of those centuries ago, we should have thought to build a wall, you know, to keep the immigrants out. We could have stood at the border with picket signs of self-deluded righteousness lungs filled with hate for a different colored human shouting, "Go home, Alien, your dreams are illegal here!"
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Sep 10, 2013
Sep 10, 2013 at 9:42 AM UTC
Native American
The next time you want to ban brown skin from your white land , consider the crimson floods spilt on burnt clay from red flesh. You want brownfolk in this country like we wanted pox in our quilts. As our history is ripped to tattered patches and replaced by a white silken sheet.  But this is the land of the free and this is the home of the brave. And when I say brave I don't mean that caricature drawn on the front of a baseball jersey, with buck teeth, a bird feather and  a tomahawk motion. I mean the brave souls that took a last stand against the Custers and the Mayflowers and colonial white powers. I mean the Sitting Bulls and Geronimos who’s histories are rewritten in Old Spaghetti Westerns. Where John Wayne is always the hero, and our people aren’t even cast to play our own roles.  Hollywood won't stoop to blackface but red face is PC.  Perfect Aryan models advertise American Apparel, one authentic-looking headdress and fifty-dollar native design crop top tank tops are like spoils to the victor. It's enough to make one sick. This is America, where they steal your culture and sell it back to you at ten times the price. Those faux hide moccasins, **** on old tradition, turn centuries old struggle into a fashion faux-pas.   I once had a conversation with a girl whose skin was made of privilege. She said, ”I thought Native Americans wanted to live on reservations..?” Let that resonate. Repeat. as if we were getting a room at the Four Seasons. It was called the trail of tears not the trail of whimsical wonder. But in this white washed world invasion is called settling genocide is industry and poverty is tax-free. Our heritage is endangered, our veins are booze-diluted but at least we have those scholarships which, I suppose, we’ll use to cram our brains with a history that never belonged to us. Perhaps, all of those centuries ago, we should have thought to build a wall, you know, to keep the immigrants out. We could have stood at the border with picket signs of self-deluded righteousness lungs filled with hate for a different colored human shouting, "Go home, Alien, your dreams are illegal here!"
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72
when he was 84, he rarely recalled the Great War, though he left a finger somewhere in French soil, and on deep sleep nights, few and far between, it would call him a spectral image of  gas dead faces drifting through like sallow clouds in the charcoal sky his nephew was the only one left to fish these green waters, to court the steady trout that he too saw in his dreams--all the others, even his own sons, marching  in the concrete squares of the cities, visiting now and then like peddlers hawking wares he could not understand... soccer games and mutual funds gourmet feasts at eateries with cryptic names the lake was still the same the  loons chatting, the waves lapping but without his Helen, the fish he caught were usually granted reprieve, saved from his sharp gutting blade, her sizzling skillet, and without her beside him under her ancient quilts, the nights were not longer, for grief, he knew, did not stretch time, but only made its circle smaller was a sun sated Saturday when the nephew had honey do's as good excuses and the old man was left alone, sitting by a black rotary phone, waiting for one of his old nine digits to dial the new nine and two ones, it is what they all would have expected, a cry for help, a long mute ambulance ride, them seeing him helpless with hoses and wires, delaying the funeral pyres, as was the custom in this post teen century instead, though he felt the anvil on his chest, and sweat drenched his JC Penney work shirt, he moved not his feeble fingers to the phone, but his fated feet to the lake, once only a long a hop from the porch, now a mammoth journey, ten, twelve Sisyphus steps downhill--when he reached the waters edge, the fowl called him casually, their slow song on the currents, and he sat in the fresh grass, watching the painted blue sky he saw the fins of those he had set free, hoping that would count for something when he curled in fetal repose, and closed his eyes by this lonely lake
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Mar 5, 2015
Mar 5, 2015 at 10:31 PM UTC
of loons, lakes, and luck (Helen’s husband, 1899-1983)
when he was 84, he rarely recalled the Great War, though he left a finger somewhere in French soil, and on deep sleep nights, few and far between, it would call him a spectral image of  gas dead faces drifting through like sallow clouds in the charcoal sky his nephew was the only one left to fish these green waters, to court the steady trout that he too saw in his dreams--all the others, even his own sons, marching  in the concrete squares of the cities, visiting now and then like peddlers hawking wares he could not understand... soccer games and mutual funds gourmet feasts at eateries with cryptic names the lake was still the same the  loons chatting, the waves lapping but without his Helen, the fish he caught were usually granted reprieve, saved from his sharp gutting blade, her sizzling skillet, and without her beside him under her ancient quilts, the nights were not longer, for grief, he knew, did not stretch time, but only made its circle smaller was a sun sated Saturday when the nephew had honey do's as good excuses and the old man was left alone, sitting by a black rotary phone, waiting for one of his old nine digits to dial the new nine and two ones, it is what they all would have expected, a cry for help, a long mute ambulance ride, them seeing him helpless with hoses and wires, delaying the funeral pyres, as was the custom in this post teen century instead, though he felt the anvil on his chest, and sweat drenched his JC Penney work shirt, he moved not his feeble fingers to the phone, but his fated feet to the lake, once only a long a hop from the porch, now a mammoth journey, ten, twelve Sisyphus steps downhill--when he reached the waters edge, the fowl called him casually, their slow song on the currents, and he sat in the fresh grass, watching the painted blue sky he saw the fins of those he had set free, hoping that would count for something when he curled in fetal repose, and closed his eyes by this lonely lake
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I have yet to bare my soul to you. I've seen some of yours, beautifully ragged and torn and patched, but still strong, gentle. Like the old quilts my grandmother made. Only you're not half so old as they. Our souls are old, regardless of our mortal age, they've known much, seen much, staring through copper eyes into a spectrum of past, present, future. Mine linger in the past, yours glance back now and then, but always know what's behind.
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Oct 2, 2013
Oct 2, 2013 at 12:30 PM UTC
Quilts and Copper
my friends, my friends we are birds on power lines huddled for warmth specks against the grey surrounded by the late october gloom and the steam rising up from the gutters we are restless and sour eyes pointing outward - every step every teensy, solitary step sealed with egg shell footprints womb nostalgia tenderness found in autumn colored flashes, moth-wick sparkles, and fried dandelion blossoms we remember our grandmas’ knuckles, chipped tiles on the kitchen floor - my dear, my dear we are stray brown tabbies bellowing rumble, ears stripped of fur settled into our corner of the front porch once we were roustabouts; waltzing to the waxing and wane carpeted floors gave way to concrete chill but now the summers seem longer - the smell of cardboard, cinder block walls, and duck pond water stale memories with naked omens we turn to face the chilling draft; tomorrow harping on and on about grey areas while we kick up alley gravel balanced by surface tension - under quilts counting freckles plasma paychecks peddling uphill
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Nov 16, 2014
Nov 16, 2014 at 11:59 PM UTC
Birds on Power Lines
*A few forgetful moments And I am littered with paper cuts. Each tear is a page: a meaning: a reason. I am encased with quilts and a Bubbling love, but the chills And demons find their way through.* I was told Explicitly To pull my head out of my *** Because struggling with education, depression, and Harassment Is inconvenient for others. I forgot to reline the trash can in the bathroom. **Dear diary, I almost hurt myself again today. Its been over ten months since I did it last, but you know what a ***** life is. See ya later!** ***** reminds me of rainbows, And vice-verse. My stomach is thunder. I don't have enough tears to make it rain, But I might **** enough.*** What should I do with my life? I make decisions and Work my *** off more than any 16 year old I know, And care for others in any way I can In hope that they will return the favor when I need it, But I'm still ignorant and selfish, says she. *Sometimes I wonder which way is up And right. A nervous tick of mine. A moody strand of my being. Trying to connect to reality, but curving...*
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May 8, 2015
May 8, 2015 at 11:05 AM UTC
Riddled