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"ruefully" poems
If wishes Were fishes That swam in the sea Where on earth would we be? Stood onshore Ever more Looking ruefully, Longingly, out to sea? Would we be All at sea, With nothing to do To make wishes come true? Or maybe We could be All out on the sea Fishing furiously? For wishes, Like fishes, Are within our reach, If we work hard for each.
0
Jan 21, 2016
Jan 21, 2016 at 8:35 AM UTC
If Wishes Were Fishes....
The casket was coming up, swaying and wobbling Like a novice skater’s layover spin, The workings proceeding apace, The stillness of the August heat Punctuated by disinterested growl of the backhoe, The occasional out-of-place jocularity by the excavators The creaky jingle of the chains holding the muddied box As it proceeded skyward in its clumsy poor-man’s Resurrection. The affair was being observed by an elderly couple, Old enough to be of no particular age.   Their car had Carolina plates, But their inflections, their casually-tossed idioms They noted that ruefully The grass needs mowed) Marked them as natives. They’d returned (Last time, most likely, The wife uttered mournfully) To take their son with them; he’d drowned when was five? six? (The years will do that to a body, apparently) In Kinzua Creek some half-century ago, Back when little boys weren’t under a mandate To be safe from themselves, as it were.   He was our boy! We’ve never forgotten him! The old man said, the words snapping off In a manner that spoke of something else altogether, How the whistle at the Montmorenci Went off at three and eleven for second shift, And your *** had better be there, As those were good jobs that didn’t wait for bereavement leave, Because there was always someone Just itching to take your spot on the line, And anyway life went on, At least in the sense that television screens went all to snow And tires went flat and fuses blew And eventually a dead child Is not always in the forefront of your thoughts, Only tiptoeing in when the Press ran a picture Of the Montmorenci Area Class of whenever, Or there was an item about some other family Who opened their front door To a grim sheriff’s deputy with his hat in his hand.   Eventually, after some time And in defiance of both the odds and gravity, The casket was settled into the back Of the undertaker’s huge old black Caddy, And the couple cane-toddled back to their car, Following out the through the old spider-like gates And onto the main road. The brief procession fading from sight, Until there was nothing left to see Save the hillsides covered in old growth pine.
0
Sep 21, 2018
Sep 21, 2018 at 11:00 AM UTC
the disinterment
The casket was coming up, swaying and wobbling Like a novice skater’s layover spin, The workings proceeding apace, The stillness of the August heat Punctuated by disinterested growl of the backhoe, The occasional out-of-place jocularity by the excavators The creaky jingle of the chains holding the muddied box As it proceeded skyward in its clumsy poor-man’s Resurrection. The affair was being observed by an elderly couple, Old enough to be of no particular age.   Their car had Carolina plates, But their inflections, their casually-tossed idioms They noted that ruefully The grass needs mowed) Marked them as natives. They’d returned (Last time, most likely, The wife uttered mournfully) To take their son with them; he’d drowned when was five? six? (The years will do that to a body, apparently) In Kinzua Creek some half-century ago, Back when little boys weren’t under a mandate To be safe from themselves, as it were.   He was our boy! We’ve never forgotten him! The old man said, the words snapping off In a manner that spoke of something else altogether, How the whistle at the Montmorenci Went off at three and eleven for second shift, And your *** had better be there, As those were good jobs that didn’t wait for bereavement leave, Because there was always someone Just itching to take your spot on the line, And anyway life went on, At least in the sense that television screens went all to snow And tires went flat and fuses blew And eventually a dead child Is not always in the forefront of your thoughts, Only tiptoeing in when the Press ran a picture Of the Montmorenci Area Class of whenever, Or there was an item about some other family Who opened their front door To a grim sheriff’s deputy with his hat in his hand.   Eventually, after some time And in defiance of both the odds and gravity, The casket was settled into the back Of the undertaker’s huge old black Caddy, And the couple cane-toddled back to their car, Following out the through the old spider-like gates And onto the main road. The brief procession fading from sight, Until there was nothing left to see Save the hillsides covered in old growth pine.
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50
tattoo ourselves in electric ink memorializing calendars, diaries of observantional digits, black on white, no gray, birthdays, anniversaries, dates of passing, starting lines, occasional achievements, departure dates, even glaring failures, sundial mundane records of diurnal habitude…even defining self by, bye, byte marks upon flesh, upon our calendar *not my first trip-tracking, he ruefully rues, wry smiling, many voyages of indeterminate measuring length, leaving litter of arrays of hopeful estimations & destinations, each unequal, any or all possibilities, each day notated, without critique or commentary, the numbers are the gaols (jails) of goals, target, indeterminate determination, terrific, horrific, introspections, inverse images resolve, resolute* a year ago, +/- a few days,, new travelogue commenced, notated but not annotated, just  numerical truths, (sans comments for the divine nature of numbers don’t lie) and today my calculator app informs, that I am now 19.4 % lesser, but that clarifies less than expected naturally this provokes a natty, spirited, self-inquiry, lessened, lessor, for better or for worse? have the physical alterations accompanying this reduction mean exactly what, if, it should be, a greater lesser? here is the hard part. your have always been a mirror~poet, laughing, bemoaning the unvarnished, unshaven AM sightings of a human perpetual dissatisfied, the external never denying the interior “less~than,” a J Peterman catalogue of weathered ****** expressions, counter-parted by multiple Venn diagram intersections, of experiential labeled bits & pieces of emotional empirical less than good, not even close to perfect, so now that I am *gaunt, spare, lean, grayed, narrower, again ruefully rue, the even more visible truth reflection eye~hidden:* I, am the sum of the weight of my history, my deeds, my disbeliefs, murderous deeds, weak choices and that hasn’t changed nary an ounce, no matter many times examined, indeed I am forever a lesser man, there, internal infernal too…
0
Apr 9, 2023
Apr 9, 2023 at 2:12 PM UTC
19.4% lesser
tattoo ourselves in electric ink memorializing calendars, diaries of observantional digits, black on white, no gray, birthdays, anniversaries, dates of passing, starting lines, occasional achievements, departure dates, even glaring failures, sundial mundane records of diurnal habitude…even defining self by, bye, byte marks upon flesh, upon our calendar *not my first trip-tracking, he ruefully rues, wry smiling, many voyages of indeterminate measuring length, leaving litter of arrays of hopeful estimations & destinations, each unequal, any or all possibilities, each day notated, without critique or commentary, the numbers are the gaols (jails) of goals, target, indeterminate determination, terrific, horrific, introspections, inverse images resolve, resolute* a year ago, +/- a few days,, new travelogue commenced, notated but not annotated, just  numerical truths, (sans comments for the divine nature of numbers don’t lie) and today my calculator app informs, that I am now 19.4 % lesser, but that clarifies less than expected naturally this provokes a natty, spirited, self-inquiry, lessened, lessor, for better or for worse? have the physical alterations accompanying this reduction mean exactly what, if, it should be, a greater lesser? here is the hard part. your have always been a mirror~poet, laughing, bemoaning the unvarnished, unshaven AM sightings of a human perpetual dissatisfied, the external never denying the interior “less~than,” a J Peterman catalogue of weathered ****** expressions, counter-parted by multiple Venn diagram intersections, of experiential labeled bits & pieces of emotional empirical less than good, not even close to perfect, so now that I am *gaunt, spare, lean, grayed, narrower, again ruefully rue, the even more visible truth reflection eye~hidden:* I, am the sum of the weight of my history, my deeds, my disbeliefs, murderous deeds, weak choices and that hasn’t changed nary an ounce, no matter many times examined, indeed I am forever a lesser man, there, internal infernal too…
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43
Acerbic antagonist alliterates agonizing accusations, blasting ******* backbiter butting beautiful bombastic brainy blond bomb. Cumulative cranial casualties cease caveman's cognitive coherence. Doom digger derides Daddy's dangling dire dreary **** Eclectic esoteric eccentric egotistical estranger; Forthcoming fathoms fetch faithless fleeting father. God given goblins gather gossamer ganglions; Hell's hairy harlot harpies hover heeding Hyperion. Ignatius imbibes irrevocably insisting, "Jesus juggles justice's joy jarring jams." Kindness kindles Kilimanjaro; Malicious mountains melt, Mmm, morning marjoram. Nothing negates Neanderthal ninnying. Overt obsessions obfuscate original object of purest passions, paltry past pinings, quickly quieted, quelled, resisted, relinquished, readily, ruefully, roundly saturated, suffocated; surreptitiously silenced, terribly torturing the thrashed tamed tormentor: Ugly, ungrateful, unapologetic, Vanity, woefully wallowing, wailing, "Where's Xanadu's zeitgeist!?"
0
Jan 15, 2012
Jan 15, 2012 at 12:09 AM UTC
I hate it when you alliterate
When Charlie was a young'un with a crayon and some paper He would scribble til the paper ripped and the crayon turned to vapour His mother would console him and she'd offer her advice But just to drive the message home, she'd loudly sing it twice Follow the lines, my boy, just follow the bleedin' lines Just pick a side and stay there, always follow the lines If you're not a fool then fake it If you show your spine they'll break it Follow the lines, follow the lines, follow the lines So when Charlie went to high school, how he tried to walk in stride But the boredom of geometry provoked his naughty side His professor would chastise him with a ruler and a cane And, as an aid to memory, he sang him twice again Follow the lines, young Charlie, you follow the blasted lines Give it a try, you'll soon see, never cross over the lines Don't be smart or play the joker Aim for mainly mediocre Follow the lines, follow the lines, follow the lines When assembling a wardrobe with his Allen key and spanner He threw himself into his task in an overzealous manner So when he called his father to report a broken bone His old man tutted ruefully and sang right down the phone Follow the lines now Charlie, just follow the ******* lines Don't improvise or gamble, why didn't you follow the lines Dodge unnecessary ructions And adhere to the instructions Follow the lines, follow the lines, follow the lines So in time, he raised a family, the lines etched in his head One day he heard a buzzing from his aging garden shed As he listened at the planking, how his face was drawn and long For between the buzz and rustle, squeaked a tiny little song Follow the lines, buzz-buzz, just follow the buzz-ing lines Follow the bee before you, just buzz and follow the lines Find the flowers when it's sunny Fetch the nectar, make the honey Follow the lines, follow the lines, follow the lines Buzz buzz **
0
Feb 8, 2015
Feb 8, 2015 at 10:09 AM UTC
Follow the Lines
When Charlie was a young'un with a crayon and some paper He would scribble til the paper ripped and the crayon turned to vapour His mother would console him and she'd offer her advice But just to drive the message home, she'd loudly sing it twice Follow the lines, my boy, just follow the bleedin' lines Just pick a side and stay there, always follow the lines If you're not a fool then fake it If you show your spine they'll break it Follow the lines, follow the lines, follow the lines So when Charlie went to high school, how he tried to walk in stride But the boredom of geometry provoked his naughty side His professor would chastise him with a ruler and a cane And, as an aid to memory, he sang him twice again Follow the lines, young Charlie, you follow the blasted lines Give it a try, you'll soon see, never cross over the lines Don't be smart or play the joker Aim for mainly mediocre Follow the lines, follow the lines, follow the lines When assembling a wardrobe with his Allen key and spanner He threw himself into his task in an overzealous manner So when he called his father to report a broken bone His old man tutted ruefully and sang right down the phone Follow the lines now Charlie, just follow the ******* lines Don't improvise or gamble, why didn't you follow the lines Dodge unnecessary ructions And adhere to the instructions Follow the lines, follow the lines, follow the lines So in time, he raised a family, the lines etched in his head One day he heard a buzzing from his aging garden shed As he listened at the planking, how his face was drawn and long For between the buzz and rustle, squeaked a tiny little song Follow the lines, buzz-buzz, just follow the buzz-ing lines Follow the bee before you, just buzz and follow the lines Find the flowers when it's sunny Fetch the nectar, make the honey Follow the lines, follow the lines, follow the lines Buzz buzz **
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38
“every one shall sit in safety un­der his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.” Letter from George Washington, 1790, to the Jewish community of Newport, Rhode Island   <•> multiple motifs present poesy alternatives, but one supremes safety in your own chosen orchard, supping on clear water, wine and figs children of trees, nurtured by one’s own hands, children of your children, running the grove, shouting out in sweet safety the wasps happy shameless pollinate, dreaming of more generations, ruefully smiling, thinking of Adam and Eve, who ashamed of their apple’d sexuality, hid their nakedness of course beneath the safety of fig leaves you do not pray for safety you do not ask for anything, nothing to fear says the father, for you already live in our own George’s garden of eden
0
Sep 22, 2018
Sep 22, 2018 at 1:37 PM UTC
sit in safety under your own vine and fig tree
"Mother?" Say the child to it's mom. "Where, oh where, does the platypus come from?" The woman smiled, and laughed, and she told the story of where the platypus did come from. To her sweet, darling, little one. Once upon a time, there was a duck. And the duck was alone in the forest, because its family had grown up much too much. So the duck went to look for someone, to make his own little family with. The duck just wanted a place to belong, you see. So the duck went to the lioness and said 'Miss would you like to make a family with me?' But the lioness was proud and scornful, and turned the duck away. The duck was sad, of course, but he was much more saddened to think that he'd be alone. So he kept on going until he found a deer. But when he asked the deer, she ruefully claimed she already had a family. And that there was no place for a little duck. So off he went. He asked a spider, but the spider had a home. He asked a walrus, but the walrus couldn't be bothered. He asked a cat, but the cat just laughed. It came to a time when the duck had asked just about everyone in the forest if they would love him. But right as he was about to give up he came across a stream, and in there a beautiful little otter was there waiting for him. 'Oh wow... uh' the nervous duck said, 'What are you doing there?' 'I'm looking for a way to make a home,' She said, 'I've been looking all day because I'm all alone and quite lonely.' The duck swaddled and gleefully said. 'Well I don't know if you'll have me, but if there's no one better, you can take me in your stead?' 'But otters and ducks don't go together,' The otter complained. 'And why not? You're a little better under water and I'm a bit better on land. I think we could make a good team!' 'The forest will never accept us,' she continued, but-- 'Will you?' The duck interjoined. The otter sat there puzzled for a moment, and simply said, 'I'll try.' "And it wasn't easy, my dearest little one. Love never is. It springs up in unexpected ways, and finds you caught unawares. You may find your love in a place you never would have thunk. But it is out there, if you're willing to search for it. I promise you that much." "But... wait, mom! Where did the platypus come from?" "Ah. Of course. The duck and the otter went on to have many children, a platypus each and every one. The result of their love was the perfect child, someone who could combine the best of them, and someone who could finally make them a home." "Wow... mom, that is amazing! I wish I could be a platypus!" "Hmm? But didn't you know, little one? The otter in that story is me, and you're my perfect little platypus who gave us our lovely little home." The Mother embraced her child, as the duck watched at the door, happily forlorn.
0
Sep 4, 2018
Sep 4, 2018 at 4:43 AM UTC
Where Does The Platypus Come From?
"Mother?" Say the child to it's mom. "Where, oh where, does the platypus come from?" The woman smiled, and laughed, and she told the story of where the platypus did come from. To her sweet, darling, little one. Once upon a time, there was a duck. And the duck was alone in the forest, because its family had grown up much too much. So the duck went to look for someone, to make his own little family with. The duck just wanted a place to belong, you see. So the duck went to the lioness and said 'Miss would you like to make a family with me?' But the lioness was proud and scornful, and turned the duck away. The duck was sad, of course, but he was much more saddened to think that he'd be alone. So he kept on going until he found a deer. But when he asked the deer, she ruefully claimed she already had a family. And that there was no place for a little duck. So off he went. He asked a spider, but the spider had a home. He asked a walrus, but the walrus couldn't be bothered. He asked a cat, but the cat just laughed. It came to a time when the duck had asked just about everyone in the forest if they would love him. But right as he was about to give up he came across a stream, and in there a beautiful little otter was there waiting for him. 'Oh wow... uh' the nervous duck said, 'What are you doing there?' 'I'm looking for a way to make a home,' She said, 'I've been looking all day because I'm all alone and quite lonely.' The duck swaddled and gleefully said. 'Well I don't know if you'll have me, but if there's no one better, you can take me in your stead?' 'But otters and ducks don't go together,' The otter complained. 'And why not? You're a little better under water and I'm a bit better on land. I think we could make a good team!' 'The forest will never accept us,' she continued, but-- 'Will you?' The duck interjoined. The otter sat there puzzled for a moment, and simply said, 'I'll try.' "And it wasn't easy, my dearest little one. Love never is. It springs up in unexpected ways, and finds you caught unawares. You may find your love in a place you never would have thunk. But it is out there, if you're willing to search for it. I promise you that much." "But... wait, mom! Where did the platypus come from?" "Ah. Of course. The duck and the otter went on to have many children, a platypus each and every one. The result of their love was the perfect child, someone who could combine the best of them, and someone who could finally make them a home." "Wow... mom, that is amazing! I wish I could be a platypus!" "Hmm? But didn't you know, little one? The otter in that story is me, and you're my perfect little platypus who gave us our lovely little home." The Mother embraced her child, as the duck watched at the door, happily forlorn.
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30
some of us walk insistently, instinctively, and instantly to and upon the edged path, this physical nexus & abstract mental locus, a cliffside enticing rock strewn trail, drawn of men, by men, for men (yes, men are people too, still) enthralling views, down to the riverside, where eyes intuit the beauteous aroma of precious precocious precarious precipices and the near-stench of mortality amidst wafting scents of inane undesirable need,   hints of destruction, or, alternating eager relief, like a ****** infused, instant attractiveness, making weakness in the knees, all too real, trembling with a delicious accented edge of a fresh, familiar scent, fresh baked bread, an all enveloping consumption need now! to crave what we fear, to fear what we crave our cravings are craven, this twisted sense, annuls our common sensibility, yet, titillates our pleasured imagined relief, releases, our unsated, even better, our insatiable curiosity to tremble, an entire body enjoined by vibrato~ enticing tremulations, shaken and stirred, this danger choice releases something primordial, escape? a reckless wrecking so deeply designed, it has its very own designation…death wish multitudes of easy choices afforded my senses, and by accident, all mine chosen, all nearby, I travel the esplanade près de the East River, where even if calm is the sole visiblilty, undercurrents and the unpredictable passage of container wakes and the larger freighters will hand you down, so easy, to become parcel to a littered river bottom of centuries’ artifacts but even more tempting, the balcony, a hop, skip and a jump unlocked, mere ten steps, no need for a running start why it’s the “height of convenience,” he ruefully winces, and not even any TSA lines or inconveniencing “conveniences” Why this calamity seems so desperately desirable, Why this unabrogated feat so featured, nay, even feted in our hot? cold? bloodstream “Why just men? *I don't know, Perhaps, it is all I know.*”
0
Dec 5, 2023
Dec 5, 2023 at 5:42 PM UTC
Men & Heights. (A Companion Piece to “Do You Know Why Men Cry in the Bathroom”)
some of us walk insistently, instinctively, and instantly to and upon the edged path, this physical nexus & abstract mental locus, a cliffside enticing rock strewn trail, drawn of men, by men, for men (yes, men are people too, still) enthralling views, down to the riverside, where eyes intuit the beauteous aroma of precious precocious precarious precipices and the near-stench of mortality amidst wafting scents of inane undesirable need,   hints of destruction, or, alternating eager relief, like a ****** infused, instant attractiveness, making weakness in the knees, all too real, trembling with a delicious accented edge of a fresh, familiar scent, fresh baked bread, an all enveloping consumption need now! to crave what we fear, to fear what we crave our cravings are craven, this twisted sense, annuls our common sensibility, yet, titillates our pleasured imagined relief, releases, our unsated, even better, our insatiable curiosity to tremble, an entire body enjoined by vibrato~ enticing tremulations, shaken and stirred, this danger choice releases something primordial, escape? a reckless wrecking so deeply designed, it has its very own designation…death wish multitudes of easy choices afforded my senses, and by accident, all mine chosen, all nearby, I travel the esplanade près de the East River, where even if calm is the sole visiblilty, undercurrents and the unpredictable passage of container wakes and the larger freighters will hand you down, so easy, to become parcel to a littered river bottom of centuries’ artifacts but even more tempting, the balcony, a hop, skip and a jump unlocked, mere ten steps, no need for a running start why it’s the “height of convenience,” he ruefully winces, and not even any TSA lines or inconveniencing “conveniences” Why this calamity seems so desperately desirable, Why this unabrogated feat so featured, nay, even feted in our hot? cold? bloodstream “Why just men? *I don't know, Perhaps, it is all I know.*”
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59
Nestled in a pencil case And snuggled up in fluff There snoozed a tiny pirate man Of legendary stuff He'd spied the hidden secrets And trod the haunted shore Blu-tack Beard the buccaneer Scourge of the open floor He stole a shoe-box galleon And sailed the carpet blue With pencil mast and paper sails And crayons as his crew They forayed on the crooked tiles And crested every ridge Blu-tack Beard the scallywag The raider of the fridge When moored up in the kitchen With all his crew around The captain showed to one and all A treasure map he'd found It bore a chart of distant parts And quite a course it plot It pointed to the bathroom lands And tip-ex marked the spot They crammed the hold with cornflakes To feed them on their trip They pulled hard on the piece of string And weighed the paperclip The crew they dragged their boat aloft On neatly woven hairs Blu-tack Beard the privateer Surmounter of the stairs They heaved their vessel restlessly Atop the final brow The crayon pirates caught their breath And leaned against her bow Then scaled tiny ladders And each took to their post Blu-tack Beard was at the helm And watched the foreign coast Through countless minutes voyaging There loomed the bathroom door They slacked the sail and went below And each took to an oar They pulled a mighty rhythm Till their waxy arms were numb And Blu-tack Beard the plunderer Was beater of the drum But though they pried in every nook And each last inch of grout They skirted round the skirting board They tapped each silver spout Illusive was their bounty And they grew ever the crueller They took their skipper angrily And made him walk the ruler He landed glum and ruefully Amid the ***** socks He heard the merry spiteful sound Of laughing, taunting mocks And saw the sight of mutiny With waxen little smiles Blu-tack Beard the cast-away Alone among the tiles He commandeered a washing cloth And weaved himself a rope He scaled the dreaded washstand And stole a bar of soap He carved himself a coracle And set his sights on home Blu-tack Beard the wanderer Awash amid the foam He slithered down the stairwell And landed with a plan For warmer climes and restfulness A cocktail and a tan And so he met his final port Right then did he retire Blu-tack Beard the pensioner Of the warm spot near the fire
0
Feb 22, 2014
Feb 22, 2014 at 4:33 PM UTC
Blu-tack Beard the Pirate
Nestled in a pencil case And snuggled up in fluff There snoozed a tiny pirate man Of legendary stuff He'd spied the hidden secrets And trod the haunted shore Blu-tack Beard the buccaneer Scourge of the open floor He stole a shoe-box galleon And sailed the carpet blue With pencil mast and paper sails And crayons as his crew They forayed on the crooked tiles And crested every ridge Blu-tack Beard the scallywag The raider of the fridge When moored up in the kitchen With all his crew around The captain showed to one and all A treasure map he'd found It bore a chart of distant parts And quite a course it plot It pointed to the bathroom lands And tip-ex marked the spot They crammed the hold with cornflakes To feed them on their trip They pulled hard on the piece of string And weighed the paperclip The crew they dragged their boat aloft On neatly woven hairs Blu-tack Beard the privateer Surmounter of the stairs They heaved their vessel restlessly Atop the final brow The crayon pirates caught their breath And leaned against her bow Then scaled tiny ladders And each took to their post Blu-tack Beard was at the helm And watched the foreign coast Through countless minutes voyaging There loomed the bathroom door They slacked the sail and went below And each took to an oar They pulled a mighty rhythm Till their waxy arms were numb And Blu-tack Beard the plunderer Was beater of the drum But though they pried in every nook And each last inch of grout They skirted round the skirting board They tapped each silver spout Illusive was their bounty And they grew ever the crueller They took their skipper angrily And made him walk the ruler He landed glum and ruefully Amid the ***** socks He heard the merry spiteful sound Of laughing, taunting mocks And saw the sight of mutiny With waxen little smiles Blu-tack Beard the cast-away Alone among the tiles He commandeered a washing cloth And weaved himself a rope He scaled the dreaded washstand And stole a bar of soap He carved himself a coracle And set his sights on home Blu-tack Beard the wanderer Awash amid the foam He slithered down the stairwell And landed with a plan For warmer climes and restfulness A cocktail and a tan And so he met his final port Right then did he retire Blu-tack Beard the pensioner Of the warm spot near the fire
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80
Receiving and reflecting on revolting reassurances. You reason with me "I'm right", ranting on about your righteous wrongs. Ruefully agreeing to you, an overrated relationship rescued by agreeance.
0
Feb 2, 2015
Feb 2, 2015 at 3:44 PM UTC
Rumble
A mist blanketed the forest, so low and dense we could barely see through it, but we kept on digging the hole. We had no other choice, and there was nowhere else to go. The onyx lake pebbly beach intimate boat cheap beer and jokes loud motor running The smell of earth and petrichor dispersed her rancid miasma. I felt ruefully relieved, but the hole was almost complete. Tiny eyes peered at us through the dark, through the leaves, from the trees, but not a chirp or tweet was aired. They remained silent as we did our deed. The wet street we came in on truck cabin nail gun hidden in the cooler her stupidly wonderful laugh awful moonlight It was finished. We climbed out, and I grasped her ankles. We swung her and let go. The wind passed through with a low groan. Burble gracious grin looking up at the stars snap yelp the start of a cry another snap of air escaping swollen tongue widened eyes The putrid miasma disappeared, buried along with everything else. And then we left. The sun crept out from behind the mountains as we walked away. The birds began their daily dance.
0
Nov 17, 2018
Nov 17, 2018 at 11:08 PM UTC
Our Deed
I could not vote for you My heart was with the lame Pretty maids in open frocks I could not but fuel pain. So in shocked surprise my vote Was cast ruefully And where perfection danced My vote ran away. Love Mary ***
0
Dec 9, 2018
Dec 9, 2018 at 12:04 PM UTC
When too old to vote.
it's alluring, addicting, and ruefully suffering, in agony we find comfort; a dishonest one, we're fooled; yet we take the pleasure in, a life of skin deep—superficial at its finest, indeed we are our own shapeshifter; conceal the outrage in a painful way, swallow the happy little pill for a bitter escape.
0
Oct 5, 2018
Oct 5, 2018 at 10:09 AM UTC
Fictitious
He’d been close to the big time, If not a god of the fight game, perhaps a demigod; He’d been possessed of considerable brute strength And the ability to shut out concern for the well-being of others, But there had been the odd ***** in his armor: An overhand right which announced itself too early, And arrived just a smidgen too late, Plus an unhappy tendency to lose focus, To stray from those plans his corner had set up chapter and verse, Choosing the forbidden fruit of the quick knockout. He had, after losing a bout to a top-ranked fighter (He was eighth in the world, he would chuckle ruefully, And I fought him like I was eight years old.) Decided to chuck it all in, Enrolling in a scruffy little bible college Sitting just off an interstate on-ramp, Cheek-to-jowl with a Wendy’s and 7-11, In order to facilitate the transition from mayhem to ministry. He’d soured on the process in fairly short order; He understood instinctually that he, like all men, Was a sinner, and likely unworthy of salvation, And the faculty accentuated the notion daily, if not hourly, Like so many jabs to the midsection. He’d inquired, gently, as to the approach one should take To addressing the worrisome paradox That all men were imperfect beings Marooned on an imperfect world, Yet their fallibility was all they had to build on, (A rickety ladder to scramble upwards, for sure, But the only way to reach that golden fruit Held out for him, though just beyond his grasp.) The responses varied, from sputtering and vague parries To the suggestion that such notions were heresy, And so he’d returned to the club-and-casino circuit Makin’ the best use of the gifts I have, he would sigh, Before heading out once more, Hoping there was one more short right at least one more time.
0
Jul 5, 2018
Jul 5, 2018 at 4:11 PM UTC
the rugged old right cross
He’d been close to the big time, If not a god of the fight game, perhaps a demigod; He’d been possessed of considerable brute strength And the ability to shut out concern for the well-being of others, But there had been the odd ***** in his armor: An overhand right which announced itself too early, And arrived just a smidgen too late, Plus an unhappy tendency to lose focus, To stray from those plans his corner had set up chapter and verse, Choosing the forbidden fruit of the quick knockout. He had, after losing a bout to a top-ranked fighter (He was eighth in the world, he would chuckle ruefully, And I fought him like I was eight years old.) Decided to chuck it all in, Enrolling in a scruffy little bible college Sitting just off an interstate on-ramp, Cheek-to-jowl with a Wendy’s and 7-11, In order to facilitate the transition from mayhem to ministry. He’d soured on the process in fairly short order; He understood instinctually that he, like all men, Was a sinner, and likely unworthy of salvation, And the faculty accentuated the notion daily, if not hourly, Like so many jabs to the midsection. He’d inquired, gently, as to the approach one should take To addressing the worrisome paradox That all men were imperfect beings Marooned on an imperfect world, Yet their fallibility was all they had to build on, (A rickety ladder to scramble upwards, for sure, But the only way to reach that golden fruit Held out for him, though just beyond his grasp.) The responses varied, from sputtering and vague parries To the suggestion that such notions were heresy, And so he’d returned to the club-and-casino circuit Makin’ the best use of the gifts I have, he would sigh, Before heading out once more, Hoping there was one more short right at least one more time.
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Awkward astronomer-lover. Your nebulae concept: The universe drawing together, A delighted animation. We ruefully laughed onshore, That profound abstruse oxygen. Their unappetizing myopia, Misguided eye sockets.
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Jan 28, 2016
Jan 28, 2016 at 1:15 AM UTC
Stolen Words #1
And so There you were. I saw you last night, you were unapologetically **** Common and so uncommon, and said to come in. And so I did just that. I saw you last night, You were ruefully majestic, and you were glowing. I don’t want to say glowing, actually. I don’t like that adjective and it’s over romanticized; but there was light about you. And so you stood up, and I held still And so I saw the whole of you, every last bit. And we let stark grey November light spill into us, into the room. Not our room, just yours. I was gawking and I felt subtle shame stain my heart. And in that moment I decided not to feel that way anymore, ever again. And I wished for just a second that I could call you my own, or a part of me at any rate. My head came down. The bluebird peaked his head out. Yes, he is still in there. Chuck doesn’t weep. I’m not like Chuck.
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Nov 21, 2018
Nov 21, 2018 at 11:06 AM UTC
And so
Dearest, All those days, I let you tread over me and gave you a place to stand, and you with your untrained, weak bladder dog, your clumsiness, your laziness, your unwashed clothes, your ***** shoes and smelly feet, stepped on my trust. I hope you get pricked by the scraps of food, bleed out with a paper cut and stumble on my torn out, roughened edges and I get to smother and roll up your inanimate, dead body to it's rightful place. Ruefully, yours.
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Jan 20, 2015
Jan 20, 2015 at 12:04 AM UTC
RUEFUL (A Letter from my Carpet)
To be left a rotting corpse in the inky depths of my screaming, vacant soul To taste the freshness of the air only to have it ripped so unnaturally from my shriveling lungs Once sitting atop that merciful beacon of hope, I find myself tumbling, grasping, gasping, clasping for some hold onto the beautiful signal And who is to blame? Who? Certainly not you, for it was your hand who found me troubled in the merciless murky vapor Your hand that lifted me from the bowels of hell and so dotingly destroyed my detriments But had it not been for you I would have so happily, so cheerfully accepted my vacant vocation Of restlessly, recklessly, ruefully running around without any remorse for my forlorn reality For it is not the force of you freedom that loosed my heavy chains, but rather the form That vicious vigor that stuffed my spirit with a seemingly ceaseless, incessant self-assurance But for my essence to not identify isolation, to not recognize regret seems so conceited in comparison to yours Which is ever growing, ever loving, ever laughing, ever knowing, ever telling, ever asking, ever showing, ever… After all it was your being there that showed me how lonely I truly was, how pitiful of an existence I truly led So now I state the obvious Why? Why go through all that endeavor, all that effort of effectively and essentially helping me escape my insanity just to throw it out the Door is where you went, leaving me to collect the shambles and shards that was the life you made Leaving me to collect these silly splinters just so that you could prove a point A point well taken, a point notably noted, and a point you called no return Return? Return from what? From the friendship promised, or the friendship broken, or the new twisted friends of which you’ve hardly spoken? And so I take my leave, but I will return I will not leave such a dear thing to burn Burn in the essence of what we call hope For, after all, you were the one who threw me the rope
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Jan 18, 2013
Jan 18, 2013 at 4:19 AM UTC
To Be Left a Rotting Corpse
To be left a rotting corpse in the inky depths of my screaming, vacant soul To taste the freshness of the air only to have it ripped so unnaturally from my shriveling lungs Once sitting atop that merciful beacon of hope, I find myself tumbling, grasping, gasping, clasping for some hold onto the beautiful signal And who is to blame? Who? Certainly not you, for it was your hand who found me troubled in the merciless murky vapor Your hand that lifted me from the bowels of hell and so dotingly destroyed my detriments But had it not been for you I would have so happily, so cheerfully accepted my vacant vocation Of restlessly, recklessly, ruefully running around without any remorse for my forlorn reality For it is not the force of you freedom that loosed my heavy chains, but rather the form That vicious vigor that stuffed my spirit with a seemingly ceaseless, incessant self-assurance But for my essence to not identify isolation, to not recognize regret seems so conceited in comparison to yours Which is ever growing, ever loving, ever laughing, ever knowing, ever telling, ever asking, ever showing, ever… After all it was your being there that showed me how lonely I truly was, how pitiful of an existence I truly led So now I state the obvious Why? Why go through all that endeavor, all that effort of effectively and essentially helping me escape my insanity just to throw it out the Door is where you went, leaving me to collect the shambles and shards that was the life you made Leaving me to collect these silly splinters just so that you could prove a point A point well taken, a point notably noted, and a point you called no return Return? Return from what? From the friendship promised, or the friendship broken, or the new twisted friends of which you’ve hardly spoken? And so I take my leave, but I will return I will not leave such a dear thing to burn Burn in the essence of what we call hope For, after all, you were the one who threw me the rope
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purple silhouettes in skies tinged and minutely poisoned music while rhapsody blended slowly across forever ruefully contemplated dreams of hope and love beneath concealed insanity concealed beneath love and hope of dreams contemplated ruefully forever across slowly blended rhapsody while music poisoned minutely and tinged skies in silhouettes purple
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Feb 19, 2014
Feb 19, 2014 at 3:13 PM UTC
insanity
for what it's worth, all this work will be forgotten by sunday. for what it's worth, my accomplishments will be forgotten by sunday. for what it's worth, all my ambition and drive will be forgotten by sunday. for what it's worth, i hope they will remember on monday. however, my ambition and drive might burn itself out, but i'll just blow on it and stoke the flame it'll set the entire world on fire taking it by storm, hurricane after hurricane, until the ash settles and the water recedes, and a single snowflake settles on the tip of my nose. (and then melts immediately afterward) that snowflake'll turn into a raging blizzard screaming my name until the cold snap is over and the world is covered with the glaciate, bruised feathers of birds once in flight i'll kick up my feet on my frozen desk, blow the smoke from the crumbling shell that once was my determination and smile ruefully and the world i first took over and then destroyed
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Jan 29, 2021
Jan 29, 2021 at 2:41 PM UTC
fwiw
WRITING BAREFOOT Being frisked at Dublin airport. "What's dat in yer back pocket?" "An unfinished poem!" I admit ruefully. "Is it metal?" he asks. "No, it's mental!" I tell him. "You know, a bunch of words hanging about on a piece of paper." "Go on with ya!" he smirks. "And next time... remove yer shoes." On the plane I kick off my shoes and finish off the unfinished poem. Now I always write barefoot.
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Oct 24, 2018
Oct 24, 2018 at 1:50 PM UTC
WRITING BAREFOOT
We would mark our places- Our flower shop, Our cheesecake, Our café, Our frozen yogurt, Our secret spot, We would, without a thought, Childishly decorate, Build landmarks; but now When it's time to separate, I realize, as we stare Ruefully at one another, That we marked not only places, But ended up coloring each other- ~ Irreversibly ~
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Oct 5, 2014
Oct 5, 2014 at 2:19 PM UTC
Indelible
And oh, how sweet, the words you speak, they taste. How soft they blow, how sure they flow; no haste. An old eclipse, how slow, your lips -- they part. So young, naive, quickly deceived, my heart. How warm, your eyes, they hypnotize my soul. And how I miss the touch, the kiss, you stole. So sure was I that you'd be my first love. But love's a thing we know nothing thereof. Foolish of me to fall so deeply in. How long I thought your smile was not a sin. And oh, how used, how scared, confused, my trust. Feelings so shy, that you deny, 'tween us. How ruefully, our memories, they fade. How bittersweet our love; like lemonade. - p. winter
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May 19, 2017
May 19, 2017 at 10:55 AM UTC
Lemonade
As he slowly pressed his lips onto my eyelids, forehead, then lingeringly onto my nose, cheek and finally, my lips. I then only realised how the seconds and minutes stretch out curving, meandering into  ∞. Half-moons of barely whispered promises but heard all too well. As I ruefully reminisce, ribbons of myself lay on dusty floors. For you are never meant to live in the past. Not again. Then why do I feel the ghost of your lips dancing on mine?
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Dec 21, 2013
Dec 21, 2013 at 3:17 AM UTC
Half-Moons
She passed by last night but ended up sleeping over. ********* the sheets smell of her, And of *** She's gone now, and he's hungover from her loving. He sits up on the bed, Downs the half-empty glass of whiskey And grabs the packet of cigarettes on the night stand, pulls one out, lights up, takes a long pull, And thinks about her. Her pretty little ankles, Her legs. Oh, her legs. Her small waist, Her long curly hair. Her pretty little fingers. When he closes his eyes he can still feel them upon his fingertips. He pours a full glass of whiskey And drinks half of it in one go, wincing in the process. He thinks of last summer, And of the times they had. It's all memories now. Just memories. Shelved and forgotten somewhere As if they were an old dusty record. He downs the other half of the glass, this time without wincing. He thinks of the places they made love. The shower, The bedroom and even the patio. The kitchen- that was the best. They were too busy having *** he thinks, While their love died of neglect somewhere in the living room. He wrote her a letter a while back And when she read it she got angry. Said she'd write one back but she didn't know how to express how angry she felt So he wrote her a note saying; Why not ink it in red, baby? She laughed, He was glad to know that sometimes he still made her happy. She left because she didn't want the pain anymore. The pain of knowing she shared him with another, So she left that night, under the 1 o'clock moon, Carrying her broken heart, And wearing a sad smile. He watched her leave And smiled ruefully, Thinking that she gave him all her trust, and he misused it, He abused it, Until he broke it. Not because he wanted to, but because he was careless. But he knows that hardly justifies anything. People used to say they make a good pair, they work well together. But so does pain and drugs. And that's a deadly combination. Things unsaid, Empty bed, Pillowcase soaked in tears- This is what she's reduced to. His heart's not broken though, he thinks. He's been here before, He knows this feeling; The wound turns to a scar, and eventually The scar disappears. And he knows it's just a matter of time 'fore it all goes, This heart problem is only temporary. But in some years it'll be his lungs- he wonders if they've gone black already. He flips the cigarette-butt while aiming for the ashtray And misses. So he picks it up from the carpet and places it there. Then he bums a new one and lights it And falls back on his bed- Goddamit, these sheets smell of her, he thinks, And of ***
0
Dec 28, 2011
Dec 28, 2011 at 8:38 AM UTC
Wistful Drinking
She passed by last night but ended up sleeping over. ********* the sheets smell of her, And of *** She's gone now, and he's hungover from her loving. He sits up on the bed, Downs the half-empty glass of whiskey And grabs the packet of cigarettes on the night stand, pulls one out, lights up, takes a long pull, And thinks about her. Her pretty little ankles, Her legs. Oh, her legs. Her small waist, Her long curly hair. Her pretty little fingers. When he closes his eyes he can still feel them upon his fingertips. He pours a full glass of whiskey And drinks half of it in one go, wincing in the process. He thinks of last summer, And of the times they had. It's all memories now. Just memories. Shelved and forgotten somewhere As if they were an old dusty record. He downs the other half of the glass, this time without wincing. He thinks of the places they made love. The shower, The bedroom and even the patio. The kitchen- that was the best. They were too busy having *** he thinks, While their love died of neglect somewhere in the living room. He wrote her a letter a while back And when she read it she got angry. Said she'd write one back but she didn't know how to express how angry she felt So he wrote her a note saying; Why not ink it in red, baby? She laughed, He was glad to know that sometimes he still made her happy. She left because she didn't want the pain anymore. The pain of knowing she shared him with another, So she left that night, under the 1 o'clock moon, Carrying her broken heart, And wearing a sad smile. He watched her leave And smiled ruefully, Thinking that she gave him all her trust, and he misused it, He abused it, Until he broke it. Not because he wanted to, but because he was careless. But he knows that hardly justifies anything. People used to say they make a good pair, they work well together. But so does pain and drugs. And that's a deadly combination. Things unsaid, Empty bed, Pillowcase soaked in tears- This is what she's reduced to. His heart's not broken though, he thinks. He's been here before, He knows this feeling; The wound turns to a scar, and eventually The scar disappears. And he knows it's just a matter of time 'fore it all goes, This heart problem is only temporary. But in some years it'll be his lungs- he wonders if they've gone black already. He flips the cigarette-butt while aiming for the ashtray And misses. So he picks it up from the carpet and places it there. Then he bums a new one and lights it And falls back on his bed- Goddamit, these sheets smell of her, he thinks, And of ***
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