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"shawls" poems
Bare-handed, I hand the combs. The man in white smiles, bare-handed, Our cheesecloth gauntlets neat and sweet, The throats of our wrists brave lilies. He and I Have a thousand clean cells between us, Eight combs of yellow cups, And the hive itself a teacup, White with pink flowers on it, With excessive love I enameled it Thinking 'Sweetness, sweetness.' Brood cells gray as the fossils of shells Terrify me, they seem so old. What am I buying, wormy mahogany? Is there any queen at all in it? If there is, she is old, Her wings torn shawls, her long body Rubbed of its plush ---- Poor and bare and unqueenly and even shameful. I stand in a column Of winged, unmiraculous women, Honey-drudgers. I am no drudge Though for years I have eaten dust And dried plates with my dense hair. And seen my strangeness evaporate, Blue dew from dangerous skin. Will they hate me, These women who only scurry, Whose news is the open cherry, the open clover? It is almost over. I am in control. Here is my honey-machine, It will work without thinking, Opening, in spring, like an industrious ****** To scour the creaming crests As the moon, for its ivory powders, scours the sea. A third person is watching. He has nothing to do with the bee-seller or with me. Now he is gone In eight great bounds, a great scapegoat. Here is his slipper, here is another, And here the square of white linen He wore instead of a hat. He was sweet, The sweat of his efforts a rain Tugging the world to fruit. The bees found him out, Molding onto his lips like lies, Complicating his features. They thought death was worth it, but I Have a self to recover, a queen. Is she dead, is she sleeping? Where has she been, With her lion-red body, her wings of glass? Now she is flying More terrible than she ever was, red Scar in the sky, red comet Over the engine that killed her ---- The mausoleum, the wax house.
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Stings
Bare-handed, I hand the combs. The man in white smiles, bare-handed, Our cheesecloth gauntlets neat and sweet, The throats of our wrists brave lilies. He and I Have a thousand clean cells between us, Eight combs of yellow cups, And the hive itself a teacup, White with pink flowers on it, With excessive love I enameled it Thinking 'Sweetness, sweetness.' Brood cells gray as the fossils of shells Terrify me, they seem so old. What am I buying, wormy mahogany? Is there any queen at all in it? If there is, she is old, Her wings torn shawls, her long body Rubbed of its plush ---- Poor and bare and unqueenly and even shameful. I stand in a column Of winged, unmiraculous women, Honey-drudgers. I am no drudge Though for years I have eaten dust And dried plates with my dense hair. And seen my strangeness evaporate, Blue dew from dangerous skin. Will they hate me, These women who only scurry, Whose news is the open cherry, the open clover? It is almost over. I am in control. Here is my honey-machine, It will work without thinking, Opening, in spring, like an industrious ****** To scour the creaming crests As the moon, for its ivory powders, scours the sea. A third person is watching. He has nothing to do with the bee-seller or with me. Now he is gone In eight great bounds, a great scapegoat. Here is his slipper, here is another, And here the square of white linen He wore instead of a hat. He was sweet, The sweat of his efforts a rain Tugging the world to fruit. The bees found him out, Molding onto his lips like lies, Complicating his features. They thought death was worth it, but I Have a self to recover, a queen. Is she dead, is she sleeping? Where has she been, With her lion-red body, her wings of glass? Now she is flying More terrible than she ever was, red Scar in the sky, red comet Over the engine that killed her ---- The mausoleum, the wax house.
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60
Oh beloved princess, I'm just a commoner, I just drink cannabis, Lime & shank I have. You are daughter of the king, I lack any maids or servants, You are protected by shawls, I lack even a blanket or rug.. Get married to a moneylender, Marry a lucky man... I have pieces of purity, But I'm just a commoner, I just drink cannabis, Lime & shank I have. You live in the palaces, I roam the wilderness, You are not used to it, I am used to roaming. Get married to a rich man, Marry a lucky man. I just have purity in me, Yes, I'm a commoner, I just drink cannabis, Lime & shank is all I have. I carry on my austerity in incense, I drink a slurry of cinders, I tame hundreds of snakes on my neck, I will scare you off my saturnalia. You need a man with wavy hair, A man with wavy hair. My hair is dishevelled, I am a commoner, And I drink cannabis, All I have is a lime & shank.
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Feb 17, 2015
Feb 17, 2015 at 12:07 AM UTC
Oh Beloved Princess
In the seventies we brought back silks and saris hot with colours that shocked the nights Punjabi embroidery on cheesecloth kaftans mirror glittered skirts that were spun with light Kashmiri shawls and Afghani dancing dresses arms full of bracelets silver and brass enameled and etched and singing with *** rings of Ivory, sapphire and jet necklaces of jade and threaded apple seeds rain forest timber bowls white marble boxes from Agra with precious inlay stones our little Taj Mahals we wandered the globe like a magical village of lovers and and came back with backpacks of dreaming and hope. © M.L.Emmett
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Mar 8, 2016
Mar 8, 2016 at 11:43 AM UTC
Backpacks of Dreaming
This poem is composed by: a Nonet, a Kyrielle Sonnet, a Free verse part, a Terzanelle and another Free verse part: In a juerga there’s nothing around But voices, flamenco guitars , Dancing bodies in moonlight, Vibrant gypsy dresses, Passion, obsessions, Bullfighter’s blades, Silk shawls, Dancers, Capes. Old men have faces scorched and cracked, Flamenco women to attract, Like barks of olive trees in night. Shirts dazzle white in the moonlight. Girls have boot heels and huge roses, Men clench their teeth , step opposes, Hands clap and shout in a dance fight, Shirts dazzle white in the moonlight. Guitars are beaten at high speeds, Castanets scratch the music’s seeds, Rhythmic fingers snap air to bite, Shirts dazzle white in the moonlight. Old men have faces scorched and cracked, Shirts dazzle white in the moonlight. Hands becoming wings In their shadows on the wall, Red becoming black and Black becoming white, Motion vibrating the guitar's string, Cubic movements of colors, In their dance , Shadowy wings becoming scarfs, Flamenco woman arching her body, Showing her passion… From the soul to dissolve The dancing sounds detach From the soul to dissolve When the movement they catch, They may change all around, The dancing sounds detach. Drums and tambourines’ sound, Exotic wrists and swirls, They may change all around. The weightless grace makes girls Steal treasures from the air, Exotic wrists and swirls. With beautiful black hair, Rise like birds , fall like leaves. Steal treasures from the air, Having tricks up their sleeves, From the soul to dissolve, Rise like birds ,fall like leaves From the soul to dissolve. Spicy slippery steps Waiting for a clue, Picking up portions of pink Of hyper-femininity , Overflowing screwy sounds In heavy red chromesthesia, Morphing themselves into glamorous , Red feminine movements, Men looking like marble statues being alive, Seemingly cracking. Slowly diminishing their dancing rhythm, Steps sickling sweet sounds To hear the horn of some lost happiness.
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Jun 5, 2012
Jun 5, 2012 at 4:36 PM UTC
THE FLAMENCO DANCE (Complex Poetic Form)
This poem is composed by: a Nonet, a Kyrielle Sonnet, a Free verse part, a Terzanelle and another Free verse part: In a juerga there’s nothing around But voices, flamenco guitars , Dancing bodies in moonlight, Vibrant gypsy dresses, Passion, obsessions, Bullfighter’s blades, Silk shawls, Dancers, Capes. Old men have faces scorched and cracked, Flamenco women to attract, Like barks of olive trees in night. Shirts dazzle white in the moonlight. Girls have boot heels and huge roses, Men clench their teeth , step opposes, Hands clap and shout in a dance fight, Shirts dazzle white in the moonlight. Guitars are beaten at high speeds, Castanets scratch the music’s seeds, Rhythmic fingers snap air to bite, Shirts dazzle white in the moonlight. Old men have faces scorched and cracked, Shirts dazzle white in the moonlight. Hands becoming wings In their shadows on the wall, Red becoming black and Black becoming white, Motion vibrating the guitar's string, Cubic movements of colors, In their dance , Shadowy wings becoming scarfs, Flamenco woman arching her body, Showing her passion… From the soul to dissolve The dancing sounds detach From the soul to dissolve When the movement they catch, They may change all around, The dancing sounds detach. Drums and tambourines’ sound, Exotic wrists and swirls, They may change all around. The weightless grace makes girls Steal treasures from the air, Exotic wrists and swirls. With beautiful black hair, Rise like birds , fall like leaves. Steal treasures from the air, Having tricks up their sleeves, From the soul to dissolve, Rise like birds ,fall like leaves From the soul to dissolve. Spicy slippery steps Waiting for a clue, Picking up portions of pink Of hyper-femininity , Overflowing screwy sounds In heavy red chromesthesia, Morphing themselves into glamorous , Red feminine movements, Men looking like marble statues being alive, Seemingly cracking. Slowly diminishing their dancing rhythm, Steps sickling sweet sounds To hear the horn of some lost happiness.
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66
Silent and alone, I flow through shops with so many windows, but I see nothing except the faces around me, the ones who might believe I'm more gossamer than the shawls and tunics meant to disguise us all as ethereal hippies in the New Age. Silent and alone, I stand by the fountain, waiting for something to break the sleepiness of solitude when two men spot me: mouths parted, eyes appraising, judging, appreciating my physical worth. Rooted in place, I smile. Only when they look at me do I have purpose.
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Jul 8, 2015
Jul 8, 2015 at 4:16 PM UTC
Mannequin
Golden shawls envelope flushing, blending fabrics which billow  under the waxen blackbird's silky braided feathers. Heaven's vault, a celestial sphere of blue yonder, a swirling palette of oils suffusing and dancing, wrapping their ringlets into one thousand spirals which signet shadows onto the  slender impressions in the sog. Illuminous, voluminous salmon bleaches blushing black tissue to pale primrose promising the cobalt then marrying to aquamarine. Stained glass fingers barely protruding from aurelian pews.
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Apr 20, 2014
Apr 20, 2014 at 2:01 PM UTC
A mood for sunsets
I am a miner. The light burns blue. Waxy stalactites Drip and thicken, tears The earthen womb Exudes from its dead boredom. Black bat airs Wrap me, raggy shawls, Cold homicides. They weld to me like plums. Old cave of calcium Icicles, old echoer. Even the newts are white, Those holy Joes. And the fish, the fish---- Christ! They are panes of ice, A vice of knives, A piranha Religion, drinking Its first communion out of my live toes. The candle Gulps and recovers its small altitude, Its yellows hearten. O love, how did you get here? O embryo Remembering, even in sleep, Your crossed position. The blood blooms clean In you, ruby. The pain You wake to is not yours. Love, love, I have hung our cave with roses. With soft rugs---- The last of Victoriana. Let the stars Plummet to their dark address, Let the mercuric Atoms that ******* drip Into the terrible well, You are the one Solid the spaces lean on, envious. You are the baby in the barn.
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Nick And The Candlestick
A juerga with flamenco guitars, With fires blooming like red flowers, Corpses dancing in moonlight The dance of wounded souls, Vibrant red dresses White shirts like birds, Falling shawls, Dancers, Sky, Claps, Cubic Movements of Color, music's Seeds, hands being wings In shadows on the wall, From soul detaching passion's Lights, motion vibrating the string, Resonance for a new dimension.
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Oct 24, 2012
Oct 24, 2012 at 8:11 PM UTC
Flamenco Dance (Mirrored Nonet)
matt’s hats tom’s tools & tobacco lou’s liquors fred’s beds dale's doors frank’s planks bill’s drills jane’s drains & panes chuck’s check cashing cheryl’s barrels hank’s tanks tina’s trucks & tractors walt’s asphalt sean’s pawn rick’s rifles mom’s guns terry’s tires charlie’s harleys rhonda’s hondas jim’s rims art’s parts gus’s gas mike’s bikes frank’s feed gwen’s pens ann’s cans nancy’s nursery joes‘s clothes jess’s dresses bert’s skirts steve’s sleeves paul’s shawls michelle’s shells & bells al’s pails & snails sam’s hams & jams patty’s pancakes phil’s chili don’s donuts betty’s spaghetti bob’s burgers alycia’s quiches jean’s beans jerry’s berries anna’s bananas andy’s candies cathy’s taffies tony’s ponies roy’s toys ron’s batons kim’s whims marty’s parties jill’s pills rick’s tricks alice’s palace debbie’s disposal dave’s graves
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May 23, 2010
May 23, 2010 at 5:53 AM UTC
rodeo drive tucson
i like seeing people when they're sleepy. completely real unfiltered humans, yawning in their baggy nightclothes, worn blankets wrapped like shawls, and soft smiles as they claim they aren't exhausted, no, their eyes are just tired. their low mumbling gives them away every time, though. people are wondrously beautiful in a natural, peaceful state.
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Oct 18, 2018
Oct 18, 2018 at 11:39 PM UTC
the dark circles under your eyes are cute, love
Somebody put Kylie Minogue on from the wall mounted touchscreen one-pound-a-go jukebox- Coldplay would've been better, but I should be so lucky- and the rising water in the Titanic's engine room of noise rose to a First Class stateroom chatter and Kate Winslet and the queue to the bar grew a little longer and then you walked in like a Sunday morning walk, one long stroll by a river edge or lake side, through a Westfield, Bluewater Meadowhall in one long rehearsed map move entrance dodging standing drinkers and their plus ones in Zara trench coats and Boden shawls, and you left a wake of wet forest and crumbling beachhead afternoons behind you as you walked on through the crowd to the pool table at the back where you watched *** after *** after pint after *** after we need more one pound coins to play more pool, and you went out for **** though you don't smoke yourself and you looked up into the mist because you're the kind that would find New York Stuart Little big: mostly building, building, building, window, balcony, bridge, statue and Central Park trees, and you walked back in with river eyes, your lids moving from cold back to behind-the-fridge, pub-room warm and they watered a little, Pacific blue sliding over eternal black; I think she's the kind that needs a lion tamer not an orchestra leader, but I've only got Petit Filous muscles and I had four raw eggs this morning and I'm still not as strong as I’d like to be, (put the baton down, Tim) a River Phoenix younger Harrison Ford stasis, one train wreck ride to remember, nowhere near the lion tamer you need. Kylie sings for the fifteenth time in a row, and the bar is past last orders though cash is pushed under for pints and you disappeared under bar light and then into the moonlight and now I'm sat grieving the Golden Retriever of The Nutshell in Bury St Edmunds this evening.
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May 1, 2015
May 1, 2015 at 12:26 PM UTC
YOGURT FOR A HEART
Somebody put Kylie Minogue on from the wall mounted touchscreen one-pound-a-go jukebox- Coldplay would've been better, but I should be so lucky- and the rising water in the Titanic's engine room of noise rose to a First Class stateroom chatter and Kate Winslet and the queue to the bar grew a little longer and then you walked in like a Sunday morning walk, one long stroll by a river edge or lake side, through a Westfield, Bluewater Meadowhall in one long rehearsed map move entrance dodging standing drinkers and their plus ones in Zara trench coats and Boden shawls, and you left a wake of wet forest and crumbling beachhead afternoons behind you as you walked on through the crowd to the pool table at the back where you watched *** after *** after pint after *** after we need more one pound coins to play more pool, and you went out for **** though you don't smoke yourself and you looked up into the mist because you're the kind that would find New York Stuart Little big: mostly building, building, building, window, balcony, bridge, statue and Central Park trees, and you walked back in with river eyes, your lids moving from cold back to behind-the-fridge, pub-room warm and they watered a little, Pacific blue sliding over eternal black; I think she's the kind that needs a lion tamer not an orchestra leader, but I've only got Petit Filous muscles and I had four raw eggs this morning and I'm still not as strong as I’d like to be, (put the baton down, Tim) a River Phoenix younger Harrison Ford stasis, one train wreck ride to remember, nowhere near the lion tamer you need. Kylie sings for the fifteenth time in a row, and the bar is past last orders though cash is pushed under for pints and you disappeared under bar light and then into the moonlight and now I'm sat grieving the Golden Retriever of The Nutshell in Bury St Edmunds this evening.
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47
My heart now aches with sleepy dreariness: A dreamy wake from whose dull, soothing spell I can’t awake, nor can I sleep to bless My dreams with profound ecstasy as well For all recurring visions, sweet and deep, Have turnéd to a black and empty void, And all the stepping stones of pale night Are clouded by the mists of murky sleep, Bedewed with memories that I enjoyed: The visions with which I can’t reunite. My mind now pines for all those moments when Endured had love and bliss before slow time Had bound such moments once and then again Shall bind more dreams and memories, sublime Oh, vista of my dreams, unseen, unheard Your brow is laid with shawls of quietness Your pinions are held tight with the chain Of all my visions; fly then, flame-plumed bird And sing such sacred song you can’t express Once I now free you from my wilting brain My tears are of ripe joy and bliss’s ruth And though my days are thus outright expelled I shall keep in my core, the flames of youth Which once I had in early years, beheld Sweet memories, ye shaking leaves, adieu I bid you well in winter and in spring A-flickering before fate’s icy breath And though, no longer, shall I see all you I’m glad you flew upon nostalgia’s wing And warméd my cold heart before my death
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Jul 9, 2014
Jul 9, 2014 at 11:51 PM UTC
Ode on Nostalgia
At night I hear them Tiny footsteps Sneaky little feet running around my head The creatures they belong to Biting on my brain cells and Rummaging around my memories like They're trinket hunting in a dusty old attic and Pulling out the most repulsive, musty things they can find, The things I hid in boxes, embarrassed about, Old snapshots of a past I’d rather not remember But they always creep back out of there come family reunions. These sneaky little creatures that bite on the back of my brain Cackle over my most mortifying trinkets, The kind that I try to give away but the thrift stores won’t take them And I’d be too humiliated to sell them directly Because that would mean I’d have to share the fact that I had them When the fact of the matter is that I’m walking in the snow And trying to cover up my footprints With an evergreen branch That does nothing but leave bigger, clearer marks on The cold white unforgiving ground And makes the marks more visible But less obviously mine. And the sneaky little creatures don’t like this, Because it’s taking away from the treasures they keep Up in my attic with the moth-eaten shawls And dusty old rocking chair stashed in the corner. They love the old, repulsive musty things That I don’t want and cannot give away, And so they make me look them over and over And shove the hideous things into my face Dissolving my sense of self as easily as Salt into water And gradually changing my taste buds From honey to brine As I wonder Why, why, why And the sneaky little feet that run around my head Turn heavy, as if clad in iron boots And every little trinket that they share Makes them less and less easy to ignore.
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Jul 20, 2012
Jul 20, 2012 at 1:21 PM UTC
Sneaky Little Feet
At night I hear them Tiny footsteps Sneaky little feet running around my head The creatures they belong to Biting on my brain cells and Rummaging around my memories like They're trinket hunting in a dusty old attic and Pulling out the most repulsive, musty things they can find, The things I hid in boxes, embarrassed about, Old snapshots of a past I’d rather not remember But they always creep back out of there come family reunions. These sneaky little creatures that bite on the back of my brain Cackle over my most mortifying trinkets, The kind that I try to give away but the thrift stores won’t take them And I’d be too humiliated to sell them directly Because that would mean I’d have to share the fact that I had them When the fact of the matter is that I’m walking in the snow And trying to cover up my footprints With an evergreen branch That does nothing but leave bigger, clearer marks on The cold white unforgiving ground And makes the marks more visible But less obviously mine. And the sneaky little creatures don’t like this, Because it’s taking away from the treasures they keep Up in my attic with the moth-eaten shawls And dusty old rocking chair stashed in the corner. They love the old, repulsive musty things That I don’t want and cannot give away, And so they make me look them over and over And shove the hideous things into my face Dissolving my sense of self as easily as Salt into water And gradually changing my taste buds From honey to brine As I wonder Why, why, why And the sneaky little feet that run around my head Turn heavy, as if clad in iron boots And every little trinket that they share Makes them less and less easy to ignore.
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41
Last night I watched in silence At the end of the road in forest deep I hid amongst the trees watching in awe As gypsies dance while others sleep Under the violet hue of evening sky Haloed by evening's golden moon I watched gypsies dance and sing As flames from bonfires leaped high in the air Dark haired women in shawls and beads Happily dancing and twirling without care Casting their spells of magic and enchantment Performing their honeyed seductions Blended with aphrodisiacs of scent and sound Gypsy men with kerchiefs around their necks Hoops of silver adorning their ears, singing joyful songs Children laughing, dogs barking As if they’re singing right along Oh, I so wanted to join them as I stood watching in awe Envious was I of their freedom and joy Caravans painted in bright images and colors Tambourines jingling as velvet shadows danced in the night Skirts swirling, gold and silver bangles on their arms Dancing 'round the bonfire's fiery light Accordions singing, with happy notes from a fiddler's bow As they sang and danced barefoot under evening moon In the coming dawn once again... It will be time for them to pack and move on With a last meal served... The caravans are readied to make another journey long "Gather yourself up gypsy girls Wonderful as it may seem… A gypsies’ life is never their own Time to move on Time to find another home You must have gypsy blood In order to survive" As their wagons move along dusty trails They'll be looking for a place to camp A place to call home... at least for awhile A place to hang their colored paper lamps Until... Suddenly- a cry rings out "Stop the wagons, ring the bells We've found the perfect place The perfect place for magic spells Tomorrow brings a brand new day! Let's feast, dance and make merry Come on let's get things underway" And so... The journey goes on And never ends! "Gather yourself up gypsy girls Wonderful as it may seem… A gypsies’ life is never their own Time to move on, time to leave Time to find another home You must have gypsy blood In order to survive"
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Apr 10, 2013
Apr 10, 2013 at 6:17 PM UTC
The Gypsy Dance Of Life
Last night I watched in silence At the end of the road in forest deep I hid amongst the trees watching in awe As gypsies dance while others sleep Under the violet hue of evening sky Haloed by evening's golden moon I watched gypsies dance and sing As flames from bonfires leaped high in the air Dark haired women in shawls and beads Happily dancing and twirling without care Casting their spells of magic and enchantment Performing their honeyed seductions Blended with aphrodisiacs of scent and sound Gypsy men with kerchiefs around their necks Hoops of silver adorning their ears, singing joyful songs Children laughing, dogs barking As if they’re singing right along Oh, I so wanted to join them as I stood watching in awe Envious was I of their freedom and joy Caravans painted in bright images and colors Tambourines jingling as velvet shadows danced in the night Skirts swirling, gold and silver bangles on their arms Dancing 'round the bonfire's fiery light Accordions singing, with happy notes from a fiddler's bow As they sang and danced barefoot under evening moon In the coming dawn once again... It will be time for them to pack and move on With a last meal served... The caravans are readied to make another journey long "Gather yourself up gypsy girls Wonderful as it may seem… A gypsies’ life is never their own Time to move on Time to find another home You must have gypsy blood In order to survive" As their wagons move along dusty trails They'll be looking for a place to camp A place to call home... at least for awhile A place to hang their colored paper lamps Until... Suddenly- a cry rings out "Stop the wagons, ring the bells We've found the perfect place The perfect place for magic spells Tomorrow brings a brand new day! Let's feast, dance and make merry Come on let's get things underway" And so... The journey goes on And never ends! "Gather yourself up gypsy girls Wonderful as it may seem… A gypsies’ life is never their own Time to move on, time to leave Time to find another home You must have gypsy blood In order to survive"
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58
as the bus pulls along the lazy river on Main, a slouching mind and pressed cheek is a swimmer, dipping toes and meanwhile the gentle murmur of pool-goers living inaudibly, like hunched bunches in shawls of shade (interrupted only by the occasional l-urch) nodding, nodding off and on and off and into the water, the swimmer slips in ... Here, it is heaven on earth an oasis ... and the mind swims ever so far ever so deep ... i wonder... ... and outside a boy, barefoot runs upstream a shimmering second an apparition of summer? and out of sight
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Aug 13, 2018
Aug 13, 2018 at 10:45 PM UTC
The View from the Lazy River
High above the Holy River Ganges where the water flows like Brahman itself,   is an ancient cave, a place of sacred pilgrimage. Entering silently, our small gathering sat together, meditating here where the great sage himself transcended in deep samadhi. Wrapped in warm shawls, dhotis and saris, eyes closed gently in the stony half-light. Early hours had seen us awake, readying for this auspicious day, and the sleepiness of a little child began to overtake me. With that same innocence, a childlike feeling, I curled down into a woolen bundle, asleep in the inner depths of that holy, dark place. Sleep was sleep, and not sleep, as awareness shone within me. Limitless akasha unfolded inside me now, and the ground where I rested expanded into that same unbounded, cosmic space. From far beneath the cool, damp earth, a radiance travelled into my small frame. Renewing energy suffused and blessed me. Bowing in my heart, I touch the lotus feet of Maharishi Vashistha. His darshan shines on into our present day, and throughout all of Ved Bhumi Bharat.
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Apr 21, 2016
Apr 21, 2016 at 12:16 PM UTC
Falling Asleep in Vashistha's Cave
The grace in the way things move feels like the fibers of a mantilla veil until the wind blows and turns grace to something worthy of fear. I've got everything going and they're all wondering if I'm coming along but all I want is to keep going my own way even when I'm a little lost in deciding what really is my own. I've got the veil I've always had happy to know I had much more beneath than beyond but I think he proved me wrong. The trouble with going and still going strong is that I do it best when he's gone. I know what I want isn't the best thing but I want it just the same nobody could blame me either way. Now the wind's blowing and blowing embers burning my veil clean away. I'm finding all I hid was worth something to someone besides me and now that I'm happy to be alone they all want a piece. Content beneath my mantilla watching the best and the worst inch by I had no Holy Week and kept no days holy but my own. Burnt to the scalp I'm learning to dance without the skirts and shawls that made holy what I thought it had to be. Fear driving my fingers to Flamenco twists and my feet to wind-blown flames I've got nothing to lose because the worst is mine to claim and the best isn't coming but going my own way.
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Jun 13, 2014
Jun 13, 2014 at 10:22 PM UTC
Flamenco Flame
The moon cracks and blooms. Its grey nowhere to be seen, It shawls itself with a bleak cloud. The floating pearl biscuit Busily dictates orions and dippers. One travels, and people start wishing. They are hopeless: the people and their pretentious wishes. The jackfruit tree bears only death: dead leaves, thorned fruits. Under the nocturnal skies, It is the great witch. Silent and black. It is voiceless. Shalini Nayar © 2002
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Sep 23, 2014
Sep 23, 2014 at 9:25 AM UTC
The Moon And The Jackfruit Tree (inspired by Sylvia Plath’s The Moon and the Yew Tree)
Black shawls over glass To prevent staring eyes From the hatred from inside. Masks glued, taped, stapled, nailed on the faces. “Is it true, Self-mutilation prevents isolation?” Why must there be pain? Why must there be pain? In foggy Tupperware, tinted pink, Some firm rose jello. She did think It spoke oddly, like a jack-in-the-box. Walks, talks, mocks, shocks, paradox-in-the-box, But no socks. The jello wasn’t jello. Jello breaks no hearts. “He wasn’t the fellow.” He was mundane, It was quite in vain. Lost in clouds of thoughts, He saw faces in blurs, in purples and slurs. Hiding in needles and giggles, His heart is escaping. He knows well bacteria multiply. [Quite an education, for your information.] His infection, anti-biotic resistant. Willing, the suicide persisted. He’s stuck in the chain. “God, he’s in pain!” So many broken, so many shattered, Tucking pieces behind painted faces. Cotton candy-covered black clouds hound The carnival where everyone’s a clown. Clown ashes, dolls, and masks scattered, Behold a grand masquerade. No kisses for Phantom, He cut his lips on the glass. It wasn’t random. God, I’m insane! I am sane.
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Feb 13, 2010
Feb 13, 2010 at 8:44 PM UTC
Hope
January winter objectivity the coldest month of the year a month that bring most folks to tears Wooly shawls, fluffy robes doggy ears slippers struggles to warm the curse of your cold feet ~~ Early to bed, and early to rise Followed by a hot cup of fresh mint tea Vick vaporize that stings your eyes Would make a blind person see clearly ~~ Re-corking that age old red wine from nineteen eighty-nine with two wines glasses on the top cabinet In hopes of one day for another romantic setting Or most likely your daughter futuristic June wedding ~~ let’s accepted the unacceptable I cannot imagine a winter without snow a summer without the hot blasting sun or autumn without the leaves  slowly falling to the ground, mother nature the grief we feel your unalterable changes of your teaching once again you have won this round
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Jan 8, 2014
Jan 8, 2014 at 12:42 PM UTC
January
the professor name's John, I think every day a goatee a ponytail and an honest smile brings me flowers sometimes. pays in nickels sometimes. "have an easy day" he says to me man in the same brown suit, mismatching every day coffee, hunched over with something under his arm sometimes. never seen him speak just a scowl and a solemn shuffle the owner of the bar next door I think. out for a cigarette every 30 minutes or so or move his car he gets our mail sometimes. glasses on his forehead never on his face always a fleeting noncommittal smile pacing past the door sly eyes. there's the guy stuck in the 70s. every day bell bottoms a black bowl cut it's a wig I think. a leather jacket sometimes. walks like he owns the sidewalk he doesn't. the old man the half-blind one orders the same thing always. with his walker his hands searching haven't seen him in a while the big guy from the burger place across the street no, not the famous one the other place. took his suggestion got a burger wasn't very good but he's always so cheery, gotta be nice the one guy blue shorts guy stops by during his run, to check the selection.  back an hour later in pants and a jacket now. never buys a thing wearing those blue shorts the woman with oddly spaced teeth and hair the short witchy kind lots of shawls and oversized tote bags and cargo-capri's. complained of an allergic reaction once to god knows what. keeps coming back though a mother and son mother, tired. ten year old private school boy asks for too much and too many questions "did you make this?" "are you really 20?" "do you go to school?" he asks so many questions "yes, yes, no." "why not?" "well…" mom saves me distracts him away the poor skinny one the homeless man. ill-fitting clothes always. women's sometimes. begging, cigarettes and money has a tic, says "hello! hi! hello!" every few seconds he's very persistent. and very polite. gracefully insane, I'd say
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Feb 13, 2013
Feb 13, 2013 at 4:20 AM UTC
the regulars
the professor name's John, I think every day a goatee a ponytail and an honest smile brings me flowers sometimes. pays in nickels sometimes. "have an easy day" he says to me man in the same brown suit, mismatching every day coffee, hunched over with something under his arm sometimes. never seen him speak just a scowl and a solemn shuffle the owner of the bar next door I think. out for a cigarette every 30 minutes or so or move his car he gets our mail sometimes. glasses on his forehead never on his face always a fleeting noncommittal smile pacing past the door sly eyes. there's the guy stuck in the 70s. every day bell bottoms a black bowl cut it's a wig I think. a leather jacket sometimes. walks like he owns the sidewalk he doesn't. the old man the half-blind one orders the same thing always. with his walker his hands searching haven't seen him in a while the big guy from the burger place across the street no, not the famous one the other place. took his suggestion got a burger wasn't very good but he's always so cheery, gotta be nice the one guy blue shorts guy stops by during his run, to check the selection.  back an hour later in pants and a jacket now. never buys a thing wearing those blue shorts the woman with oddly spaced teeth and hair the short witchy kind lots of shawls and oversized tote bags and cargo-capri's. complained of an allergic reaction once to god knows what. keeps coming back though a mother and son mother, tired. ten year old private school boy asks for too much and too many questions "did you make this?" "are you really 20?" "do you go to school?" he asks so many questions "yes, yes, no." "why not?" "well…" mom saves me distracts him away the poor skinny one the homeless man. ill-fitting clothes always. women's sometimes. begging, cigarettes and money has a tic, says "hello! hi! hello!" every few seconds he's very persistent. and very polite. gracefully insane, I'd say
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115
A thick flood of thought clogs lemon teeth and pools, crude and salty behind lost red eyes. Gouge them hollow! Darken the moon. Brittle moans like a swollen beehive loom tall, fifty miles behind the lost craters. Hugs from pigs in blue, they dance and loll around the flames, a funky dark against their luminous fire. Proud and bogus (and probably ****** bitter about foul books they never read, statues made of fear in the groins of men. Ruined: hurled into a crag, torn and singing, trapped in loops - No elbow room in black hole falls. Snoring next to wives wrapped in shawls, hugging her leather Buick seat, praying to wake up gaunt and lithe. They rise, mornings, clutching onto dreams in which they fly through the cold gloom. They scratch desperate screeds onto napkins, bite squirming, disobedient tongues, souls raw, chafing in their dank enclosures. Animals! Bred to elect ourselves for slaughter.
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Oct 22, 2013
Oct 22, 2013 at 4:20 AM UTC
The Hugo Exercise
Of all of the days to sleep in this late Why did I have to choose today The revolution we'd been planing along I'm sure was already underway I grabbed my bag, thank goodness already packed And headed for the door I ran out so fast my dog was aghast My feet barely touching the floor When I arrived at the park I saw none of my friends There were old ladies knitting shawls Old men playing rummy and gin I was already there So I refused to go home The revolution got canceled And I wasn't informed So I stood up on my soapbox And yelled listen to me All the old folks gathered round As I gave the greatest of speech I talked of how long We'd been beat down by the man As I went point by point Of my intricate plan There came weakened shouts From a few in the crowd While the hearing impaired Wondered what all the fuss was about We all moved to the street With luck a Boy Scout happened by To help all the old ladies across But only one at a time We surrounded Dairy Queen first Because they have ice cream soft serve Which goes down so smooth When your wearing dentures Next we did a flash mob In the local Right-Aid There were old women swinging purses And old men waving canes They all slowly shuffled down The adult diaper aisle Where they stripped the shelves clean With raspy giggles and wrinkly smiles Things were running so smoothly According to revolutionary plans We were creating social havoc And sticking it BAD to the man In the middle of the craze My cell phone it rang It was my radical friends Wondering where I have been I'm a tad bit embarrassed That's the least I can say In my mad rush to arrive I went to the wrong park today So I snuck out the back of Rite-Aid As the swat team arrived If I had a conscience I'd feel bad In leaving my new old friends behind
0
Mar 16, 2013
Mar 16, 2013 at 7:56 AM UTC
The Revolution (AKA) Sticking It To The Man
Of all of the days to sleep in this late Why did I have to choose today The revolution we'd been planing along I'm sure was already underway I grabbed my bag, thank goodness already packed And headed for the door I ran out so fast my dog was aghast My feet barely touching the floor When I arrived at the park I saw none of my friends There were old ladies knitting shawls Old men playing rummy and gin I was already there So I refused to go home The revolution got canceled And I wasn't informed So I stood up on my soapbox And yelled listen to me All the old folks gathered round As I gave the greatest of speech I talked of how long We'd been beat down by the man As I went point by point Of my intricate plan There came weakened shouts From a few in the crowd While the hearing impaired Wondered what all the fuss was about We all moved to the street With luck a Boy Scout happened by To help all the old ladies across But only one at a time We surrounded Dairy Queen first Because they have ice cream soft serve Which goes down so smooth When your wearing dentures Next we did a flash mob In the local Right-Aid There were old women swinging purses And old men waving canes They all slowly shuffled down The adult diaper aisle Where they stripped the shelves clean With raspy giggles and wrinkly smiles Things were running so smoothly According to revolutionary plans We were creating social havoc And sticking it BAD to the man In the middle of the craze My cell phone it rang It was my radical friends Wondering where I have been I'm a tad bit embarrassed That's the least I can say In my mad rush to arrive I went to the wrong park today So I snuck out the back of Rite-Aid As the swat team arrived If I had a conscience I'd feel bad In leaving my new old friends behind
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60
Istanbul is wandering on my forehead the seagulls are flying from my chest the clouds of the longing on their eyes the dream showers on my eyelashes As I compose the poems of the sorrows pile on my letters the greetings of the fellows the pipes urges my heart istanbul doesn’t shelter in my heart What wraps my shoulders are the shawls of the separation pours down on me the coolness of the night you were crippled by how many bends that your wound doesn’t bleed a light grabbles our memories It is fall that caresses the hairs of our lives when my eyes touch the tree on black and white of a photograph, my mind is scattered the leaves of the love surround my heart My loneliness cut out from the cloth of the sorrow is the pages of the summer, which are not closed not death, a hope, what my tongue says, anyhow wait for my youth, you are my longing oh istanbul. Koray Feyiz (Translated from Turkish by Koray Feyiz)
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Oct 14, 2016
Oct 14, 2016 at 6:45 PM UTC
Istanbul
In the open space below the mountains lakes and rivers, trees dancing with moss shawls and furry tips the rolling breeze that bathes us into peace Our surroundings that dictate our disposition If we reduce it all to steaming rubble, grey concrete and loud sharp horns the peace dissipates and though it is curious how we are affected from the outside in if we challenge nature, we’ll never win.
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Nov 20, 2015
Nov 20, 2015 at 12:42 PM UTC
If We Challenge Nature