Category: My Poetry
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Some Assembly Required
Some Assembly Required This image erupts In a cascade of puzzle pieces Sliding from the table, All tumbling and struggling To fall into proper place once more. Paint slashes a claw across a canvas To paint the painting, Or hammer strikes chisel To sculpt the sculpture, Or a voice rises to sing the song Or…
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Episode
Episode The gentleman opposite rose to leave And as the doors whispered open., He glanced my way and said: “Reading Joyce on the subway?” One brow raised inquiringly But without mockery or scorn. I looked up from the page, Mentally marking my place. I told him that I was reading it again After many years.…
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Shallow Waters
Shallow Waters I have listened and I have attended. I have tried to follow in your wake, But you speak only words That others feed you Offering nothing of yourself. There is no depth to your replies And they lack consideration or examination. Your words lie flat on the surface, An oil slick of message…
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Not a Sou
Not a Sou In my role as storyteller, I present for you a story. It will cost you little effort And begs not a sou for the trouble. This story asks no more of you Than your undivided attention. A minute? An hour? An eternity? How long can I engage you? I’ll take you to…
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Therefore
Therefore It is dangerous to be left alone When entertaining such maddening thoughts And enduring such grand-mal seizures of fantasy. I might end up anywhere At the whim of a errant synapse. I am not so much concerned for myself, But there may be some collateral damage. Those moments when Some shiny thing catches my…
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Miyagi-san
Miyagi-san In my mind, I am Miyagi-san snatching flies With chopsticks and Demonstrating wax-on wax-off For mysterious purposes. Fragments of buzzing jigsaw pieces Cluster around my face, A maddening widow’s veil Waiting to engulf. I snatch at them To no avail.
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My Walking Stick
My Walking Stick It’s a simple walking stick, A branch from a tree That once grew in a forest Between a cricket-infested field And a beribboned railroad track. And in time, it fashioned itself Especially for me. I saw in that forlorn and broken branch The potential to become a thing Both elegant and…
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Parallels
Parallels A wild-eyed Rasputin-like figure, Hair and beard in stringy strands Clad in robes that shouted charlatan. He conjured more than smoke and potions. He stole the minds of troubled souls And those who sought miracles In troubled times. History may be circling back on itself. The orange ogre is Tsar Nicholas His companion, his…
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Value
VALUE What is the value of my presence? My worth declines with every passing year As skills and talents slip away With an outgoing tide that never returns. I am condensed into a sort of desiccated essence Until I am left a rolled-up ball on the floor Propelled forever by a dung beetle Walking backward…
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Seems Like Magic
Seems Like Magic I think to myself, “Gee, that sounds like a neat phrase. Maybe I can use it later.” What to do? I’ve often wondered how a Priest, Minister, Rabbi or Imam Comes up with a new sermon/subject Every Saturday/Sunday. A preacher friend once confessed That he keeps a few sermons In his back…
Palimpsest 