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Best Poems Written by Charleen Martinez

Below are the all-time best Charleen Martinez poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Charleen Martinez Poem

The End of the World

Sweet song of humanity, play on

apparently, we still ain't gone

global catastrophe seems eminent

yet bars and parties are still prominent

a question of when, not if

that's what the epidemiologist insists

the bees have died

the brokers cried

but we play on

Details | Charleen Martinez Poem

Educational Philosophy Parody On Theme For English B

The instructor said,

Go home and write
a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you--
Then, it will be true.

I wonder if it’s that simple?
I am twenty, an average girl, born in Chicago.
I went to school there, then here, Florida.
Fifteen years, I’ve been to school
Two more, I still got
Before I’m done and in school again
But by that time, I’ll be the teacher

It’s not easy to know what is true for you or me
There are so many theories
So many philosophies
Well, just five
But that’s enough when you’ve got to prescribe to one
 or two
 or three
 or four
or all five

At twenty, my age, I’ve suffered them all
Teacher-centered essentialist classrooms
Rows of students paralyzed in fear at no kitten but rather
Of a rather fat cat dressed up in a test booklet
I’ve been a victim of perennialists 
Holding within a “great book” a great book.
For all the eyes behind her head,
Teacher couldn’t see my copy
Of Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging inside of my copy of The Iliad
One day I walked into a progressive classroom
The teacher put us all in groups
We built a robot and learned
About torque, levers, and voltage
I’ve been privy to social reconstruction
Now that is motivation
To seek and find a problem
Then to seek and find an answer
My mind was never idle in that class
In the class of an existentialist
I drank cool water
She let us be
And was our friend

Being me, I can never be you
Or Ms. Wild
Or Ms. Green
Or Mr. Melvin
Or Ms. Kilic
Or Ms. Miller
I can only be me
And with being me, I will carry every philosophy
I am product of them all
Of the tests
And old books
Of the group work
And activism
Of the simple, free classroom that played my kind of music and turned me into Da Vinci
For an hour

I’ve learned from all of them
I guess they all learned from me
And now we’ve both got something true
A living, flowing, breathing philosophy
This is my page for Special Topics

Details | Charleen Martinez Poem

Dreams

Dreams tend to lilt
Today they’re here
‘morrow they’re killed 

I’ve seen some wilt
Despite a tear
Dreams tend to lilt

If they are built
But not kept near
‘morrow they’re killed

They can be spilt
With just a jeer 
Dreams tend to lilt

But have no guilt
Nor feel the drear
‘morrow they’re killed

A dream can tilt
A dream can blear
Dreams tend to lilt
‘morrow they’re killed

Details | Charleen Martinez Poem

Coffee

Coffee

It thickly pours

Down into my blue mug

I savor its velvety taste

Awake

Details | Charleen Martinez Poem

The Boy From New York

There once was a boy from New York 
Who refused to taste any pork
Until one bright day
A damsel did say
“let me feed you, my love, from this fork”

Details | Charleen Martinez Poem

Mango Tree

I'm Sitting in a wicker rocking chair
beneath a mango tree
whose open arms provide for me
a canopy of shade

Details | Charleen Martinez Poem

A Friend

a friend is a satin ribbon
which wraps around your life

a friend is a golden button
that does away with strife 

a friend is a silver needle 
that keeps you sharp and true

a friend is a good strong thread
that livens you anew

Details | Charleen Martinez Poem

Slavery

Grey faces
Concrete
Diets high in fat
Fumes
Pollution
Days that turn to night
Red eyes
Indifference
Longing for cheap pleasures
Slavery in America is different

Details | Charleen Martinez Poem

Hot Date

My baby took me on a hot date to a greasy spoon
"Oh, darling! I'm about to swoon!"
He ordered up a basket of 50 chicken wings 
Then our server gave us some napkins and things
The chicken came doused to the core
Could we desire anything more?
Oh, XXX HAUT--buffalo sauce!
we assured that not one went to loss
The fiery taste made my eyes turn to glass
you should've seen what it did to my-
mouth

Details | Charleen Martinez Poem

Fears

Walking up to the circulation desk,
books in one hand
library card in the other
Sliding books across the shiny, marble counter top
to the woman, who stands tall on the other side
with her mother-of-pearl rimmed glasses
nestled in the crevice of her full bosom
the glasses hang from her neck
on a glass beaded chain
She asks for my card
and without a word I place it in her open palm
I'm holding my breath as 
She slides the card smoothly, then frowns
Her lips part and she begins to speak-
But my body's turning
I'm running
I'm running before she gets me
Before she grabs my collar and shakes me
Before I'm locked up for being such a bad bibliophile 
There's a hold on my account
I'm banned 
I'm black-listed
I'm prohibited
There's a hold on my account
and I can't check out any more books