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Best Poems Written by Earl Schumacker

Below are the all-time best Earl Schumacker poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

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The Simple Pen

The Simple Pen

I am but a simple man with pen in hand
To cut open a slice of universe with verse
And with the ink
Let it bleed not red
It flows instead with mortal colors
Over a life well spent
What is left over
We drink this in a cup
Pour more to fill it up
But little at a time
Too much reality can cloud your mind
Said the simple man with bleeding pen

Entered in Tyshawn Knight's - "Advice for New Writers: Words of Wisdom in Verse" Poetry Contest on 6/02/15

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Fear of Numbers

Fear of Numbers

Fear of numbers is real
They carry adding machines on their backs
And loaded numbered guns
Divide and subtract from families and everyone
With two times the pleasure two times the fun
Double their trouble on the run
You cannot escape the digits on your hands and toes
They are counting on you to pull them through
Children fear math and numbers like the plague
Run from them at multiple fractions of a second
Poof!...Like zero, (Is that a real name and number?), they are gone
Figures hide behind accountants glasses
Hitting you with tons of taxes
Not to be divisive or derisive
Or taken down in dividends
I think they’re out to get you
In the end they have no =
Something’s don’t add up
You can count on that

Details | Earl Schumacker Poem

What's In the Urn

What’s In The Urn

Strangers offered me to join them in a drink
I met them on a mountain edge while skiing
They seemed like friendly normal people then
So what could happen in a simple cabin?

Finding that which is not there or vanquished
What is there that cannot be perceived?
Placed upon the mantel piece are ashes in the cabin
Brass vase, a receptacle for lost souls sits in repose

A death vase to glare at over cognac
By the sober flames cast by
A fire place glow observed in action
Liquid spirits pour out their poison

In the cozy living room inside the cabin
Drinks alone cannot remove this feeling of distraction
The urn is piercing through my soul
People belong in cemeteries you know

With all due respect for the dead
Scatter them at sea when they‘re deceased
Not paraded around in gloom to cause unease
Or as a center piece for living rooms 

I’m not relieved to find it is a lizard on the shelf
To be exact, an exotic iguana family friend entombed 
And to assume that fact makes this matter optimal 
I beg to differ on that point and voice my opinion later

There must be a plot of ground outside 
Or toilet somewhere to flush it down
But better left unsaid, as they are bereaved about the death
And I am their invited guest

Iguana tried consuming the family’s cat
Another favorite  pet I guess
It is surmised, that’s how it met its end
Wound up expired inside the urn
                                                                              
The receptacle was there and going nowhere on its own
I swear it follows me from room to room
By embers glow and ash, shadowing my every move
A brass smile casting off the urn, leaving me concerned 

I could not take my leave
The container followed me
So I waited, fixated on the thing
Is it coming back to life to eat more bugs or me?

Finding that which is not there
Is easier in the dark                                                                                     
Rising to the occasion of the day that breaks
I must escape the premises to continue skiing 

Into the frozen world outside I fly
With no discernible signs or paths to lead or learn
I get away, no time to say good-byes or find my way
Never again will I say; what’s in the urn

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Poet Destroyer Parades and Carnivals

Poet Destroyer - Parades and Carnivals

Soft feathers gather up with color
On the wind to play as friends
They come floating first above the boulevard
Kind thoughts there elevate, somewhere between the innocence
Trumpets, drums and violins come thumping on the street 
Poet Destroyer is there to keep the peace
Hiding in disguise as Linda
She jumps up one thousand feet and lands
Right in the heart of Poetry Soup with marching bands
Flutes come alive while she eats fire
Catching knives between her teeth, and bullets just for fun  
While petting hungry tigers, yawning all the while 
Parades fill in the rest of life with yellows reds and peach designs
When PD comes marching down the streets all smiles
She wakes up, takes on greater feats
Casting royal colors in purples, gold and lavenders
Announcing the start of carnival
Trusted, serene, sweet dreams and memories
She speaks of dragons flying by her side in times gone by
But today, arise!... carnivals, parades, and dancing happy feet 
Bad memories sink out of sight
Diabolical forces, hard matters, enemies of play 
Will have to gravitate their weight some other day
No draconian measures or moments here
PD has come to host parades and gaiety 
Delicious love and fun gather up the sun
You can certainly feel the warmth
Rising lighter than the feathers to tickle everyone 
Linda jumps again and does it just for fun

Created on 12/04/14 for - Fighting Depression (poems for PD) - Poetry Contest

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In the Repetition of a Kiss

In The Repetition Of A Kiss

When I leave the house to follow traffic patterns
Tie and suitcase in my hand
Running through the door to find rush hour
I buy and sell gold bullion for a living 
On the grand piano, the one my wife and I can’t play
I leave a hurried message
“My dear, I’ll be back soon.”  “I love you so.”
“Please have the help clean the piano.”
“The one that you and I can’t play.”
“But if I make it rich, you and I can get some lessons.”
“We’ll play an Oratorio. Opera or an Anthem
Or perhaps a symphony or two one day.”
In between each number we will practice kissing
In the end, if we learn nothing, on this instrument
Our hearts and lips will follow every note in memory
In the repetition of a kiss

I leave you a kiss. 

As always, I will miss you
In the repetition of a kiss

Created 9/08/14 by: Earl Schumacker - Theme- “Leave You A Kiss” The Poet II – Poetry Contest

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Tiger Tableau

Tiger Tableau

Six shots rang out loud
Woke the jungle calm
My trained tiger hit
Landed on me hard
Good thing I am fat
We both could have died


10/16/14  Earl Schumacker -  DESIGN YOUR TABLEAU – Poetry Contest
“You become responsible forever for what you've tamed.”

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Flowers Emerge

Flowers Emerge

Impose your will on the pretty flowers as you may
Trans-formative wonderment of nature 
Entrenched, defiled, they pop up any way in clusters
Vivacious are the colors above the solid stem
Cut cold to death, decay and pain, to follow winters grip    
Excellence defined in the ability to survive
Dangerous are the forces that persist to derogate them    
Yet they prevail against all odds
Death comes but they regenerate
Grass is their shield.  Dirt is their pillow there
Negative winds carry with them ice
Reds and yellows grow on below the sun
Visceral, strangled roots, fragile faces, petal soft, grow cold
Ingenious species, green with envy on the leaf, rise again
A Cacophony of nature’s birds and bees disturbs the peace  
Flowers come in abundance, remain, friendly on the green
Distinguished in divine fashion, exquisite, generous to the last 
Elevated smiles on pollen grains contain the seed of life
Flowers emerge, aware of life
 

11/22/14 Poetry Contest - "Encounters With Flowers"

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Bullet Proof

Bullet Proof

If I was a bullet I would travel real fast
Take showers in the past
Use gun powder to keep me dry
Shop at Target
And avoid people at all cost
If I was a bullet I would buy a gun
A small one, for company
Challenge Superman to a race
Or simply let him leap tall buildings, if he were so inclined
As I leap to my own conclusions by his side
If I was a bullet I would go to Mexico
Drink tequila real slow to get inebriated 
Finish off bottles of 90 proof vodka to prove a point
That I can become bullet proof in any old joint


9/01/14 The Poet - Poetry contest

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Sugar Cuba

Sugar Cuba?
What's so normal about normalization?

We become a little more socialist
They become a little more capitalist

We all meet in the middle and hold hands… How sweet!

They give us Cuban cigars
We give them rap music
A form of torture

We can now visit Cuban hotels
Cubans can visit Disney World

My only question is
Does Cuba have toilet paper?

Details | Earl Schumacker Poem

Turquoise Sea, Coconut Trees and Turtles

Turquoise Sea, Coconut Trees And Turtles

Pristine see through waters
Turtles slide by
Rock to and fro as they go
They are my watch
In paradise with cracked coconuts


By: Earl Schumacker -Created on 1/09/14 for “SOMEWHERE” Poetry Contest- sponsored by:  Nette Onclaud -Using How Many Syllables - count 6,4,7,4,9 = 30 syllables (5 lines)