Best Absentee Poems

He’s never heard one lesson of this class,
but has to get a grade in history.
So he’s shown up at last, sure he will pass
the test...

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The night it is barren
from inland to the sea
but I am the one who loves you
you are not alone.

Tonight the sky is empty
stars fall in...

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He disappears again. Can't say that I'm surprised
I know he thinks when he comes home, that hell be chastised
But I won't say a word cause...

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the wealth of norman England is poised to grow
  towns enlarge, markets exchange, a fresh fertilising sprinkled culture
  kingdoms extend with numbers reducing
...

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Part 1: FORE SIBERIAN FATE

silk wings wet -
angel on the lake.
starlight glitter
separates from

the golden wheat.
her docile hair,
prophecy of ice.

winter pink,
pinched cheeks.
ice skate scrapes -
flecks of...

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Second row to the board!

These words could not just be ignored
     I’m thinking but a vintage few
    ...

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When she said yes, he was "over the moon"
     Though the orb was oddly missing that night
The couple should have seen...

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Once a month Earth’s moon takes another gig
     Moonlighting in a far-off galaxy
The lunar eclipse only veils the truth
  ...

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Hare trigger instincts
always served Roger well
He had an oh, no-no lettuce nose — 
a hyper-keen sense   when to leave
Roger was rabbit good
at knowing...

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satisfying sound, raindrops end—
swooshing of dark-wet, late green branches

intensifying quiet of morning
thunder and lightning rescind—
mourning absentee birds

there’s no sun
as Autumn comes,
apples
ornamental—
in sodden basket
of orchard.
sweetness
lies on...

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Vow I take, triumph I foresee
Verbal promise, clear-cut, precise 
Volition has my guarantee
Values changed, new contempt for vice
Virtue's purpose is verified 
Vision refocused, clarified
Vacillation is...

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A man put dynamite in a can
Just because that's where he stuck it
Dan came along and kicked the can
And also, he kicked the bucket!

Stopped by...

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I write upon the page 
Words plucked from the air 
The clarity of the moment passes 
My words falter, fade and disappear 
Return a moment...

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The world keeps spinning on,
but I wish it could go backward instead.
Who have I become, where have I gone?
I don't even know what goes on...

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By Edmund Siejka



A high school English teacher 
Issues a challenge
Her class
Is to write a poem.
 
Reading a student’s poem
Her experienced eye
Searches for
Imagery
Metaphor
Tone
Point of view 
Ultimately...

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