Best Flats Poems

oh the limerick it ain’t quite a sonnet
and the learned, they look down upon it
for they cannot grasp
its head or its ass
nor the cleansing effect of its tonic


John G. Lawless
6/18/2017...

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On Good Friday after church we eat
curried pickled fish and hot crossed buns
and drink black coffee because we share
in the painful agony of the Lord.
On Easter Sunday after church we braai *
meat and drink like fish and rejoice
in the victory over death and grave.

* (rhymes with "bye" ) - barbeque / barbecue...

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Twas a little piece of heaven in a bigger spot of hell,
Nestled in the bosom of the Sierra Nevadas.
I wasn't sure just what planet I had just landed on,
An alien invader in a strange mountain fold.
Oh, they looked at us with those skeptical stares,
Knowing full well their way of life there was to end someday.
But...

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the staff here at lim’rik flats
has noticed a shortage of laughs
poetry soupers
need some whoopers
Please double your sillies by halfs

And just so you will not get bored
the staff here will give an award
“giggle-of-the-day”
 is easy to play
(and playing is half the reward!)

There on your tongue, on the tip,
is a jest, a joke or a quip
turn it...

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Writing limericks is a fine art
Yes I write about poop or a fart
If you show me someone
Who has NOT dropped a ‘bomb’
then from poetry soup I’ll depart!

Inspired by Lim'rik flat's poem 'Collaboration can be fun'

06-18-17...

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Crossing the mud flats
of the bay daily,
on 137,
back and forth, 
back and forth,
I see lives with choices
and freedom.

Birds free to take wing
and float on a warm
updraft, 
bask in the sun,
wiggle in the mud,
hunt for grubs in the grass,
paddle around with
the new ducklings,
walk on water
for awhile,
fly in formation
for the heck of it.

Freedom in the twitch
of every...

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from down on the flats we can see
high-on-the-hills poetry
sonnets like mansions
sestinas in stanchions
they fill our dulled hearts with much glee...

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The other day I had a "first", two flat tires.
Could it have been worse?
I was on a narrow country road  and
driving very, very slow.
Suddenly my car made a loud pop
and then it fell. The right side dropped.
I drove a bit further with a little hesitation
and fortunately reached my planned destination.
I got out of the...

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She loved to gaze, at the tall buildings
As she walked along the road,
Clinging  on, to the hand of her dad
A little girl - who loved to dream,
And think of the happy families
Tucked away, cozily in their  flats.
She dreamt of the togetherness,
Of the deep bonding in those homes
Of the love, that lit the rooms
And...

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welcome to lim’rik flats
where boys wear only spats
it's in a valley
called nonsense alley
(psst... they also wear hats)...

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Here in Toledo
                                                    ...

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Dale had a date
at Red Road Flats,
but the girl he's at
had no need of him.

She had gone out walking
with her dog,
and wasn't there
at Red Road Flats.

So Dale went knocking on her door
on the top floor of Red Road Flats.
There was no barking of the dog, for sure,
in Red Road Flats, in Red Road Flats.

He stood...

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That cream-coloured car is there again
in the parking space at that block of white flats.
She's there every weekday, its owner:
a warden, official, administrator?

Does she work in a room there,
or wander the corridors, nattering to residents
who seem to be the walking dead?
Or does she shut herself away till home time?

Why do I find an interest in
that...

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When I'm walking through the tide flats
I'm creating a space in my heart
For gladness and gratitude
I taste the tangy bite of the clam
As the seagull gulps
The wind against my hull feels briny
Buffeted by the seas breath
I follow warm currents
Finding shells ravished by the years
Similar to my own
Crusted with barnacles, living
Still as shelter to crabs or...

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Born of the sea and distant shore
passing tides is all he knew
ripping melodies from his heart
and blending waves with heart beats
pulsing with life 
the sea engulfed him daily
only to show mercy and return him safely
every hour was a brooding storm
a mixture of pain and strife
common places that are found through out his life
the vast sea...

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