Best Paperback Book Poems
The grandfather on my mother's side was a cheapskate.
A real cheapskate.
One Christmas, he gave me a used paperback book.
Something like “Jimmy Plays Baseball.”
It was written for a 7 year old child, and I was considerably older than that.
Still had “5 cents” written in pencil on the first page.
No foolin'.
Asked he, “You ever read that one?”
Replied I, “No granddad. Can’t say I have. Thank you.”
“Merry Christmas.”
I hated going to visit them.
In the row house in Baltimore city, where my mother grew up.
(‘Balmer.’ ‘Balmer, Merilan.' “How you doin’ hon?”)
Me and my sister sitting on the wood floor in the living room.
Positioned dead eyed to the manger on the mantle.
Given board games to occupy our time.
My father loved talking to him, Leo, Leo Groeninger.
Because he was brilliant.
And he knew everything about everything.
A sedentary encyclopedia on the spectrum.
His second wife sitting dutifully next to him on the couch.
My mother sitting in a chair, the only one left in the living room.
“Maybe you kids would like to play checkers, or Parcheesi.”
But he had one saving grace:
His German potato salad.
The real thing.
Made with ham fat.
Five pounds of ham fat.
Or bacon, if you didn't have any ham fat.
Damn that stuff was good!
Got pabst blue ribbon
for american rhythm
and now presenting
some sophistication;
ladies and gentleman
stay clear i'm pissing
straight jameson;
on these rocks here
still sipping on my beer;
cheers...
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/one-for-the-lift-ticket/7970992
i sling rhymes
like i fling stones;
miraculous style
bound to rock your dome.
i got metaphors
like a fortune teller;
for sense like a psychic
when i predict futures.
my two cents
make so much sense
i gain interest.
i'm a bank-teller storytelling
shorty loving typo fellow;
clever like a rapper but lazy
wont spit it loco gringo.
just pen it and sling it
type borracho.
best go get your poncho
cuz im turning water to cerveza
then im dropping some rain on ya.
tasty styles token so your bound to be saying
is this hound playing or was he born easter morning?
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/one-for-the-lift-ticket/7970992
I
“What in carnation is this?”
A voice I hear in my sleep of dreams
and ghosts in the fog my only peace.
Early mornin’ frost chills and the rains
of discontent neither cleanse nor cease
II
I hear “Caramba Chico!”
This room, it reminds me so of you.
See the picture portrait, your silky hair,
your canvas brush stroke, your books
upon your shelf, your lonely empty chair
III
So it was in older days
a dry Penfolds filled your sherry glass,
and you of me did ask “is the table set?”.
Pelau or maybe ham ‘n hops to thankful fill
but you say “boy, tonight is macafouchette”
IV
“Christopher Columbus!”
You loved among the flowers to tread,
and so happily arrange the ones you took.
Sip sparklin’ shandy and light a cigarette,
write a letter home, read a paperback book
V
“Jeez-an-ages! For true?”
Into wet clay buried burden and pain
in the garage pedallin' the potter’s wheel.
Alone in your spinnin’ dreams, dear mother,
I remember how contented it made you feel
VI
And as the hour grew late
I would camp upon your bed a while.
Lay beside you - feel your warm breath,
and watch you read but “Aye Caramba”
nigh was your own tale of fear and death
VII
“Murderation! Is that so?”
Keeper, but not mine to keep for there
was end of time but no end of sorrows.
Healer, but not ours to heal - now all we
have are yesterdays and no tomorrows
VIII
“Jumping Jehoshaphat!”
Out of the land of the isle of Trinidad
landed crates of tins and jars from home.
But your cup was filled by joy and life
and for a brief short time filled my own
IX
Oh, how the music played,
closer and louder the beating drums -
Calypso Rose the Calypso Queen to be.
When we at Carnival danced but the music
died and now I long for its sweet melody
X
“Chuts!” Not hug, not kiss,
not gaze passed between us ever again
but your spirit guide my broken wings chase.
Now I listen for the soul of a hummingbird
on the wind flown and gone in gentle grace
Written: July 1993
I love farmland in spring
and new beginnings
and winning in extra innings.
I love a fat lady singing;
barbecues, chilling, grilling;
no curfews, imported brews;
a lime or two beautiful women;
swimming in ocean michigan.
Bonfires waterside
with fire flies flying by;
whiskey bottle by my side;
sitting, sipping, simply wishing
summertime would continue.
But autumn's harvest wont be far off
and winter blowing in is looking grim.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/one-for-the-lift-ticket/7970992
Now god dang darn nabbit if I'm a gonna have it,
any other way then the way I done describe it.
Countryside road hellbent on winding;
barely getting by just trying to survive.
And if cleanliness is godliness
I'm satan himself, living in filth;
happy as a tornado in a trailer park.
Twisted as the chew strands, i've been dipping;
stinking like the juices in my spit can...
And I'm pretty damn sure
it's in my blood that;
if I aint driving racecar then
I'm wasting my time.
And I ain't fixin on wasting no time.
Cuz I ain't got time for that ya'll;
what with the misses bitching and all.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/one-for-the-lift-ticket/7970992
I'm too able bodied to be this poor,
too intelligent to ignore,
the establishment
f$cking us over anymore.
Why's the working class
the poorer class?
And who does the more
important tasks?
For profit everything;
everyday swindling;
minimum wage
that doesn't pay
for the necessities...
Reassess your priorities
as population booms
mass produced, industrialized
automation of consumption...
Maybe free market thinking
isn't quite so free any more.
And how is it that in the
age of information
education isn't free?
When it comes to the necessities
who has the right to profit off these?
It's time we end poverty,
wise up and save our trees.
My life of luxury ain't
stressing bout necessity;
just eating well with shelter,
public transit and i'll prosper.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/one-for-the-lift-ticket/7970992
Getting high like cocaine
as i fly higher then your rogaine;
wishing i was snowboarding
not falling outta college.
When i die, lord may i touch the sky
and get smashed by a meteorite.
Bright like fireworks delight,
slope side friday night lights,
Cliff drops down crater runs, having fun;
praising Allah for five hundred or so
extra vertical, name it mount heavenly.
My ghost will call it mount purgatory;
invites for eternity; who's joining me?
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/one-for-the-lift-ticket/7970992
wake up hysteria,
good morning america;
don't panic but your
countries senile;
the politicians are evil.
what's the media feeding you?
propaganda and slander,
B. S. by the bushel,
big oil officials,
deceit by the barrel
thats current america.
But I pledge allegiance
to corporate america;
to the united states of apathy
and oxymorons; one nation
under Allah with liberty, justice
and health insurance for
those who can afford it.
my country isn't free,
sweet land of irony.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/one-for-the-lift-ticket/7970992
take sanctuary in my city;
and live peacefully with me.
we're just people, plain and simple;
and that's good enough for we.
we're just people, plain and simple;
and that's all we'll ever be.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/one-for-the-lift-ticket/7970992
My very first poetry book was released this morning and is available from the following website.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/one-for-the-lift-ticket/7970992
It's priced fairly cheap at 10.97$ for the paper-back or you can download the Ebook for 4.98$.
I want to thank all the poetry soup people who encouraged, supported and help critiques many of the poems
that ended up in this book.
have a nice day.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/one-for-the-lift-ticket/7970992
my skateboard aint got no brakes.
aint that the breaks? neh im just great.
i got faith that angels negotiate
the paths these vehicles take.
insuring i dont get smashed
to many pieces and break.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/one-for-the-lift-ticket/7970992
1. list of goals, wishes and questions
2. if then poems
3. multiple perspectives
4. definitions
5. word associating
6. jokes and riddles
7. american dream
8. multiple meanings in defiance of english
9. nursery rhymes
10. dirty innuendo
11. alphabetical order
12. elementary spectrum
13. an ode to inspiration
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/one-for-the-lift-ticket/7970992
This poet decided against
becoming a measly minced meaty morsel
undetected inauspicious augury
assigning adept
aqueous ace AOL amphibian,
who surreptitiously crept
to the secret crypt (guarded by
foo fighters and amazing dragons)
said gendarmes did except
special fluid scrip as egress into
heavily fortified
(with USDA recommended allowance),
thus when the configurative motley crue
including thyself (a bono fied doo
bee brother - long given up for lost,
which "FAKE" oracle
misinterpreted by a goo goo
doll, and cross dresser named Hugh
played being took a vow el,
and hence consonantly knew
all along, i dwelt peacefully
in a soundcloud loo
immensely spacious with ooh
dills of survival trappings
purchased from Peru
laborers treated by free pact
guaranteeing a socially
conscious shopper to rue
painstaking indigenous stoop labor,
now stamped imprimatur could allow,
enable and provide means to shoe
each formerly eczema dappled,
cracked bare foot
ah, a glimmer of hopefulness
(upon this crowded house of a planet) view
which youtube snapchat ting
reddit as joyous outlook
sans linkedin shutterfly,
twitter ring tender flickr ring shoots
communicated an instagram message
of hopefulness kickstarting optimism
versus the initial thread of this poem,
which to set this got off track
(hinting at goal to be
a paperback book writer wannabe)
rather than ending up as a byte size snack
for a limbering beast, into whose tumblr
of one jagged razor sharp teeth
like daggers lined up along a rack
of reinforced steel maw,
which bang for the bite did pack
leaves no room for bing a survivor
as fierce jaws clamp down
worse than getting steam rolled by a mack
truck, but subjected to thee yield,
whence thousands of pounds
per square inch of pressure
on par lambasted from Donald Trump flack.
Congress is bitching again, trying to make it look like they’re doing something.
But they don’t give a damn; career politicians know it’s a scam.
But do they know this is real? And realize the power they wield?
I don’t think they care that they’re shipping kids to battlefields for a war without reasons.
And the media doesn’t care or dare to ask questions that should be hanging in the air.
Who cares…..? whatever sells more advertising time.
And is george bush high? We should probably get him tested.
Neh never mind…. Instead let’s try to get steroids out of baseball, cameras out of
football, fixes out of Bball, yeah just ignore this week at war and flip it over to sports center.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/one-for-the-lift-ticket/7970992