Best Smithsonian Poems

French trader Tavernier in a greed-inspired way
Glared at an idol of a temple in Mandalay
Prying a gem from its eye socket, a curse prevailed
Tavernier died bankrupt soon after making the sale

Louis XIV bought the stone, 1668
A gift to his mistress, Louis had it cut heart-shape
For...

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I've got this awesome idea 
To write the greatest of poems
It'll start out nice and easy
Then with a BANG make some noise

It will be widely read
In every coffeehouse in town
Soon to catch on like a wildfire
Then #1 with a bullet nation bound

Writing so amazing 
It'll...

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It was never exactly pinpointed
for only the African Crowned Eagles knew of the twisting paths
to its misplaced place.

In that crystalline chamber, upon that gold dusted floor
were found much thumbed volumes of all Nietzsche’s
works,
a penguin in a glass bell,
a twig cut from the tree of Life...

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Peridot


Of all the fine gems that I know, my favorite is Peridot.
My August birthstone pleases me, since color green and I agree.
Now, Peridot is lesser-known among most gemstones that are shown.
It once was called 'Gem Of The Sun', and Cleopatra's most loved one.

Egyptian scrolls say...

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Limericks VII - Naughty, Bawdy, Risque, Absurd

There continue to be modern sequels of the famous "Nantucket" limericks, including this bawdy one of mine:

There was a lewd whore from Nantucket
who intended to pee in a bucket;
but being a man
she missed the damn can
and her rattled john...

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Enola Gay

There on the ‘North Field’ tarmac of Tinian Island, Marianas;
Taxis the sleek designed ‘Boeing B-29 Superfortress’ to ready for take-off. 1
Glistening, polished aluminum under the blaring floodlights filmed for posterity,
Maneuvers' the ‘Enola Gay’, chosen by the pilot and named after his mother. 2
With the...

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I know I've been to Chicago,
     But I only remember the snow.
I know that I've been to Albuquerque,
     but I mostly just remember the hot marketplace
     with dried chilies twice the length of...

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"Shrouded" 

found in the humanity
not in the divinity
many pilates 
wash their hands
of this

long enough
for the clouds 
to descend 
then rise 
fly away 

criminal as charged
electric in the body
the mind already risen
the observer now crucified
takes notes

passionately 
shrouded in the crowd
lux vitae let loose
through holes in the...

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CROCODILE     CHIT - CHAT



So there  am  I  sitting, basking,  mouth wide-open in the swamp,   
An Egyptian plover just a-cleaning my teeth  -   and old Ernie   says  
Hey  Roger,...

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The actress Farrah Fawcett
In the Smithsonian, her swimsuit they just tossed it
Her poster was the very last sight
I saw in my college dorm room every night...

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Lanky’s Chronicles

We meet a long-limbed white boy that said his family was owners of slaves.
He was a leggy ole boy and bony angular in his physical ways.
Uncle Tom was from his past.
He described plantation life as [w]holistic.
We nicknamed him Lanky.

Lanky always got to the point.
He...

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Archaeological Expeditions To the Moon

By Sugob Elcitra

[Dr. Sugob Elcitra is the founding president of  Lunar Research, Inc.  His company plans to offer private trips to the moon for those able to afford the 1.5 million per person reservations.  The 20-day outings are...

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Fifty-one years ago, today, on September 21, 1967, Kindness appeared in the form of Fred McFeely Rogers, with his neighborhood of make-believe.  We allowed him to enter our homes and support us in encouraging our children, building in them a strong sense of self...

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History of the Star Spangle Banner
 Maybe idea of Major George Armistead
  The glory of Americans who scan her
   Of Mary Pickersgill she was begat

   The creation of the original flag
  Be still a subject highly debated
 Mary Pickersgill...

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Limericks
by Michael R. Burch



Clyde Lied!
by Michael R. Burch

There once was a mockingbird, Clyde,
who bragged of his prowess, but lied.
To his new wife he sighed,
"When again, gentle bride?"
"Nevermore!" bright-eyed Raven replied.



The Platypus
by Michael R. Burch

The platypus, myopic,
is ungainly, not erotic.
His feet for bed
are over-webbed,
and what of...

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