Close Cropped Poems | Examples


List of Member Poems

Premium Member Franklin's Folly

As I cut the grass I curse Ben Franklin
He fell in love with France’s close-cropped fields
However, in the land of Kings and Jesters
Who never ate an orange wasn’t peeled

Knew not the toil of trimming, or re-seeding
Knelt before no one save for their King
Walked slowly the gardens of the peons
Felt not the thorn or hornets nasty sting

Strode beneath the banners of their quest 
An ancestry of poison, knives and lies
Powdered wigs, perfume, a silken jest
To clip the wilting flower ‘fore it dies

Curse you Ben for being France’s pawn
For ever setting foot upon a lawn


John G. Lawless
©7/2/2023

It's Okay To Be

It's okay to be white,
it's okay to be brown,
it's okay to be Asian
hailing from Shanghai town.

It's okay to be Jewish,
or of the Christian sort,
or be an agnostic,
not know what to exhort.

It's okay to be woman,
it's okay to be male,
no, you are not toxic,
despite the endless wails.

It's okay to be right-wing,
or libertarian,
okay to learn from others,
or be contrarian.

Okay to be a long-hair,
or have a close-cropped skull,
okay to make your own calls
as an individual.

When Identitarians
go tell you what to feel,
it's okay to flip them off
and make the bastards squeal.

8342563

Close-cropped, careless cast,
Body blunted by each week's
Doldrum-diving fast.


Premium Member Japanese, If You Please

Beings, precious, small, frail, they
walk at a precise pace, more wary, than gaijin* 
with their large log-like feet,
of the other small precious lives,
the flight of tiny, blue and gold-faced, birds,
the cream dipped moth .. on an errant breeze.

Close-cropped, clean-cut, trimmed and clipped as their hedges, 
softly edged like the bamboo fenced trees and lawns;
the Japanese glide through their Tokyo
as the kanji glides across the page.

Premium Member Japanese If You Please / 2008

Beings, precious, small, frail, they
walk at a precise pace;
more wary than gaijin with their
large log-like feet,
of the other small precious lives;
the flight of tiny blue and gold faced birds,
the cream dipped moth on an errant breeze.

Close cropped- clean, cut trimmed 
and as clipped as their hedges,
edged like the bamboo fenced trees and lawns ;
the Japanese glide through their Tokyo
as the kanji glides across the page.

Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.

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