affable aardvarks amused arbitrators
brash brazen baboons enjoyed escalators
careless careworn camels circled sissy
dark dusky deputies danced until dizzy
eccentric entertaining elephants enthusiastically embrace
faithful fashionable forest foxes follow a feverish face
gloriously gleeful gorillas gallantly grab a griping grouse
happily, hopeful, they can share with hippos, a house
Categories:
deputies, 10th grade, 12th grade,
Form: ABC
In thoughts of death when sleep possessed my eye,
I saw a daunting figure, benign still:
I’ve come to escort thee by divine will,
Hope, with thy own wise will ye will sans why.
Scores of my body cells die every day,
A bit of me each moment as ye know,
Life’s born to die, death all along lurks low,
Why just today? I hope you’ve not lost way.
I need come here none of them to escort,
But only when the soul wants to depart,
Let death daunt every heartbeat of thy life,
I usher soul alone to divine court,
To know right time to depart’s subtle art,
As is to know when karmic cup is rife.
_________________________________________
Sonnets | 07.04.2023 |
Poet’s note: A dialogue between a dreaming soul and the messenger of Lord of Death, Yama, who on death sends his deputies to escort the soul.
“I Died Poetry Contest”
Sponsored by Craig Cornish
Categories:
deputies, death,
Form: Sonnet
West of the Rockies,
North of the border.
Lay a little town,
Of law and order.
With one Tin Star,
And Deputies three.
Nobody transgressed,
Nobody but me.
On that fateful day,
Near the edge of town.
With my Colt 45,
Shot the Sheriff down.
I had whiskeyed head,
And bloodshot eyes.
On a stolen horse,
Was caught by surprise.
The Deputies three,
That I confounded.
Out of the shadows,
Had me surrounded.
With no other choice,
I dropped my gun.
Then raised my hands,
Under Noonday sun.
A few moments later,
I was put in a cell.
Waiting for the Judge,
To send me straight to Hell.
I was soon found guilty,
By a twelve-man jury.
Right up the gallows,
For the Hangman's fury.
As the trapdoor opened,
I couldn't help thinking.
This wouldn't have happened,
If I hadn't been drinking.
Categories:
deputies, death, fate, judgement, western,
Form: Rhyme
Seems Florida men never learn
His getaway? A zero-turn
His Deere, not so fast
His lead didn’t last
Now grass is not his main concern
https://nypost.com/2022/07/11/florida-man-tries-to-escape-deputies-on-john-deere-lawnmower/
Categories:
deputies, humorous,
Form: Limerick
Fort Worth to El Paso, a long stretch of tracks
Deputies securing Wells Fargo money sacks,
With reins in hand, stagecoach en route
Jessie’s gang kicks dust, chasing the loot.
Oil lamps hanging on the tavern’s post
Saloons filled with men who drink the most.
Split rails and troughs in make shift corrals
Mask men flee, hiding in many locales.
Posse of six saddle up to chase
Jessie’s gang leading the pace
Wanted posters hung on banks and stables
A round of whiskey lies on saloon tables.
Colt 45’s rest on the long wooden bar
Ranchers arriving soon from Omaha.
Rustler’s rope up a head of cattle
Rifle on the side, rope loops on the saddle.
Looters grab the bags, each one rides a mustang
Two gunslingers jailed, one will hang
Conductor steps out, train whistle blows
“all aboard”, wheels turn, white smoke blows,
Across the plains and over the notch
Riders travel with flasks of scotch.
Straight beaten paths and dusty trails
Someday those will be wild western tales.
Categories:
deputies, imagery, , western,
Form: Rhyme
///The judge said 7 days in the city jail
(for being young and wreckless).
I made the best of it, met some lost but good people.
The food wasn't bad (you could have second helpings if you wanted to).
Had an easy job detail, mopping the "reception" center floor.
It was a respite from my outside job.
(moving furniture in the Houston Texas humidity).
I put on three pounds in jail. courtesy of the working class.
And it's true what they say, silence is golden.
Especially true when you're behind bars.
Despite some minor brutality from the deputies.
I'll still give my stay 4 stars///
Categories:
deputies, adventure, environment, joy,
Form: Free verse
Born in 1880
to a single mom
back in Maine.
He volunteered
in the army
after school.
He did many
robberies
bank's and trains.
He stayed in Oklahoma
but broke the law
in other states too.
His gang of jolly
men changed many times.
His demise
came from train
he went to rob.
Two demijons
and a watch
is all he got.
Asleep in a loft
the city marshall
and deputies came along.
Minutes pass by
but still alive.
Stinger Fenton got
the shot that count
that silenced his gun.
Being embombed
his body was a side show
for all to see.
In California one day
in the show
being a mannequin
his arm tore
as all were in shock
to see the bone.
McCurdy in a hearse
with gun riders beside
taken to boot hill in Guthrie
where he lay
Categories:
deputies, history,
Form: Cowboy Poetry
They are the heroes among us
They protect us everyday,
It’s not just their job
It’s their chosen way.
They face the unpredictable
With hours that are sometimes long,
They continuously teach our children
The difference between right and wrong.
They put their lives on the line
Without fear or hesitation,
They teach the real facts
Of drugs devastation.
They are mothers and fathers
Sisters and brothers,
Their uniform is a symbol
Of their commitment to others.
The appreciation and respect
They so rightly deserve,
Are many times left unspoken
As they are judged without reserve.
They are viewed by the offender
As the hunters of prey,
But lawbreakers soon learn
That crime doesn’t pay.
They are called sheriffs and deputies
Officers, policemen and cops,
Outside their uniform
Their dedication never stops.
They are the heroes among us
They preserve our safety everyday,
They teach us morals and values
And safely light our way.
Categories:
deputies, inspirational
Form: Rhyme
Now, I find it kind of funny how quickly things change
Once was a time when everyone wanted a home on the range
A place where they had room to stretch & grow
Out where the cattle bawl & the west winds blow
The city folk have all gone country or so they’d like to think
Why, there are new houses going up faster than you can blink
You remember that prime grazing lease? Take another look
Its looking more & more like an architect’s pop-up book
They come out here to escape all the big city worries & trouble
They said they weren’t concerned if their commute doubled
Now they are talking of bringing a super market in
And an increase in crime spreads our deputies thin
They thought that grazing cattle made a picture quite quaint
Now those same cows holding up traffic is an oft heard complaint
They throw out words like eco-friendly & enviromental plan
then scrape the land as clean as momma’s griddle pan
Yes, everybody wants a home out on the range
And I am just a cowboy trying to reconcile the change
I watch the valley whittled down into an urban scene
and wish that I was back again in childhood fields of green
(c) Februaury 2004
Categories:
deputies, cowboy-western, introspection, life, nature,
Form: Cowboy Poetry
Now, I find it kind of funny how quickly things change
Once was a time when everyone wanted a home on the range
A place where they had room to stretch & grow
Out where the cattle bawl & the west winds blow
The city folk have all gone country or so they’d like to think
Why, there are new houses going up faster than you can blink
You remember that prime grazing lease? Take another look
It’s looking more & more like an architect’s pop-up book
They come out here to escape all the big city worries & trouble
They said they weren’t concerned if their commute doubled
Now they are talking of bringing a super market in
And an increase in crime spreads our deputies thin
They thought that grazing cattle made a picture quite quaint
Now those same cows holding up traffic is an oft heard complaint
They throw out words like eco-friendly & environmental plan
Then scrape the land as clean as momma’s griddle pan
Yes, everybody wants a home out on the range
And I am just a cowboy trying to reconcile the change
I watch the valley whittled down into an urban scene
And wish that I was back again in childhood fields of green
Categories:
deputies, cowboy-western, life, people, philosophy,
Form: Cowboy Poetry