A woman was known as a 'broad' in the U.S.
and I'm more broad-minded when there I confess
a woman was called a 'bird' in the U.K.
so when in Blighty as for me
altho' there's a pecking order
in the bird-watching hierarchy
I'm an eagle-eyed if not avid avian attendee
and yet Ol' Blue Eyes
should have paid more attention
for when he said, 'Let me be frank with you,'
and went on to sing, 'Egrets, I've had a few
but then again too few to mention,'
he proved to be a poor ornithologist
as there were not a lot of birds
(or broads) on his watcher list
For sixty years he sang and
Everyone knew his voice.
Then he had to retire,
But it wasn’t his choice.
He loved his singing lifestyle
As well as his boozing.
But it caught up with him and
He told Barbara, “I'm loosing.”
The only thing we can
Depend on is death.
But no one knows when
They’ll take that last breath.
And I don’t want loosing
To be part of my fate.
I want to know I’ll enter
That pearly white gate!
I don’t know if Old Blue Eyes
Sings up in heaven today.
I do know that Jesus
Has shown me the way.
And if he’s there too,
Then we’ll sing together.
It won’t be loosing if we sing
Praises forever and ever!
He holds court
At his salon.
Wise for his age
We listen
Tales of survival,
Wrong turns,
Influence,
Chances taken.
His column defines Wednesday
Bringing us to poets
And international leaders
Filtered through hope and optimism.
Making the sunshine
No matter the sorrow
Clouding our vision
Or tears shed for barbarity.
Now at ninety-seven,
He scurries across campus
Pouring out words
Of trust, history, and awe.
He mutters,
“Seventy-four years—
Married—
I was a lucky man.”
Eyes sparkling
We pause before Reves Center—
Silence says it all
As he remembers
Before and with Jarka—
Emery Reves, Madeleine Albright,
Hungry, the Rivera, Yugoslavia
Lake Placid, Williamsburg and more.
“Happy Birthday,” we thunder,
“Ninety-eight at last!”
We want to hear of the past—
He talks of one hundred.
Let's Begin War Measure In Global Scales Of Hague
Rules of Loss
Had I not to intervene
Global power folds opposition in overatures
Canceling breaches speech
Geneva offers Diplomacy
The white house has been justifiably melted before
The Irish intervene
What your exceeded rank does not
buffalo-civilworks@usace.army.mil
Effort for the child writes her notes
In hidden holocaust peacefully first
Then bread thoughts and smiles
If television is chewing gum for the eyes,
as this architect would have us think,
can you walk and chew gum at the same time
or would it put your TV on the blink?
But what if radio is bubble gum for the ears,
as is my personal perception,
would you be forever blowing big ones
or would it interfere with the reception?
Frank Sinatra
In front of you, a cocktail glass with
melted ice and a pink straw, she wants you to come
You are going home, but on your way out
You meet an old friend
So you have another drink
Before you know
other friends arrive, great fun, and we sing
It is four before you get home and crash on the couch
And you know when you wake up at noon
She will not be mad, you will be sad; say it with flowers
and a promise to be home every night
Before the Ed Sylvain show
The phone rings, and an old crooner is having his last show
You can't miss that
His wife can come along, it will be fun, but we can't
We have to behave around Nancy
Anne Frank
sweet
s e
m l
i
diamond HEART
O P E N mind
marrow = Courage
had no ______…. basin
acted with PEN ______
|
|
*
taught about W. A. R. w r i t i n g
generations spiral up
|_____^^ journal again …
Anne Frank's earthly life, coldly cut short,
yet, in our hearts and minds, she always lives,
as, it seems, her spirit no one could thwart,
nor the humanity her message gives.
Sorry if I misrepresent the words
that emerged from her brave and precious pen.
I note it was not her who spoke of herds,
and said, with conviction, "never again".
Yet, I know it was this young girl who said,
the grownup world, her lesson, to impart,
speaking to our shared conscience as we read,
when she opined, "people are good at heart."
I wonder what this special girl would say
to young Palestinian girls today.
Mid Autumn, Saturday 6.30am
and daybreak is slowly climbing
over the back fence.
Frank O'Hara's poetry is still
echoing in my head from reading
it last night as I cook breakfast
of bacon and eggs.
Later I walk up the street
to the chemist to get
my blood pressure pills
and as I walk, compile arguments
against Postmodernism
and recognise that the notion of
the transcendental
sits at the centre of my beliefs.
I cannot abandon meaning.
Later, I prepare a leg of lamb
for baking along with potatoes,
pumpkin and carrots. Childhood
breaks through as I open
the oven door and a blast
of heat hits my face.
I am persuaded now
by the arguments
of the Universalist or else
there is nothing at all.
After dinner I sit quietly
with my wife. The evening
is coming on and the sound
of crickets filter in through
the front screen door.
I have much to be thankful for
but I feel sad. I am not sure
if it's just the early dark or having
to let go of the last line
of this poem and slip back
into the heavy silence
of myself.
Agents against 'Woke'
ban, monitor
revise, exclude
like
'Natives' intruded
like
ships didn't deliver slaves
like
Anne Frank didn’t journal
like
separate was equal
like
history was meant to be revised
like
they want to see it.
Frank Zappa
proved he was no rapper
instead, he wrote don’t eat the yellow snow
where the Huskies like to go
Frank Sutton was an actor who died half a century ago.
He starred in one episode of "The Andy Griffith Show".
He starred in every episode of "Gomer Pyle: USMC".
Sutton died fifty years ago today at the age of fifty.
People were sad because he wouldn't be coming back.
Sutton's life came to an end when he had a heart attack.
He starred in "The Twilight Zone" and "Town Without Pity".
He starred in Armstrong Circle Theater" and "Naked City".
He starred in "Love, American Style" and "Valentine's Day".
Sutton would be 100 years old if he hadn't passed away.
[Dedicated to Frank Sutton (1923-1974) who died half a century ago today on June 28, 1974]
I once knew a penguin named Frank.
Who had a big problem. He drank.
He got a full snout.
His wife threw him out.
And now he's asleep in “the tank.”
Frankly, he was a man
Though not very tall,
His voice made him seem
Very big to us all ...
He could be an actor
He could even dance,
With a photogenic smile
And a dapper stance
Gentle and sweet
Known for his eyes,
Donning a fedora
With suits and ties
He was generous ...
If you needed something,
Gave you his all ...
Even when he'd sing
The lonesome road
Didn't always go his way,
With twists and turns
That's life, he'd say ...
Forward thinking astronomer Frank Drake
did not worry about a mistake
Tried contacting aliens with radio,
waves had rather far to beam and go.
Frank orbited into outer space last May
Extraterrestrials from Venus do not play
He has put on their flag a USA flag
Even up in space, Frank is showing his swag
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