You have to believe in something,
In California more than in Paris,
To the market gardener more than to the philosopher,
To the gendarme more than to the thief,
in the countryside more than in the city,
You have to believe in heaven,
More than in hell, however hot it may be
To the rondeau more than to the sonnet,
You have to believe in something,
to Marie Claire more than to Julie,
to the Big Dipper more than to the sun,
To silence more than any noise,
in California more than in Paris.
This aint my first rodeo
I have known horse refuse before
Not thoughtful enough or thorough I thought
Well thats what boots are for
Emblazened on my personal crest
familial coat of arms
I will haul me from this arena
be my self appointed gendarme
Prison would be an upgrade to
held fast with invisable bar
set myself free fly the coop
If I have to sleep in a car
Or any of the myriad excuses for
the cowardice that holds me fast
I simply must be my own champion
I see this now at last
No one is coming to extricate
they will not send in the clown
For front and center he holds the stage
as I look for him all around
I pray to never give up on me
And never be given up on
Off this sawdust littered ground
this phoenix will soar like a swan.
Requiring more room for take off
But thereafter soon from sight
The powerful strength and span of its wings
Climbing boldly through this night
Pardon me, sir
No, you go first
You have right of way
I defer to you. Go ahead
No, really. I'm in no hurry
Neither am I
Well, then. I'll just wait for you
And I for you ...
Now this is getting a bit silly. Please, it's your right of way
Oh? I'm not sure that I really have right of way. Plus I like it here
Gosh, I'm going to ask this gendarme here to help us
No, no. NO need for that! He's got better things to attend to
Mr. McConnell? Is that you? Imagine! I didn't recognize you in the sunlight
Uh, yes, yes. It's me, alright, uh, er, Mr... Mr...
Schumer. Mr. Charles Schumer. But you can just call me 'Chuck'
O yes. Sure. I know you now. So, please go ahead, Chuck. Time's a-wasting
Mr. McConnell, now that I'm sure it's really y--
O, Officer! Mr. Policeman! May I have a word with y--
"Come with me on a rousing escapade!"
How temptingly he'd whispered in my ear.
"My dear, I promise there's nothing to fear."
How easily he'd managed to persuade
me. Then secretively, his plans were laid.
He'd spoken three words that seemed so sincere,
"Come with me."
Gendarme sirens sounded. It was a raid!
Suddenly, his occupation was clear...
A slave trader taking me to Tangier,
I was rescued and told, "You've been betrayed.
Come with me."
October 14, 2022
Rousing Rondine Contest
Sponsored by Jeff Kyser
Once was a lady from France
Who went around town with no pants
The gendarme didn't think
She should be showing her pink
So they covered up her pink with their hands
Long arm gendarme
My mistake namaste
Backpack bivouac
On the Road with Kerouac
Brilliant stars, silent nights
Fireflies, Northern Lights
Mountain streams, fresh air
Fall asleep anywhere
Small town, take a chance
Pig roast, barn dance
Allemande left! Do-si-do!
Spontaneity here we go!
Long arm gendarme
My mistake namaste
Backpack bivouac
On the Road with Kerouac
Beat Zen's hey-day
Doing things our own way
Nonconformity, anything goes
Kerouac-Ginsburg-Burroughs
Shot to pieces, picking skin
Benzedrine, adrenaline
Don't forget the Phenergan
Notify our next of kin
Long arm gendarme
My mistake namaste
Backpack bivouac
On the Road with Kerouac
In the summer, some fans climb the walls
For a game that's been played many falls
And a player named Brady
Many folks found as shady
For some shifts in the size of his balls ...
An inspection made by Le Gendarme
Thus concluded, no cause for alarm
'Twasn't balls, frankly stated
Haters hopes were deflated
For the sake ... of his glorious arm!
~ 1st Place ~ in the "Celebrity Limerick" Poetry Contest, Tania Kitchin, Judge & Sponsor.
Some are my best friends are pigs from the farm
Don't ever say that to a member of the local gendarme
The quickest way to handcuffs
Meals of mouse turds and stuff
Best bow and declare they have girlish charm?
A lady friend of mine inadvertently substituted
the letter 'v' occasionally for the correct spelling,
suddenly the word 'nape' became 'vape' which at least
I found less predictable and stopped people getting 'neck.'
'Vow are you today?' she might ask, I would say, 'Vine!'
I remember the gendarme from 'Allo, Allo,
who would say: 'Gude moaning,' along with others,
together, it would probably have been, 'a bravo new vorld.'
Pop songs were a riot - 'Bridge Over Vubbled Waters,'
'It Must Have Been Vove' and 'Vinner Takes It All;'
some almost sounded right - Simon's, The Sounds Of Vilence,'
have you heard the latest - Whitney, The Vatest Love Of All.'
Bonnie Tyler was the classic, case of double-take,
in fact, she would say it was: 'A Total Eclipse Of The Vart.'
There once was a young lady from France
Who went around town with no pants
The gendarme didn't think
She should be showing her pink
So they covered up her pink with their hands
© Jack Ellison 2015
Spent seventy cents on sentry saints
Though soul and spirit rebel with the pulse
I read their abuse with an effort of excuse
This rum, this loaf to feast is grossly imbalanced
These pennies paid with pains on African plains
Twice a dozen days my labor effort to afford
This gesture though un-lorded is induced
To keep on keeping on a faint kiss on the cross
Multitudes embrace, a singly saint can't otherwise
Not for the hate, neither duty nor pride
It's to keep the tradition not to go instinct
We were schooled givers never lack
For fair play, takers also never lack
In appreciation, a pauper comes riding a Lexus
And by the way life goes, Earth will crowd Heavens
Wouldn't there be a gendarme post raised?
Then a ghetto for the screening of saints
But for the cents, the kobo's and cowries offered
Heavens will erect a bureau De change
God, for the treasure the Earth offers thee.
Soaring into the shelter of loving arms
Swinging from hilt of protective gendarme
Swooning in the clutches of ingratiaging charm
Succored by incubating touches so warm
Shielded by your barelled chest from pending harm
Soothed by your enticing, enrapturing smarm
Serenading smile; pulsating lips to your kisses conform
Swivelled contours my erotic impulses inform
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