Long Dustpan Poems

The woman was older, had black hair, angry brown eyes, and wore a perpetual frown on her face. Chel had heard the nurse on the floor refer to her as Nan.  They had had...

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I'm planting trees today.
Cherry trees in front,
Peter on the street,
Paul in the middle,
with Mary closest in toward the house,
all on the far side of our gravel drive.

On the same southern side,
along my neighbor's new above...

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Carpet spoke. "It is only Tuesday and already I am covered in pieces and all that straw and occasional crisp. I have no mouth. I cannot possibly devour it. Where are my friends the hoovering...

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Eileen was born 80 1/2 years ago
on the first day of winter on the ground a bit of snow
with a twinkle in her eyes and a healthy glow
having both outer and inner beauty to bestow,

Second...

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Sitting on a rusted blue bench the sun blew down on me a cool 
     green and yellow as the afternoon tucked me into 
     bed, ...

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There was an old lady, a frumpy old bag
who people called horrid, a witch and a hag
And 'though she was ugly and danced 'mid moonbeams
all was not quite as it might've then seemed

Old-fashioned black clothing...

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Oh wow. Oh look. Over there. A fish tank is jumping through a hoop. Now that is a sight. How rather remarkable and just how agile. Wish I was young said the ancient log. But...

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fast as a blitzen comet, 
     this dashing prancer 
     contra dancer 
     (i.e. Rudolph nary hoof) didst zip

with cupid ditty toward his...

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Tidying Love All Up
by Lem Griffiths
July, 2016

Carefully, I asked, 
'What's with all the bleach in the pan?
All the week?'
She was the newly appointed Assistant Land Lady.

'It brings it all up the whiter', she came back..
I...

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Moving with agile cat-like abilities
Using stealthy ninja skill capabilities
For even upon their sleep
While sweet dreams they do keep
It's time to kick it into overdrive
Though you only feel half alive
Toys are strewn in every room
Time to...

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An alert in a skirt is not skating today nor skiing either.

I like the kitchen nice and neat and therefore I can have something nice to eat. Not that I am bowed. Nor allowed. Something...

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*Image of Danny folk's Boo by YC.


A Black Cat Tale Souvenir


One Saturday morning,
fourteen-year-old Danny,
my neighbor's kid who lives down the road,
would come over to do the lawn
and some simple house chores,
for extra spending money.

Sometimes,
their American...

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Lamentation for what you are losing. 
A situation not of your choosing. 
Powerless in its execution. 
Watching from the shadows as 
the scene unfolds before you. 

A bag of broken promises 
standing in the corner...

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*Image of Dr Mikhail Tyaglyy
AUDIO version for the vision impaired.


Dr Mikhail Tyaglyy


Go, young man,
and conciliate cravings,
menacing palls the cherished
realm. Shelves are left barren
for frantic looks, as aisles
reload a virtuous plunge of
cobwebbed books, decaying
prints accolades of...

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Trojan War 
As I sweep the floor I find little pieces of you. 
Reminding me of you. 
That you were once here. 
Living in our house. 

Being part of my life. 

Now you're gone. 
I...

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Wait for it, wait for it, get ready, Men
He’ll round us all up and he won’t rest at ten
Synchronise watches, remember the plan 
Keep your resolve for as long as you can

The claw is demonic,...

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It was late afternoon on the 27th of June.
I was sitting on my porch, just whistling a tune.
Having just returned from a European tour;
My bride being tired sat in her chair and snored.
I was feeling...

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Wally Cleans His Room

When he woke up Tuesday, Wally looked around his room.
It really was a mess and so he went to get his broom.
All his cleaning items went into his purple pail,
the dustpan in...

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Recepticle:  One of a kind

It was a thoughtful gift
in the shape of her heart

Symbolic inscription-
"Love's Everlasting Hopes"
kept next to the front door
In shadow, in half-light.

She kept her car keys there.
Small change, new receipts
pins and...

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Scooping up my pain with these shovels as I try to write, 
          embracing all I lost in a life I never knew I deserved.
Keeping forgiveness...

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As student I worked at a theater which was a majestic hall,
cleaning between the seats and all.
Wednesday was very special, then a petit dancer practicing her routine,
graceful pirouettes, tip toes, arabesque and grand jete amandine.
Adagio...

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A bore hole of fantasy once you dig deep in your mind

					Ennui converts into Feng Shui

All you need is a dustpan and brush to sift through your pain

				Some archaeological DIY tools

Become a geologist and mine...

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The covers were over my head. 
It was time for bed. 
But still, my fingers twitch a bit. 
My computer is brightly lit. 
In the corner of my room. 
Next to the dustpan and broom....

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They scoop me up, I smell so good.  Others come, and stand in line. People shifting, impatiently.
They pay money, as cash registers sing happily.  Wide pleasing smiles appear when they reach for us.
One...

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Vroom vroom! The car stops to a halt.
Ooh! Dad’s home carrying him varieties of groceries.
Broom Broom! I sweep my room,
Collecting trash using a dustpan. Alas! The place is clean.
Vroom! The driver sped,
Crash! The boy was...

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