Long Gather up Poems

"Azure Vistas"

Azure vistas presented themselves to me
rolling inwards the clouds like tumbleweeds
mercilessly bump fallen angels off the map
like torrents of rain falling petulantly on blunt contracts

I glimpsed the sweet refrain of a resurrection
swift upon a...

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October Rain

Is it
simply a case of precipitation,
moist warm air condensation or
are they God’s tears showering us with love,
as rain washes away our sorrows,
in the hope of brighter tomorrows.

Gloomy grey skies conceal a shy sun
with murky...

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Welcome to a typical 'Luau' spread. The first thing that is best to learn is the Hawaiian word, 'ono', which means, delicious. It's a word bandied about before and after food goes in your mouth....

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Allen “Gene” Claibourn
08.12.1932-08.05.2013
 
Grandpa showed me the way to 
get things done and how to do 
them right,  he showed me how 
to make a knot but i could 
never get it quite as...

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I wander away into the wilderness of woe
I let the wistful winds blow 
The sun is all aglow
Glide into me, happiness from afar
Am I still your ever-glistening star?
I am still left with this unmerciful scar…

I...

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Somewhere in the Ground

Embarrassed to say goodbye
Hypnotized by the rhythms and beats of time 
Where is the truth, you sly lie? 
Despised by the crowd that encourages sex and crime 
Lying naked on the wooden...

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I’ve been cutting Peter’s hair for a year. When covid lockdown occurred, I learned to cut my brother’s hair - and yes, he still has two ears. When I first met Peter, he had a...

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*** Lunacy Loo Flies ***


Beauuty, in a creature from
Among the most high;
In rythmic song while in her flight 
Witnessng the realities and fancies
Circling the clouds — 
Proud of her ancient, legendary form, gone

lost into that...

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Him, he’s so dangerous but so safe.How can someone like him be so broken??His smile oh my gosh it’s so priceless I swear he doesn’t know his true worth.To me no mental diagnosis would be...

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Hey
Hey you
sitting there
sitting there and staring at the screen
reading another tale from me
a chronicle to my life
Please don't sit and ponder my composition
please don't sit and ponder my inquisition
for I need your mind to form...

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Let's dwell a tiny bit  on that  skill  most hanker after,
of mastering a language that especially enthrals,
infused with magic rhythm so fervent,
pulsing music lilt,  anthem-rich samba,
think for one ecstatic heady moment,
if...

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What would I harvest
as the moon rises
to conclude this day?

Will I hunt for the life still burning in the eyes of each person,
each living creation, I meet,
each work and play in progress process;
or divest by...

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KRAMPUS CHRISTMAS
All hope is lost for children 
If their festive spirit dies,
The Christmas magic disappears 
As they look through older eyes.

No more milk and cookies
Or a sign for Santa`s sleigh,
Or carrots for the reindeer
To eat...

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Love has gone and left me

Yet the day continues on

I wake to ruminations

Plaguing me from dusk till dawn.

____________________________________

My feet now hit the carpet

As I gather up my wits

Rub my eyes and stretch my limbs

And persevere...

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Dirk was educated to a very high degree
But there was no career for as far as the eye could see
Finally he took a part time job just as a start 
And now he was Retriever...

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Q:   Where are the bodies of Mohammad and Buddha and all other gods and
       their prophets today?

A:   They are in the grave and they never...

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Mothers pride. 

Part one. 

"He never sees the light of day 
Or ever cuts the grass, 
He lies in bed all day 
Or just sits on his fat arse." 

"The toilet seat is never down...

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SAPPHO TRANSLATIONS

Eros harrows my heart:
wild winds whipping desolate mountains,
uprooting oaks.
—Sappho, fragment 42, translation by Michael R. Burch



Sappho, fragment 113
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

No droning bee,
nor even the bearer of honey
for me!



Sappho, fragment 113
loose translation/interpretation...

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I was a daydreamer and stargazer, who eagerly awaited calm nights of glitter,
Like blue skies warily turning pink, plum and red, as orange sun sinks, bitter.

I grew familiar with diverse constellations, along the different astral...

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The stone, icy and arid
He brings it to the table, all the while a fable plays in his mind
He remembers a girl, a girl from long ago
His blade in hand, shining armor dawned,
He charges forwards,...

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I grew up in a garden paradise
large white house in the country
sheltered by ancient oaks and naievity
passed idyllic days in childhood bliss
never ran it much through my mind before

until the day
I walked two hours with...

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Oh lord my God
I constantly wonder
Taking into account the goodness to me
I see dreams I see the plans of the enemy
they gather up and plan destruction on me 

Fill my soul with joy
and acknowledgement of...

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The Whittlers

The stately county courthouse was their usual meeting place,
a columned Greek Revival, and a lovely public space.
They sat upon their benches under lofty pecan trees,
wood shavings on their ankles and some cedar twixt their...

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Ta'likra
was a most stubborn slave
He loved to rattle the chain
It was a sound of pure defiance
that echoed across the lush plantation terrain

Son of Antuk
had a pygmy burning bush spirit
He seethed silently
as the lashes dug deep...

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Right when I thought I had figured things out, 
FEAR sauntered in and introduced DOUBT. 
The twins came over, DISMAY and DESPAIR. 
Then APATHY appeared. Does anyone care? 

DISGUST and DISDAIN knocked on my door....

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