Long Gooseberry Poems

A goose in a noose got loose today. At last. At times he had watched as bodies of his fellow feathers had been brought out of the shed having walked in just fine. On the...

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Banks o' Doon
by Robert Burns
modern English translation by Michael R. Burch

Oh, banks and hills of lovely Doon,
How can you bloom so fresh and fair;
How can you chant, ecstatic birds,
When I'm so weary, full of care!
You'll...

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To a Louse
by Robert Burns
translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Hey! Where're you going, you crawling hair-fly?
Your impudence protects you, barely;
I can only say that you swagger rarely
Over gauze and lace.
Though faith! I fear you dine but...

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From morning to time day is done
Sunflower follows the sun
There is a brief nostalgia then fun
As around the sunflower children run

The poppy flowers are red
Like once on Monte Casino blood red
Poppies there are kind of...

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There once was a boy
The size of your toe.
He was nice as could be,
But he couldn’t grow.

The years just passed
And his friends all grew tall.
But the boy stayed the same;
He could not grow at all.

Wherever...

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We stopped fer a bite at the Gooseberry Patch, I reckon it wuz a week er so ago.
I wuz slurpin' my usual bowl uv chili - Boys! That stuff'll set yer ears aglow!
My spouse wuz...

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~~

A garden with walls high and deep
Brilliant daisies swaying in the sweet breeze
Cabbage, cauliflower and leeks thriving, flourishing
Down crunching gravel paths I dance
Everything in this garden is lush and profuse
Fig trees for the plucking
Gooseberry and...

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The three goblins were here to stay I’m afraid
They made work for us all and we don’t have a maid
The prophecy came true, yes, this story was forbade.
Told to me one warm day with a...

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I suppose you think it's a gooseberry patch to which I allude.
Well, in a sense it is, but this has to do with scrumptious food!
'Tis a diner named The Gooseberry Patch, down the road a...

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It's the 16th Floor, 302F
do not you worry, you'll love it a whole lot.
I can see your hesitation,
but u'll see, this is the perfect one.
Here we are, white door
with his favourite, brass nameplate
reading, Woodsmist in...

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The sun sets softly towards the west
The clouds form a shape like dragon with a crest
The birds get ready to go each to his or her nest
In the blueness of the sky the soaking effect...

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Our happy-go-lucky friend once invited us
at his place to what he called pickle party.
We all were intrigued and excited,
for he mentioned the unique recipe,
which would be delicious cheese sandwich,
each one with filling of different types...

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Our great debate is about to start
  Over which aspect is the essential part
Of the word 'kiwi' -- Is it that strange-looking bird  
  Or is it the green, fuzzy fruit that...

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Finished vines
waving limply in the wind,
tangled streaks across the hillside.

The Autumn Earth
conceals eternal motion
under a carpet of many colors;
a fluid carpet that flutters and shifts
beneath my feet;
a noisy carpet telling the story 
of my presence.

Frost-bitten...

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Apple many varieties sweet and sour
Banana soft fruit many uses
Cherry's are sweet watch out for its stone
Damson like a juicy plum
Elderberry fragrant good in wine
Fig many seeded fruit
Grapefruit similar to oranges but tarter
Honeydew melon lovely...

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It was way after eight, at the Cat in the Hat.
    The whole plaice was swimming, quoth the mackrel to sprat.
    Though the milk was upset, she still stifled...

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In the dog-days of summer of so long ago
there were bear-hugging moments I like to recall
Like leafing through pages of ram-shackle books,
that are dog-eared, and faded, wearing hound-tooth worn seams
I had a bull's-eye encounter with...

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people who drop rubbish are so very very ignorant aren't they? BIN BAN BOOSH NOODLES AND CREAM.

Oh a lethargic tidal wave. Atomic power of circumference but dormant, hibernating, and still. But placing pineapple ears that...

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Like plants,
my mind cooks in the sunshine 
that falls down through the sieve of gooseberry leaves.
It’s an illness-cured joy 
when the sun shines brightly after a few cloudy days.
This is a recurring pleasure,
especially in this...

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Blackberries, blackberries, what’s the big deal?
They’ve too many seeds, and they give me no thrill.
They’re actually tart and they’re only sweet when
placed into a pie. Are they even good then?

Likewise the strawberry is not all...

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There is a gopher hiding in the gooseberry bushes,
Kaie, the town gossip told me.
I looked hard.
Got prickled by the bush’s thorns too.
Got bloody.
Hey! Someone said.
It was a snappily dressed gorilla. 

He was wearing a Stetson...

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Always later than I'd like, richness in their cells when ripe
Backberry with Apple pie delight, once to taste is not my style
I've also found them there, at times and whiles, and tasted also before 
I'm...

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Heckle and Jeckle, jellyroll jam,
Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth.
Little kids like to eat green eggs and ham;
So do you – now tell me the truth!

One fish, two fish, red, white and blue fish,
Old glory...

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Why oh why do I love pie?
The ABC's of it, and
The XYZ's of it
The PIE of it

A apple pie
B Boston cream pie
C custard pie
D Dutch apple pie
E equation pie 3.14
F fruit pie
G Grandma's Gooseberry pie
H...

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When I was a child
My brothers and I found
Some empty 5ths discarded
and laying on the ground.

We were all raised sober.
To inbibe was a sin.
We also saved a fortune.
Who could afford the gin?

But rinsed and filled...

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