Long Hapless Poems

(Somewhere in late 18th-century Europe a friend, Laetitia, by way of a letter warns her beloved girlfriend, Euphoria--a young, gay and unsuspecting mistress--against the almost inevitable seductions of the infamous and maundering philanderer, Melancholia.).



Dear Euphoria,

...

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Yet at this very moment the cathedral was crumbling
down upon the cries of foresaken refugees, 
the monastery's walls wobbling from war's wreckage, 
and as the black bursts billowed into sun drenched brutality
with the bodies of...

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A funny frog called Mr Snog,
once lived beside a slimy bog,
he was a most peculiar fellow,
his hat was red, his boots were yellow,
his waistcoat was an olive green,
the strangest sight you’ve ever seen,
no matter where...

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With summer nearly gone, we all wanted to do something special,
And decided it should be daring, rather than the usual and dull.

So, we listed the things we desired to do, but hadn't yet tried,
And we...

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Ugg and Ogg, on a rock they sat.
 The pair were in hiding from the sabred cat.
 They had hunted for a whole week long.
 But, recently it had all gone wrong.

The ladies were waiting...

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In London Town, a girl was born
Who lost the crown, but won the scorn 
Of Lady Margaret's deep disdain
For something proud, she cannot reign

Her daughter's name was Mary Grace
An angel with a beaming face
Who blessed...

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An Excelente Balade of Charitie (“An Excellent Ballad of Charity”)
by Thomas Chatterton, age 17
modernization/translation by Michael R. Burch

As wroten bie the goode Prieste
Thomas Rowley 1464

In Virgynë the swelt'ring sun grew keen,
Then hot upon the meadows...

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As hapless vapors of decay, surround us, suffocating the fecund earth. A blanket of suffocating grey, born from the diseased aspirations of humanity. We, the self-appointed masters of a planet in shambles, gaze upon the...

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Ancient sinister fires dwell in the savage creator's eye,
Soon his fire starter will be coming for a second try,
Choosing to believe, that which cannot be seen cannot be rude,
A cloak and dagger God who spies...

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Ancient sinister fires dwell in the savage creator's eye,
Soon his fire starter will be coming for a second try,
Choosing to believe, that which cannot be seen cannot be rude,
A cloak and dagger God who spies...

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A Whistling Girl and a Crowing Hen
 
By Elton Camp
 
 
	“We keep thet big flock o’ chickens fer eggs and meat,” Milas explained to his niece Elvira visiting from the city.  “We git...

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This course will encourage aspiring cooperative economists
to distinguish between mean national incomes
and global median incomes,
with diverse long-term capital growth/evaporation trends
expected.

First,
imagine USA mean income, including investment income,
could approach $500,000 for two-parent working households
per year.

Are you kidding...

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As October 1 approaches, HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY……………………
I have enormous tracts of land and vast volumes of water, but cannot feed myself.
So I spend $1 billion to import rice and another $2 billion on milk.
I produce...

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In the midst of a quiet summer day, while the sun is peeping
And the gentle breeze brushing everything, dancing and passing
Our hero, an ant, seen sweating and puffing, but still climbing
Like a soldier on mission,...

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The date of the celebration
(the second day of February) coincides
with medieval feast of Candlemas,
and its pre-Christian predecessor,
Imbolc, a day also rich in folklore.

An old Scottish prophecy foretells
sunny weather on Candlemas
means a long winter.

The tradition is...

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The Greek gods were egotistic, arrogant, jealous,
Said to be excellent lovers, fanatics, and zealous
About everything and anything, lounged around
Adorning places like Marathona, the Acropolis
The Parthenon.  Archaeology
Maintains that Greek Mythology 
Goes back to the Bronze...

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CELESTIAL GOVERNANCE(Welcome Home):
This is ANDERSON WALKINHSHOES...
VERSE 1:
Welcome Home...!
At this sublimely beautiful moment.
My world is a celestial place,
That divinely operates.
It's my Empire and I'm it's ruler.
I create my own systems,
Of which no one can condemn.
My governance...

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  anyone for humiliation

                   do even the best cringe
in shame
      ...

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The shepherd stood on the field, frail,
He knew not what to do when and why,
As the wrathful sun did steep down,
The confused chap followed his humble sheep.
Then one man neared and asked his name,
He gasped...

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A midnight shriek or sudden bang
Disrupts the thread of tales,
Entangled in unconscious mind
With sounds of lashing flails.

Wherefrom it comes, whither it goes?
I threw my eyes up there,
The eerie void soon called me up
To trudge down...

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Charles Schulz Peanuts character Woodstock

Analogous to (being mine) security blanket
similar, but not identical
to the trademark one
clutched by Linus Van Pelt,
I take flight into sleep
courtesy holding fictional little yellow bird,
a mutual (of Omaha) best friend of...

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As aspiration seeks to take its toll,
your mass flotilla salvaged sons of war.
‘Twas but a feat the angels will extol
though Satan’s army rallies at your door.
Your youthful fit have vowed to serve the Crown.
They muster...

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In pursuing nature's selfish tendencies
to conspire against us,
hapless proletariats,
with growing winds
and floods
and fires
and pollution
and waste 
and death of entire species
and loss of formerly healthy ecosystems
and subclimates of wealthier ways and means,

We discover, with Dawkins, a...

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Peggy Cahill divine heavenly lady

Saint Vincent dePaul Food Pantry 
at Saint Mary's Parish
in Spring Mount blessed,
graced, and praised
courtesy grateful recipient,
he who crafts these words.

Acknowledgement forthcoming today
June 11th, 2022
Matthew Scott Harris
expresses gratitude concerning largesse
regarding quite a...

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Sonny hid behind the melons 
In a busy Asian marketplace,
Near the plantains and the mangos 
Where the shadows could obscure his face.  
He inhaled the air around him 
And enjoyed the fragrant scent of...

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