Long Havana Poems

The Amistad Mutiny

Slavery, a dirty word no matter how it’s pronounced:
Abducted and herded to the slave fortress of Lomboko1 for trade.
To be tossed in chains below deck on the Portuguese ship Tecora,2
Sailing the Atlantic Middle...

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There once was a young man from Szechwan,
who thought his prick looked like a pecan.
He met Bertha Butts,			
who was hankering for nuts,		
so he gave her his pecan to chew on.
The women in my Viking village
don't...

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(a university-life vignette)

It’s Saturday morning at about 9am. I’m in the chemistry lab, a sterile looking room with 12 workstations that are like multi level kitchen islands with sinks and various lab gear. It’s the...

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A tramp steamer plies an ocean of fog. 
The Chief Bos’n makes a note in the log while the helmsman 
Strains to see beyond the wheel. 
The ship’s Captain leaves the bridge with a groan....

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Let me be Frank.

I pulled up to the Stork Club in a bright Red Coupe Deville. I must admit I felt a bit of pride as I tossed the bell hop the keys. I said...

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Henry Morgan was an admiral of the Royal Navy
In his time, commissioned, but most found him crazy
Such that the Spanish called him a pirate rebellious
Whilst he considered himself with the truth not hazy

He took Campeche...

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I pulled up to the Stork Club in a bright Red Coupe Deville. I must admit I felt a bit of pride as I tossed the bell hop the keys. I said "Keep it close...

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If ever I had to have a country victim of pedophily : LXXXVI

[Note: 216,000 cases of pedophily, perpetrated by the clergy, have been recorded by the Catholic Church in France since 1950.]

If ever I had to...

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Hot In Havana.
.
It was a sweltering hot sticky Havana summers
Velvet star-studded night
I was sat enjoying the scene
In a dance bar
As someone played the piano accordion
And guitar
.
Suddenly I was aware of a shapely silhouette 
Stood at...

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Yellow-John Matthews, he sailed upon the main
A pirate who would prey on them all.
Spanish of British, it was no matter
Before him they all were all bound to fall.

He stood six feet, of medium frame,
Was never...

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The fat director in his piggy mien
 Sitting in opulent oval office,
 Wearing costly French suit
 A delicate silk bow tie,
 While the buttons are straining to keep
 The belly from bursting out,
 In performing...

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It’s Friday night and a group of us, the ‘university summer fellows’ (Quinn, Jammie, Monique, Lisa and I) are going groovin’. Quinn, a Harvard man (we’ve shed our jaundiced opinions of him), assured us he...

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Man and his dog

He awoke under the bed, and it had been his birthday
drinking champagne, eating Danish pastry, and smoking Havana cigars
He walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and took out
a beer, which he...

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It’s 1:30am and we were at a cute little dance club in Dublin called “The Sugar Club.” It’s a converted movie theater with tables in stadium seating rows. That night was Salsa themed, and the...

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Man and his dog

He awoke under the bed it had been his birthday
drinking champagne, eating Danish pastry, and smoking Havana cigars
He walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge took out
a beer, which he thirstily drank...

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At The Gates of Auschwitz

Today, I stand
At the gates of hell;
“Arbeit macht frei,”
(work sets you free!)
That is Auschwitz.
Where they burned God’s children,
And the world stood by;
Oblivious,
To what was happening inside.

The League of Nations
(Whose mandate was...

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Piercing my heart:

Her nose-pin twinkles at me,
Her lip-ring smiles at me,
Her dark eyes make me lust,
Leaving everything like rust.
Her cheek-piercings make fake dimples,
Fake eyelashes arise ripples,
Inside my heart.
She is a prostitute from Havana,
I first met...

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Man and his dog

He awoke under the bed and sneezed as it was dusty
it had been my birthday, drinking champagne
eating Danish pastry and smoking Havana cigars
walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, took 
out a...

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Let’s celebrate Pearl Harbor – and why not?
A pretext for a party?  It’s terrific!
It simply wouldn’t do if we forgot
that evil bid to conquer the Pacific!

There’s one aggressive nation, poised to strike:
it has, somehow,...

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The steamy Havana night air became heavy through the broken-up streets of the old city where ancient Detroit monsters were on display like dinosaurs from some prehistoric era, forgotten, given up to the boundaries of...

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We sang along to the lyrics that he wrote  
Dancing and swaying to the music he composed
They’re all great in there own way 
Let’s  go back in time to that day
Where were you...

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BUTCHER PETE

In the vault below lies the mince, of butcher Pete
Got dragged into a meat processor by the soles of his feet.

RADIOACTIVE  SCUM

The Russian soldiers who stormed Chernobyl, are buried in lead coffins below.
And...

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The welcome party’s out in style,
It wags its tail, it beams a smile;
The cabs lined up are set to go,
Resplendent as in a 1950’s pageant show.
The air is warm, the palm trees sway,
For Old Havana...

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Ukulele Gamma
                                 ...

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Old Havana it's been a long, time,
since I felt your love.
 Your warm oceans, and island breeze,
Is never enough.

You soothe my soul with your calming seas,
 and your soft raindrops, make me
feel at ease.

I can...

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