Long Lectern Poems

I sit here steeping in the History 
of Our Land, a class, my eyelids dense.
Our Flag hangs in the corner of the class
Red and White folds in deluge, licking the
framed portrait of our Thomas Jefferson,
our...

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I've got a fist full of Buddha,
And a fist full of Rand,
A pocket full of Jesus,
And the other's filled with sand,
That's in case I need to make some glass,
As it will proceed my foot in...

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Trans PORT Station
a hard look in side at how power is misused no one can glide upon rusty shells they tiptoe on the path well meaning people do wrong to innocents in the name of...

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Is a strategy a slam of a door? Or another noise?

Will you just please look over there...
No no not there.....
There......
Right in front of you....
Now come on please calm down
For I am not speaking to you...

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I was in my chemistry class (lecture #2) and the professor was asking a series of questions. At first, hands were flying up, the answers were easy. But as questions got more complex, and the...

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Urgent Call for Love

The evil axis has been burning
Who rules the land? It’s now very vague.
The second son must get out of old Al Sham
And meet the hungry jury in The Hague
The puppet is hanging...

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“Tubman”




What colours a heart
courage?

What colours a mind
belief?

What colours a soul
unity?

Underground
we carry torches

from station 
to station

We are the Light
We Lead

No colour 
No religion

No epic 
delusion

Where is the race?
The race to confusion?

We are One
You and me

We are...

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Eight inches of snow saw no hat on his head
an act of derring-do, my father said,
   He ascended the steps
   the eyes of the world upon him
   An orator...

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Down in hell, that stronghold of sin.
strange things stir, but let me begin.
I'll get to the point. Some details I'll skimp.
I tell the tale of a mischievous imp.
Of two imps in fact, to be more...

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Each Catholic Church may be unique
But you will find familiar elements in any Catholic church 
That you also find in our own parish home.

Baptismal font—a pool or large bowl of water usually stands
Near the doors...

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Hear the voice of congregation
How they raise, how they praise
To their leader and their God
How they raise
See the money and confetti
Watch it fall, watch them all
Watch them fall on broken knee
Watch them all

When they’re winning,...

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arminius a German vassal prince, offered  bait.' Of the best. More
Land in Germanica off to their west.' Two legions decamped
And were led on their way, by this dastared arminius villian
Of that day' his warriors...

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I have come to the tree green with leaves
Amidst the brash blustering of winter and thawing
The prophet once the old green decieves
But he did not hear else but cold crow cawing 
I am come to...

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Tag, you're it; chosen in the game of life,
it's your turn to decipher its meaning.
Though sarcasm can be as sharp as a knife,
it's a deeper cut that's oft demeaning
and faults common sense for intervening.

To a...

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I’m considering becoming a circus clown
For clowns bring joy to others, it seems,
And, I shall wear a bowler made of down.

In the winter I will wear a velvet gown
From a lectern I’ll share my wildest...

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The children gathered down in front,
    All sprawled about without a care.
The preacher gave a homily
    While little Susie twirled her hair.
O, to make some moral imprint,
    How the preacher tried and...

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I hear your voice;
standard American,
perfectly Midwestern,
nothing out of the ordinary.

Enchanted, I want more:
I press play, I press pause;
I rewind, and repeat.
My eyes rest on your horn-rimmed glasses,
on the lines around your smile,
on your salt and...

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Dust motes dancing through glancing light,
refracted through stained glass windows, bright.
The smell of old pine and communion wine lingers,
wax polish and roses from grieving widows fingers.
A faint smell of incense, intense in it's nuance,
old hymn...

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She stood at the lectern
Teaching from restoration
Yet, not one audience member
Could deny her infection
...damaged

Tattooed from face to feet
Living, sobriety from drugs
No matter his freedom
He's always just a thug
...recovering

Pockmarked as a teen
She can still hear their...

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A Directional Curse

The first time I heard
“Go to hell.”
where it seemed
not just an aimless curse
but a direction.

The empty soul
in bright orange;
couldn’t miss him,
but they aim to.

No emotions,
just a fly on the wall
on sticky tape.

He can’t...

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