Long Loiter Poems

[First posted in 3 parts. Intended novel: time never allowed]

Prologue
This,  Sir, is the prologue from before our tale begins
About the day our father did succumb to mortal sins
And left behind a man who would...

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thermometer reads zero, a chilly breeze blows
  apple cores thrown, the blackbirds feed
  my multi-layered partner dons her wooly hat
  impatiently, she waits for me
  securing covid masks amidst my overcoat
...

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I had gotten to that stage,
Where true love was but a mirage.
When one is hurt too many times
By these daughters of Eve,
The heart must surely cease to give
Until such a time as right
To smile again...

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China Tour Diary Moment #1
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KUNMING THOUGHTS


Sunday morning flight to Kunming city;
East bound to explore vignettes of China;
New vistas to sight, postcard memories;
Feast visual galore on tour agenda.

Yunnan province greets our earthly landing;
Brisk clearance and we...

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Written: December 31, 2024, Contest: Sponsored by: Kai Michael Neumann
                         ...

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"House of lies, pride and bone, 
The gauzy instability in my augmentation, I feel the hostility commence deep into my lanes. I prom in the masquerade of the mirror and cannot identify myself as an...

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Against a willowy wailing backdrop of inner chaos,
an indignant incendiary mask stifles the simmering cauldrons,
of a stoic stage clown post lachrymose performance wearily stunning yet stung,
or the surreptitious posture of the laugh it off as...

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These are modern English translations of Chinese poems of The Shijing or Shi Jing ("Book of Songs" or "Book of Odes")

Shijing Ode #4: “JIU MU”
ancient Chinese rhyming poem (c. 1200-600 BC)
loose translation by Michael R....

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SPRINGTIME MEMORIES



Mountain sentinels
By ancient town;
Clear waters cascade


Cobblestone streets
Winding pavements;
Trade offerings buzz


Fertile plains
Crystal clear waters;
Shady trees guard


Treasure-hunting stroll...
Through Lijiang Old Town;
Curiosity detours


So many things to see
Pleasant fare tempting;
Buying spree bargains


Artisans at work
Township flings open trade;
Silver metal...

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Tell me
Have you ever felt you could runway
Far away to a secret place
Where time stands still
The hot sun mostly shows its beaming face.

Well come!
Take my hand
And I'll take you to that place
A world away in...

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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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Frightened

Sarah sits alone in her bedroom
She thinks that no-one understands
Being picked on every day at school
By girls she used to class as friends

Lying awake in bed every night
Dreading the next morning
Constantly getting told off in...

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The Shijing or Shi Jing or Shih-Ching (“Book of Songs” or “Book of Odes”) is the oldest Chinese poetry collection, with the poems included believed to date from around 1200 BC to 600 BC. According...

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Foreword: Contains excepts from, and additions to, my own three part poem ‘Bone Idol’, which is way too long to submit here.

Skeleton Quay

He lingers on the quayside and heeds the phantom howls
Out on mist shrouded...

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I have been working in the wings since destiny begins; I have been living in the wings to have a glimpse of everything. I am in here and you are out there and still you...

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         A Tale to  Tell

     Walking is a very good exercise.
      So I walk regular to keep...

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“Once a king or queen in Narnia, 
Always a king or queen,” said C S Lewis,  
And I think I can just about let you in on, 
What he was talking about, as I'm...

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                                  ...

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Tuesday by the bay,
Garden tour dazzles;
Wonder now portrays,
Profound joy dangles.


Our first visit here
As monsoon rain wets;
Yet we feel good cheer
Greeting our mindset.


Stroll these spacious grounds,
Eco-friendly space;
Feel earthy surrounds
In timely embrace.


Take the audio trip
As the tram...

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O glorious Autumn of melancholic 
Gold -
All abouts the brightly lit
Woodlands
Your wonderful artistry behold!
Tinted bronzes,
Darting between awkward firs
Of sobering Evergreen,
Loiter inside mauve havens
Splashed with palest yellows -
And dappled with many differing 
Limes
Throughout this variegated Theme;
A...

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"It happens just because we need to want, and to be wanted too...when love is here or gone to lie down in the darkness and... listen to the warm.” -Rod McKuen



    ...

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Skeleton quay - abridged for Give Me Goosebumps contest



When the sniper fired his rifle and his faithful canine fell
A second bullet found his heart and he went down as well
Might we stay together, somehow he...

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If my love we must part
   Let us part under shroud of night
Who I ask is afraid of the dark?
  Tiss I who fears the darkness when you depart
Times passing shall never...

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dead end street …
mostly elderly when we came
always quiet … 
empty nests side-by-side
aching for spring
but winter came instead
(the winter of life)
friends … good people -
town folk who raised this little
borough with pride
came to this blind...

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Written: January 08, 2025 for contest Sponsored by: Di11y Da11y 
1. Newton's Laws of Motion: 
Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
4. Quantum Superposition:
A particle can exist in multiple states...

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