Long Nolan Poems

"Barefoot in the Bushfires of the Vanities"



Heat rises slowly to rapture flames licking and teasing
Blue Ghostgums to stretch and crack wide open
as Fire spreads molten sweet sap bleeding burgundy all over 
amber gold wild bush...

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GROWING UP ACROSS THE STREET FROM 
TIGER STADIUM HAS ITS ADVANTAGE
AND DISADVANTAGES.
BEING A YOUNGSTER 
HOT HUMID MUGGY SUMMER NIGHT.
DETROIT MICHIGAN.
JULY NINETEEN HUNDRED AND 73
WOULD TURN OUT TO BE A VERY
COLD
NIGHT.
IN THE MOST UNTHINKABLE WAY.
RUNNING AROUND...

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(Unsigned, Sealed, and Delivered)

Part 1:
Oh I worked several years at Atari (1)
Always thinking, "It's too good to last,"
Bushnell's (2) leaving - hand writing on rampart -
Though momentum would carry us past.

Nolan's (2) vision was not...

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Albert Nolan
"Abtract Gospel"
God in
"Picture" out
current problems
shoved aside
preach good
Feel good
do apartheid

II - Part 2
In his book, God in South Africa The Challenge of the Gospel," Albert Nolan ends his work quoting passages from Isaiah that convict...

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November 1968: The Hunted 

Got divorced couple years ago, second time
At first, I mirror myself as a low-life loser

Jack without Jill, McGee without Molly
Ossie without Harriot, Adam absent Eve 

No fourth finger, gold band of...

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It's not easy becoming a Legendary  
Major League Baseball pitcher.
It never was and will never be.
You get put through the wringer
and hung out to dry.
From time to time you'll get little or no
run support.
You...

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Two National League teams departed New York City
when the Dodgers and Giants left the vicinity.
Both teams went to California out on the West Coast.
The Big Apple was without a National League host.
An expansion four years...

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so, another shooting in
the belly of the empire…

i wonder if Charlton Heston’s
withery old cock just 
sprung to life?

i wonder if Ted Nugent & 
Charlton Heston are sitting in
front of the television together
stroking each other’s hard...

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My name is Nolan Greenstier,
and I fly a B-52,
on my daily ocean patrol
keeping lookout for the Kaiju.

I know this sounds ridiculous,
like some B-movie from back when,
cube-square law prevents big monsters,
that is what we all thought...

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The Walk

Roans, chestnuts, blacks and greys
Stand the line in perfect swathes
Tunic buttons and brasses glisten
Brave men sit and for orders listen

The finest horse out on parade
Six hundred men, the Light Brigade
Speedy chargers of sword and...

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I HAVE TO GET SOME EARLY SLEEP  
FOR TOMORROWS GAME  
I HAVE TO FACE THAT NOLAN RYAN  
HE THROWS SMOKE AND FLAME  

YOU HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION 
RYAN DON'T MESS AROUND...

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THEY SAY YOU ARE THE K-KING 
I DON'T BELIEVE A WORD 
SOMEONE SAID YOUR FASTBALL 
WAS THE BEST HE EVER HEARD 
THEY SAY YOU HAVE A FASTBALL 
THE FASTEST OF THEM ALL 
SHOW ME YOUR...

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for Nolan

Morning, I tell my betta, Beau, 
how beautiful he is.  He fans out sideways 
turquoise, crimson and green for my 
inspection. It's introspection time for she 
who wears a writer's hat, anytime is...

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RICKEY HENDERSON 
IS ELITE 
HE DID IT ALL 
ON HIS OWN TWO FEET
 
RICKEY'S WELL KNOWN 
FOR STOLEN BASES 
LEAD OFF HOMERS 
AGAINST THE ACES 

SILVER SLUGGER 
GOLDEN GLOVE 
A TALENTED ATHLETE 
AND CUT ABOVE...

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Like two months dating without the first
Or an incense without a vivid essence,
Or Mrs. Nolan without the teacher’s edition,
All is two but one.

Like a teen who taunts not her parents,
Or a flamer who flips not...

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With all due respect to the late Mr. Fregosi,
he was one of the best infielders anyone could see.
However, his later years were plagued with injury.
Jim became involved in the most lopsided trade in history.

The New...

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I HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR THAT NOLAN RYAN. 
IN EVERY SINGLE WAY. 
I WOULD LOVE TO THINK OF THIS 
AS JUST ANOTHER DAY. 
NOLAN RYAN IS OLD SCHOOL. 
I JUST LOVE THE WAY HE PLAYS....

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Naiveté in younger years
And meager sense between my ears
What interested me the most
Were comic strips within the Post.

“Deep in Bengalla
Woods within the famed Skull Cave
The masked Phantom waits...”

Throughout advancing teenage years
My interest turned to social...

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The kids in Caroline's
family living room 
gather for snacks, 
lolling around on rug and sofas. 
Girls challenge the boys 
to leg wrestling contests.
 
Chilly out in the late Autumn. 
No leaves on the trees. 
The...

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