Long Pecans Poems

Despite the day-to-day signs of man’s bitter degradation, there were many in the South who somehow still failed to see the endless pain of segregation. From the viewpoint of those who never lived there as...

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The past was locked in with very little 'right of passage'.                        ...

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Sheriff Koplin has ridden East to gather a few other folks who decided to leave the city and head West, hoping to settle in Milton Creek. I'm sure whoever they are will be good people...

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I wrote these lines 7 years ago, slightly edited today. 
Perhaps they have more meaning now than they did then.

"There are so many nuts in the soup!" 
That's what I hear and see and it's...

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"Nuts are in the soup!" 
That's what I've heard: not so absurd
Some add a pinch of spice now and then,
from wit and the sharpened nib of a pen.
Nutty little writers who like to fill
the soup...

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I found a pecan on the ground
I picked it up when no one was around
Sitting in the hall outside of class crying because her classmates were teasing and talking about her. The student didn't want...

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Dear Pastor:

Your sermon yesterday triggered memories going back more than 50 years.  
During the Jim Crow years in the South, I was about 12 years of age when out of nowhere it seems, a...

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had a hankering for praline pecans &
so, as one with a hankering for praline
pecans will do, when the appropriate
funds are available & one has the time
to go praline pecan search, 
off to the grocery he...

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Squirrel Watching
By Curtis Johnson

Many are we who live and die, having never taken the time to smell the roses
Or to behold the sometimes breathtaking beauty of a cloud in the sky
Nor even to take a...

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The Whittlers

The stately county courthouse was their usual meeting place,
a columned Greek Revival, and a lovely public space.
They sat upon their benches under lofty pecan trees,
wood shavings on their ankles and some cedar twixt their...

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She has seen so much before Her eyes 
they have lost their sparkle 
She sits in Her chair to watch the hummingbirds 
flit and sip at the bird feeders She has prepared 
She has made...

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THE INTERVIEWER:
Thank you for the privilege of this interview.
There are hundreds of others you could have chosen.
I am deeply moved and inspired by how you have come
to terms with your demise. We all must someday...

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Winter came with its usual cold, rain, ice, snow, and pain.  By late Winter                    ...

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SHE WANTED AN "ATTA BOUIS": SO WE WENT AND GOT HER ONE!

THE CHEF PREPARED,......................
7 SLICES OF PORCUITIO
SLICE FRESH FIGS
SWISS CHEESE
SEVEN DOLIPS OF GOAT CHEESE
2  WHITE ASPARAGUS
2 GREEN ASPARAGUS
SEVEN STRIPS OF ROASTED RED BELL PEPPER
ON...

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Our 2008 Thanksgiving Letter
to a Friend Missing for twenty five years

Last night our pastor asked everyone who would (or could) to stand and tell of the things we were thankful for as we lead into...

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Cornucopia
          By Dane Smith-Johnsen
                      ...

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Cornucopia
          By Dane Smith-Johnsen
                      ...

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It was a party, but so much more.
Each participant came directly from
their origins; not from the community
store. There was no alcohol and all the
beverages were Fruit and Vegetable based.
None but healthy fruits and veggies were
allowed...

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Perhaps you too know of an animal species that is extinct, of a people,                     ...

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It's not always good for me.
Sometimes, it is forbidden.
A little dab will often do me,
but I keep reaching for more.

I have a strong preference for home-made creams.
And once ice cream has become ice cream, you...

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8 cups of shredded cabbage
5 cups of chopped kale
4 cups of shredded cooked pork (pork roast)
15 peeled and parboiled potatoes( cooked about 20 minutes in salted water)
1 one quart can of peeled tomatoes(drained)
10 slices of...

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The Story Of a Squirrel Who Wouldn't Share
And Of a Blue Jay That Did
By: Tom Wright
2/11/00

Near our Pear tree a heap of nuts
I placed upon the ground,
and it came to me as no surprise,
when a...

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We were very young and only wanted a few pecans.
We roamed from tree to tree, from West to East.
This time, we were on the West side of town
picking up pecans without fear or trepidation.
That is,...

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The genie in the bottle  beside Alladin's lamp
awaiting the cue to perform her dance
Aromatic spices fill the air..authentic meals to be my fare.
Tagines of fowl and lamb....fish and yams 
 Bastille chicken flavored with...

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she babbled over the gosip.
citing what she thought was fair.
She mentioned people she knew and some
she didn't know. And emsized who didn't care
if they cared they'd be here helping wiff the pies
or they'd be offering...

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