Long Poker Poems

Lake county music company filled with 
slots carney folk real carny folk the little 
pete's illegal gambling road show throughout 
the  Midwest gaming like your idol Frank Peter 
Balistreiri the mad bomber stops Metropolis...

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WINTER, 1948 [40 Saxton Street]

for W.W

The winter nights that pass now
are so unlike the winter nights
that passed before, that I often
struggle back in those suspended moments
when sleep grapples for a hold,
to once again hear the...

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January 13th 2024 - Happy Lxv-th birthday Matthew Scott Harris

date of conception:?  ~ Late March – mid April 1958.
date of parturition: January xiii, mcmlix.
date of expiration:? January i, eminem, 
where earth, wind, and fire...

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How the housefly gets attracted to organic decay
and an infant child traces the voice of its mother
are nothing compared to the intense attraction
Michelle and I possess on the guy owning not a strand of hair...

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Happy Lxiv birthday Matthew Scott Harris

date of conception:?  ~ Late March – mid April 1958.
date of parturition: January xiii, mcmlix.
date of expiration:? January i, eminem.

A gangly, measly, and scraggly bundle
of lovely bones even as...

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Excerpt from “fake” encomium given years ago... 
at Lake Wobegone High School (my alma mater), 

and recently discovered ridiculous rough draft
amidst plethora of junk emails
while practice reading some lines 
regarding Midsummer Night's Dream 
upcoming performance.

Arch...

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By George (burning hard), I Shaw tried to playwright

offers his unsolicited tidbits 
as scene courtesy 
the following virtually 
staged philosophical insight.

Arch back like 
a professional ballet dancer 
to stand out from other pedestrian applicants 
seeking...

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(after Edgar Allan Poe's "The Angel of the Odd")

It was a tidy day and I sat, replete, under vellux blankets.
Sadly, my tea was weak, the bottle of cinnamon whiskey
tantalizingly low, and my feet swelling above...

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How much I longed for the days
When the earth will rise to its glory again
How much I longed for the days
When we will give God all the praise
The earth‘s sadness will fade away
And we will...

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T'were the night after Christmas, 'n' the house was all dark.
Not much money for 'lectric in the ol' trailer park.
Ma waitin' tables at the club on the base,
jist me and my sisters alone in the...

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The Moon Also Rises
The Midwatch

Harry Mayer


The X.O.’s in the shower
and the Captain’s in his bed.
The Chiefs’ are playin’ poker
as we’re steamin’ to the Med.

“I’ll take that bet and raise you”
is what the Bo’sun says
from the...

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In the beginning after God had finished creating this land.    
Satan boldly challenged the heavens for the absolute control of man.
Gods’ architectural blueprint stretched for ages across the sky 
He watered the...

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Virgil comes to group therapy every week in his pick-up truck with his dog, Buster, standing in the bed of the truck. The sessions are held for veterans of Korea and Vietnam. Quite a few...

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I had a dream a scary dream. 
That I had a business 
Hot and sexy business. 

In my dream i owned a Modeling company 
For men 
In that dream I was not rich but ready...

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The world is a clown looking at you up and down
The world is a clown; the plane is about to touchdown
Madness in the East, madness in the west
And the north and the south are gallivanting...

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Last year you beat me up
And poured vinegar in my cup
Last year you humiliate me
And hire criminals to torment me.
Last year you deny my friends and families
The natural right to be happy
My children went to...

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Days like these...the days that drag on and on
If only it was quiet everywhere
if only it were quiet inside my head
Too bad, so sad
this carefully orchestrated area of noise
is just part of the elements that...

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Little child
Your tiny hands hold a little flower
Delicately, you start weaving a story about peace
In your gentleness, you understand how happiness works
It is the sanctuary of warm softness in the heart
Free of all clouds and...

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Anomalous poetic contrivance evokes...
googling inept kickstarted lame outré jaunty hokum

(alternately titled:
Random screenshot within me noggin
instantaneously transforming, 
née devolving into gobbledygook.)

I got born with poker faced physiognomy,
no matter yours truly doth not play cards
though self same...

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Harriet Harris circa November 13th, 1935 - ~ May 4th, 2005

untimely death sentence ordained 
approximately six months prior 
to mother dearest celebrating 
her seventieth birthday,
though the last three years of her life
impacted courtesy hysterectomy
to remove...

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Ability to defecate wildly swings (both ways)...
between incontinence and constipation

Irritable bowel syndrome i.e.
the former excretory bout I address
the above (polite way to phrase diarrhea)
and avoid moon efficient cheekiness,
yours truly doth buttress,
a literal warranted pain in...

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I didn't know him as a serial not exactly 
at least not at first even though I'd overheard 
the plotting of arson from a dim lit restroom
searching for tissue only to find several guns 
rifles...

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Harriet Harris née Kuritsky circa November 13th, 
1935 - ~ May 4th, 2005
(untimely death sentence ordained ~ early February 1935)

I trot out a poem acknowledging birthday
of dear ole mom, who succumbed, 
lost lease on life
nearly...

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“Well, now,” said the dentist, as he crushed my lower lip,
“The X-rays show you have a lot of tartar, and decay.
The gums look bad, and we can use a crown to hide that chip.
I think...

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Mediocre son (me) crafts letter to his papa

Impossible mission to escape end of life woe
visit courtesy grim reaper 
inevitable for every mortal,
whether he/she alive
yesterday, today or tomorrow
quintessentially senescence tabled
upended wrested status quo
belief, dogma, faith...
(i.e. Unitarian...

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