Long Poughkeepsie Poems

My jeans I’d wear, twirling in the air
the cousins, loved those kids; I’d
see them hardly ever, flying, laughing,
rising. Mother couldn’t understand
the wriggling out of the purple dress;
nails were temporarily permanent,
bought in Poughkeepsie, when it
was safe...

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There is a state of mind known as woebegone
In which one feels like an addict on methadone
The more one tries to feel upbeat
The more one suffers mental defeat
And the mind plays on like a gramophone.
8
The...

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IS THAT A TRIFLE OR A RIFLE?
waiting
Weightless
weight less than a pound
Weightless while watching ripples row their way across a wading pool 
A pool that portended peace
A peaceful pool in the coolness of a kiss in...

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IS THAT A TRIVIAL TRIFLE OR A RIFLE?

Weightless
Weightless while watching ripples row their way across a wading pool 
A pool that portended peace
A peaceful pool in the coolness of a kiss in springtime  ...

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IS THAT A TRIFLE OR A RIFLE?

Weightless
Weightless while watching ripples row their way across a wading pool 
A pool that portended peace
A peaceful pool in the coolness of a kiss in springtime   ...

Read More

IS THAT A TRIFLE OR A RIFLE?

Weightless
Weightless while watching ripples row their way across a wading pool 
A pool that portended peace
A peaceful pool in the coolness of a kiss in springtime   ...

Read More

"How sweet to the heart are the scenes of my childhood"

                        ...

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True tale, true tale
I called for a cab,
To take me somewhere,
Don't remember where,
And I don't even care...

Taxi pulls up,
I jump in,
"Take me to Poughkeepsie!"
A place I've often been..

But something was odd,
And I became alarmed,
The Cab...

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IBM Town

Dad whisked us away,
Mom heavy with babe,
Away from relative hands,
Two year old's off to IBM lands.

It was the machine of opportunity.
A place with technical commotion.
My Dad loves to light the flame,
All aboard the modern...

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One early winter morning I was walking down the street,
When a young woman hurriedly strolled past me. With
My head down reminiscing , I glanced up to the same woman
That had just passed; is now coming...

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Like bookends, Grandma and Grandpa —
those smiles — only one wears the apron
and the music, classical and gypsy

I was glowing in their eyes, growing
only for one who kept her pride of me,
when for the longest...

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There came into town a gun deadly and frightening,
a gun quicker than lightening,
fastest gun you've seen.
It was the gun in the hand of Steel-Eyed Kid Shelleen.
Just one look at him would confirm every rumor.
Kid was...

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over the Hudson River, its heights
my nemesis. I longed to drive
and stay alive. Highland
on the other side. Mid-Hudson
thrill ride for a permitted driver.
my heart would pound
just looking at the gothic steel
and the watergrave - my...

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Don’t you know Job Terry? 
I thought everybody knew Job Terry

My name is Captain Job Terry,
my people from Kerry
But I a Poughkeepsie Celt.
I make a dashing impression,
Held down the whaling profession 
For at least two...

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