Long Riley Poems

Ashen faced Prometheus aghast at inferno gone awry

Whether arsonist at fault
or confluence of ripe conditions
triggering perfect firestorm,
the titan of fire beside himself with misery,
though no fault of his own
the raging bullish conflagration
a taste of inescapable...

Read More

Every January first of the new year...

finds me (a doggone muttering Homo sapien)
to give pause for reminiscences
and to take stock (sh lock and barrel)
about mein kampf in general
and previous three hundred
and sixty five days in...

Read More

I dread the United States presidential 2024 outcome...

Whereby yours truly presages and doth abhor
nothing short of an imminent civil war
dwarfing insurrection on January 6, 2021
oddly enough even reducing
ordinary decibels to a mute whisper
madding crowd trumpeting...

Read More

Ah... the glory of a restful sleep

Nothing beats the refreshing
blissful peaceful easy feeling
resulting from shut-eye after
feeling zonked out staying up
late after a hard day's night
binge reading or slaving o'er
crafting an umpteenth brilliant
masterpiece a comment from
modest...

Read More

1.    John Desmond Patrick Keegan
2.    Alfred, Lord Tennyson 
3.    Sally Aline Mae Beller
4.    Charles Edward A. Berry
5.    Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce...

Read More

My classmates
Theresa Trot had a snot
Hanging from her nose
She sniffs and snorts and swallows
But Theresa never blows.

Now it’s run down past her lips
And settled on her chin
Her teeth look really shiny
When Theresa starts to grin.

She...

Read More

Yes, my dear, you know,
You are my source of joy, rejuvenation, hope
I need your emotion spread onto my life,
I need your heart to sing among the darkness surrounding
Do not let our words run dry
Together, in...

Read More

The missus unflagging crocheting efforts as Betsy Ross incarnate

With needle in hand incorporating love
in every single crochet stitch
that's my wife
tad more'n a quarter century ago
then newlywed to yours truly
slowly, magically but inexorably
transforming skein of yarn
into...

Read More

Ronald Rump reasonably roasted 

Remarkable – recourse retaining rickety 
rambling reverence regarding “r.”

Ronald Rump
repugnant racist republican reviled - 
rickettsia re:itch ruler.

Rapaciously ravaged 
revered reverential rubric.

Radical ruthless renegade 
rapidly riotously ripped rigged ramparts.

Refrained retaining remnant 
redolent...

Read More

I was dreading my return to work. There would be a multitude of questions
especially by that sod, Riley. He and I had never gotten along; he was too weird. Death was desolating but an untimely...

Read More

repugnant racist republican reviled - rickettsia re:itch ruler. 
rapaciously ravaged revered reverential rubric. 
radical ruthless renegade rapidly riotously rips rigged ramparts. 
refrains retaining remnant redolent regal, resplendent rafters.
riches rudely rupture rooted rectified rights.
ruckus ricochets revenant...

Read More

Our long time catered chef...
prepared a meal fit for (psst... me) a king

Actually professional cook
(trained since infancy)
long a staple of our family
since... oh way before
my bubba's zayda's time
naturally became (according
to rules of primogeniture)

the feudal rule...

Read More

Amy Green, Poet Destroyer and Skitty S.K.A.T. Pooh.
Just a few of the Great Women I've made love to here at the soup.
Carolyn Devonshire and Sara Kendrick too
and Andrea Dietrich, you fire cracker you.
A Rambling Poet,...

Read More

I dress the way I do on stage
To transport you to another age
Where wild women of the west
Proved they stood among the best
They rode boot to boot along side the men
Riding broncs to hell &...

Read More

Watching from the heavens he sees is a wooden casket. A few seconds go by and everything goes completely black. The casket opens up slowly and the site is at the cemetery in which Mr....

Read More

Spud's New Car, a tribute to my ever so lovely hamster Spud  . . . 

SPUD’S NEW CAR

My hammy has hit the wheel, but; doesn't seem to be getting very far 
So I thought...

Read More

Angels are in heaven,
But they are also on Earth.
They aren't called angels, though.
They're called friends.

I'm extra lucky though,
Because God gave me the best ones.
Lexi, Angelica, Riley, Alec
I am blessed beyond measure.

Friends aren't just entertainment,
They are...

Read More

Everything and Nothing
A life of riley one would say. I bet you have everything and nothing to want. You have it made, you’re so lucky, no worries or cares, your bills all paid. You don’t...

Read More

They used to call it the Empire State.
But the empire isn't doing too great.
Democrats in power, big ideas they plan.
Too bad for the middle class and the forgotten man.

Low-income high rise in your village
Middle class...

Read More

"Fragments and crumbs of life, all the little pieces" 

                         ...

Read More

Punxsutawney Phil Speaks

                                ...

Read More

Author's note: After recently reading Elizabeth McCann's piece "Life and Everything", I was reminded of this piece that I put together some years ago. These are some "catchphrases" that I have encountered on my journey...

Read More

What life...
What life from the sea...
What life from the sea, has a right?
What life from the sea has a right to live with me?
Shall I jump in and the noble fish that swim to me,...

Read More

The grandfather clock just struck twelve, that magic hour of night,
And there he sits drumming our fingers musing about something to write!
He's been biting our nails and running our fingers through his hair,
Scratching his head,...

Read More

There are times the wind will blow a door right in your face.
Sometimes, a door is slammed by members of the human race

There are doors designed to keep some people in and others out.
Sam did...

Read More