Long Riley Poems

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...

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

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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 &...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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

                         ...

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Punxsutawney Phil Speaks

                                ...

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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...

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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,...

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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,...

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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...

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The days have become shorter,
It is early and it's dark.
Though it was dark before.

The leaves have long changed,
They have fallen from the trees,
And now their skeletons are left.

Sleep no longer comes easily,
The dreams too real.
Too...

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Time and again finances stretched
to breaking point
crackle, pop, and snap
'curse Alfred E. Neuman
smiles at yours truly
(this luckless papa)

with with his toothy gap
haint even Abel nor Cain,
nor I pull myself up
courtesy frayed bootstrap
dirt poor penniless deathtrap
compliments...

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"I have dipped my pen in the sublime, it is my gift to you . . ."

                  ...

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I reckon I'm revealing my age when about radio days I pen,
But I fondly recall listening to our Philco radio 'way back then.
What wondrous tales, mysteries and pure comedy from it flowed,
By simply tweaking the...

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Gather ‘round younguns, there is a story to be told
About some renegade cowgirls & their ride for the gold
They made it look so easy, feathers, flowers & a smile.
Guts & grace, they had plenty, quitting...

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