Long Semis Poems

Long Semis Poems. Below are the most popular long Semis by PoetrySoup Members. You can search for long Semis poems by poem length and keyword.


They Fall Today, Still

as Las Vegas blood pours on Manchester in droplets the shape of poker chips scattered, dropped by a God laughing all the way to the bank

when the lattice streets, corners and cobbles and bridges of London bend with a gasp backward, with the suppleness of a rheumatic spine, to lay a hand over a Barcelona street and Parisian concert hall, whilst trying to shade a train track in Madrid from searing heat, although years before

where Dachau had no birdsong, its buildings walled away from ignorant eyes, death camps today are not so silent with their terror in plain sight, hidden inside vans and suburban semis, in red brick lecture halls, in hundred and forty characters that hashtag extremist slaughter

beside an Orlando rainbow strewn with special offer laptops that print out onto paper guides to gain a gun or build a bomb to ram a Berlin Christmas market where mulled scents of a year are muted by screaming wi-fi connections allowing a faceless anybody to sign up to chat rooms to fell fellow men for beliefs to better an already fallen foreign land, lost

alongside the fallen of the Great War that are not forgotten because they fall today, still - only now, in shorter pockets of horror: in broadband routed trenches untraceable; dug within devices cradled in a millennial’s palm
war


Premium Member France Took the Crown

France beat Argentina four to three
 In that game Mbappe was the key
 Then they defeated Uruguay two goals to nil
 As Uruguay's goalie let one spill

 In the semis it was Belgium they faced
 France headed one in with victory's embrace
They were in the finals, but who would they play
 Would England beat Croatia and win the day?

 As it turned out, the three lions couldn't roar
 They were coming home with no trophy in store
So the final was set, Croatia and France
 Two great teams would get their chance

 In the finals France took a free kick
 But when the Croatian defender did a head flick
 The ball ended up in his own goal!
 It seemed France would be on a roll

 Croatia responded with a brilliant strike
 It traveled so fast, it was rocket-like
But France added 3 more to the score
 And they lifted the trophy once more!
© Joseph May  Create an image from this poem.
Form: Rhyme

Premium Member Watching Beau Watch the TV Dog

my dog, Beau loves Rex the TV dog detective from Canada
his head turns from side to side as he watches Rex
This dog is always in a precarious situation
Having to climb over semis and bridges to jump bad guys

Bad guys with guns who have horrible aim, never hitting Rex
Remnants of the 1960’s tv show called Lassie
Beau is barking instructions to Rex now, warning him.
It is hilarious to watch.

Often times Beau tries to climb up the cabinet into the TV
More entertaining than the times he catches himself in the mirror
Or barks warnings to his own reflection in our shiny credenza.
More later, Beau and I are on the edge of our seats. Rex is in trouble.
dog
Form: Narrative

Find Fun From Four

Find fun from four, 
Starting with four-wheeler; 
A vehicle like fancy car 
Comforts the mind of the driver. 

The Fantastic Four film 
Fills your heart with excitement; 
Superheroes emerge victorious 
Because of their noble intent. 

The Big Four at Versailles 
Includes Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, 
Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd George, 
And Georges Clemenceau. 

The Final Four in basketball 
Slug it out in crossover semis; 
Conquerors meet in championship, 
Vying to win the trophy's bliss. 

Look for this nice number, 
You can see statements galore; 
Seek the joy it truly brings, 
Find fun from four.
fun
Form: Verse

Wheatland, Iowa

The spring after work
on the highway ended

    I came back

and spoke with the cashier
a lady at the gas station

    as if a friend.

The morning awakened
with snippets of conversation.

    I stood at the counter.

As if we could pick up
where we left off last fall.

    Other assignments waited.

The burnt smell of coffee
lingered inside.

    Locals came in for a cup.

Conversations of locals filled the air
and they treated her like a daughter

    while light of the new sun shone.

She said that now she was going
with the mechanic in town.

    Tires of passing cars and semis sang.
Form: Other


Premium Member Seven Inches of Rain in One Hour

the ominous gray and black skies have moved away
three cars have crashed on this torrential rainy day
there is consternation and drama on this highway
ambulances are trying but semis are in the way

down by the creek an elderly lady is up to her neck in water
her red Lincoln is flooded, so she calls her oldest daughter
seven inches of rain in an hour has taken a toll
the grass is a swamp, survival is truly the goal

wet furry animals make way in the grass for a snake
I love this! He tells them, as they shiver and shake.
the rain has stopped, but the damage has been done.
This is an April Nebraska day when we will not see any sun.
Form: Rhyme

Premium Member Everyone Did Not Have a Tv Or a Car

When I was your age I walked sixty two miles to school and back
Because our horse was dead, or given only to my brothers.
We did not get to wear pants, even if our legs were red with frost.
Until 1960 when they finally let us wear them under dresses.
If we did not take them off at school we were whipped with belts.

We put MATHEMATICS at the top of arithmetic papers.
Math to you. We did not have pre-algebra until doctor’s college.
We would zoom around on dangerous motorcycles without helmets.
Daring the pavement or semis to kill us. They got some of us but not all.

No one thought to drink water. We had milk and soda pop.
Our druggist put cherry into our Coke, and we thought we were grown.
I read an Archie comic book a week, and paid for it with my money.
Money I earned babysitting or mowing lawns.

When I was your age everyone did not have a car or a TV set.
Everything on the TV set was in grayscale until 1964 in my world.
Uncle asked “What color is it?” When Dad told him we got a colored TV.
Underdog was the first cartoon I ever saw in color when I was your age.

I had chores, and I did them. I also knew to respect my elders.
I knew when adults were having a conversation, I had better get lost.
Did not get to watch some TV shows, and there was no TV in my room.
If I wanted to be entertained, I read Trixie Belden or Nancy Drew.

Premium Member Derecho of Twenty Twenty Thrree

derecho of twenty-twenty-three
the sky got black in the afternoon
many people ignored the sirens
their houses began to shake and squeal
intense praying and screaming began
the lights went off, power lines were snapping all over town
there were sparks all along the freeways

the dreaded dastardly derecho was here
unlike a tornado, this wind was a straight tunnel
sixty miles wide, two hundred and fifty miles long
people stopped videotaping and ran to their bathtubs
throwing their children in first, lying on top of them
roofs were torn off

semis were lifted and tossed
landing upside down and sideways
in minutes our town was turned into a war zone
uprooted trees were sliding down the sidewalks
this enemy was fierce and determined
many of us did not expect to survive
hugging strangers after the aftermath
Form: Narrative

Tedeschi Trucks Band

Econo Lodge sign
       High
        On
        Its
      Pylon

Best we can do
For you Tedeschi Trucks
To put a moon in the sky

Over this interstate interchange
Jammed with cars and a decrepit minor league hockey stadium
Advertising the glory days and beer swigging of The Wings

Glows over the deadbeat semis and construction cones
Tearing apart I-94 between Chicago and Detroit

Gleaming casino next city over
Mocking us all by suggesting
I’ll see you over here
The last great guitar players and their dwindling fans
In just a few more years

Yes it’s 2024
And for good our children have left the house
Its couches beds and kitchen table chairs
Like unstraightened frames holding all our wall photographs

Our dog doesn’t mind
Wags his tail with the additional luxury choices
For his many daytime naps

My wife and I look for familiar friends
Though we understand the band are total strangers
During these glorious last 14 years together with us
We don’t want to be creeps to Derek and Susan in love on stage
Though we were the first to love them both up there

I give a hearty wave anyway from the front seats
And I think through the spotlights there’s a smile or wink returned to us
The silhouettes
As the two and their band watch one another
Still mesmerized as they saw and sing the epic Shame

And we the audience smash our hands and shake our tambourine heads
How can the whole world not know more
About this travelling family of musical magic?

We know in our minds they’re the best band in the world
On the scale of Zeppelin or the Stones in their prime
But in the now

And here they are
Still looking good and cool and willing to share something better
Kind enough to stop over
Say hello
Between Red Rocks and Milwaukee
To this little rustbelt university town

Stadium filled only three quarters of the way with 4000 people
I’m sure a sop financially for somebody
But the masterful musicianship we joyfully hear
And we respond with whistles and cheers
As good as anyplace
As loud as ever

Afterward
Outdoors
The Econo Lodge moon buzzes and blinks in our rearview mirror
For our long drive home on I-94
Back to Lansing we go
Chasing breadcrumbs the dotted lines

Our hearts filled our ears ringing
Through the quiet speeding dark.

Premium Member How a Perfunctory Poet Punctuates a Piece

A period here. a question mark there?
A handful of commas,,,tossed in the air
To fall all willy-nilly but he doesn't care.
Then he closes his eyes so he never sees,
And does it again with apostrophe's.

Next colons: and semis; are put through their paces,
And are frequently found in the oddest of places.
Quotations are more than just dressing or stuffing,
Yet often appear when "nobody said nuffing".

It makes reading a chore just to try to adhere
To a writer's directions of what to do where,
But you barrel on through 'til you get to the end,
Give your eyes time to uncross,
And then try it again.

Some poets abjure punctuation, for sure,
And though not a big fan,
I'm a reasonable man.
e e cummings, for example,
Responds to the call
By using little or no punctuation at all.

Author's note: To quote the author Cormac McCarthy: "If you write properly you shouldn't have to punctuate." Poets such as e e cummings, et al, apparently took him up on that. Please understand, dear reader, that this piece is punctuated incorrectly to make a point. And I blush to admit that I, myself, am overly fond of "quotation marks" and…ellipses.

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