Long Sierra Poems

The Amistad Mutiny

Slavery, a dirty word no matter how it’s pronounced:
Abducted and herded to the slave fortress of Lomboko1 for trade.
To be tossed in chains below deck on the Portuguese ship Tecora,2
Sailing the Atlantic Middle...

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Injustice is just an inconvenience until it is proven...
When the sun hit their helmets it startled the very souls of the natives
a signal upon their eyes that spoke like a siren of ill prophecy to...

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I'd just checked out of a hotel in the town of Santa Fe 
Went to the store to collect supplies and went on my way
I was heading for the gold rush in the state of...

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We'd been travelling through the night and we needed a rest
The unmerciful sun was now rising above a red rocky crest
We headed for a large boulder that offered plenty of shade
Jenna was getting sick and...

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another 1970s piece --


An old, inebriated man came stumbling from the bar.
I watched as he collapsed beside the front door of his car.

He used the handle on the door to struggle to his feet,
Then turned...

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Milton Creek was waking up and outside it was snowing
And from the Sierra Nevada a strong wind was blowing
Mayor Tom had arranged a meeting for that same afternoon
And the venue was in the upstairs room...

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I ask for answers to my problem around midday, carpenters nailing tables beyond their voices. Thinkers building fence of gold, wiping the devil under the shadow of death. Callers piecing information together to make me...

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———

2016,

Sheep.
Magpie.
Mule deer.
Mustang, colt, mustang...upon the ridge.

Eagle's nest, bald.
Oreo cows, in far field.
Running baby cows.
Sheep.

Felled branch...100 mph winds.
Controlled burn, left quiet;
but not, as it turned out,
without embers enough
to catch to flames
and race up the Sierra,
down the...

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Several years ago I considered the aging question. I prayed that I would live at least a hundred years.  I had come to understand that writing was one of the things that I was...

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She’s walking past the tombstones,
Just came from her mothers grave. 
As she passes the last stone, 
her hand graces the top,
A chill shoots down her spine.
The wind is blowing her hair in every direction,
While the...

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I went to the dentist today.
The lady who cleaned my teeth had hair fit for a Weasley with large piercing eyes to compliment. Her name is Sierra, and she is 22 years old.
She asked me...

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*This is an actual letter that I wrote to my father, so it's not written in any form of 
poetry in mind. It just comes from the heart, and I think that's the best kind...

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This a revised and updated edition of a poem I recently wrote and posted.  I'm interested in your comments, especially if your read the previous version.  Thank you for reading and providing your...

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DINOSAURS

Let me take out my thesaurus
And talk about them stinky dinosaurs

I have my own theory on the Mesozoic Era,
First I'll share my reason on the Continental Drift
Who's to blame for the disconnection of our jagged...

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Twas a little piece of heaven in a bigger spot of hell,
Nestled in the bosom of the Sierra Nevadas.
I wasn't sure just what planet I had just landed on,
An alien invader in a strange mountain...

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Good morning children! Rise and shine!
15 minutes until breakfast time.
Hurry up or you’ll be late.
David!! Do not say the word hate.
BECAUSE, it is not a nice word
No  Sierra, we are NOT getting a bird.
BOY,...

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Como’ Si’ Yama’, Senor’
Como’ Si Yama’, Por Favor’…
… for Below That Embroidered Sombrero’
Shone Eyes Like El Dorado

He Was A Tall and Handsome Hombre’
Like The Range of Sierra Madre’
…Now, He Sat Center The Cantina
Surrounded by Bonita...

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Car gliding gently, whirling down 
Mountain engine idling fine 
Tall pines flying in circles
Going on for a circumnavigatingly long time
Around the world, no houses
Around the trees, no world
Buzzcut for a boy
Frizz for a girl

Reaching the...

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Third Reign:

Her feeding heart and cold command
Enough to make you quit your band
Well, there’s only so much frostbite one can take
You’ve heard her bitter orders before
To leave your sandals outside her door
And go skating on...

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Beauty, one simple word that holds so much meaning.
Beauty of skin, 
Beauty of body, 
Beauty of mind,
Beauty of soul,
and Beauty of personality.
But do we know what true beauty is?
Do we know the extent of beauty...

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Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Dear Diary

“K, so there’s this boy.”
That’s how many of our conversations have started.
But this time it’s different.
I don’t know how to explain it,
He makes me feel like I’m flying.
He gives a whole...

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I struggled holding onto my tears, 
My feelings kept pushing my hands,
Towards the sheet of emotions,
My pen kept bleeding the deeds of Africa.

Now pending down the deeds of Sierra Leone,
In tears, I struggled with my...

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am the one that you corruptly and acidly destroyed I once a country of success and national prosperity hub educational champion, but you politicians ruined me. I was meant to benefit everyone living in me,...

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Twas the night before Christmas at the Alberson homestead.
And all was well now that everyone was warm and fed.
It warmed my heart, truly a sight to see.
The lights and decorations sparkling on the tree.
So there...

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Tupac was a young revolutionary
Don't try to understand him
The visionary and child
Ahead of the game, while the game
Was making him into a paradox.
Do not put him in the collar
Of pop culture
To corner him in a...

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