Long Stateside Poems

When I Was Born in '45
By Franklin Price
08/08/202

When I was born in '45, was another time and place
Merritt Island, I called home, we had not gone to space
Segregation was the way, we lived back in...

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The morning sun’s oppressive; a nasty b*tch in heat on Rizal Avenue,
Where vendors hawk their cigarettes, baloot, and dog meat barbecue.
The jeepneys buzz the intersection like a hornet’s nest,
But it’s quiet down the mountain once...

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...The wedding was planned for that fifth year,
but when it came Rob sadly did say:
“I’m being deployed, they’re put us on alert,
I’m sorry love, but I must go away.”
She was in tears, but what choice...

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DEROS

There is great relief when a tour ends
and you are processed out of the unit;
addresses exchanged and goodbyes done
all thought is about the Freedom Bird
and the long awaited flight home.

Binh Hoa the last stop in...

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THE SWEETEST NUN I KNOW

During my 20 year Air Force career, I was assigned to the Chaplain's Office as a Chapel Manager.  During this time, I was stationed in Vietnam and had the distinct...

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GHOST AND THE DARKNESS

Daunting, a late night movie, just before the verge of night spills into your lair. You can’t bury the dark at those times. The roar in the blackout. The snore at the...

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For 60 years we'd done our best to keep each other happy, 
Bound to do what we believed...

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<                                  ...

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Golden Triangle Snow
Old skool rock and roll on the decks. Takes me back to before I was born. Smoking the best ing weed in 'Nam. Swimming in the river. Worshipping dark Gods. Making love to...

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I was a picked on, 
bullied, browbeaten, buffaloed boy
from Buffalo New York.
I grew up on Buffalo’s lower east side,
the ghetto by another name.
The Frederick Douglass towers.
Formerly the Talbert Mall
better known as the Jefferson projects.
The home...

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It seems like it was yesterday
   in backyard sandbox she had played;
      granddaughter loved to have her way
         with sand,...

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To hovel me in your zareba is your intention
“For safety, to protect, truly for protection.”
Transparent lies I can clearly see through
And my resolve is a monolith to see my dream come true.

I will not cave,...

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'You are' and 'We are' are not both the same,
In English we all play this dangerous game.
If I say you're lucky if you have some fun,
do I mean just 'you' or indeed everyone?
If I say...

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we entered thee over crowded 
chanook lined with duffle bags 
and dusty jump boots I catered 
to the rear windows focusing only 

on the clearing the empty runway 
invited solitude while the hearing 
began in...

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Opulent indulgence amenities
generously upload green thumb senses.
Greenhouse cautions region known as frost tease.
A pastime cores, aloof clock condenses,
held their grounds by abductions amateurs,
urged escape slips scaling agrees to muse,
as petalled lips voiced beauty needs no...

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