Long Tacks Poems

“Now behind the eyes and secrets of the dreamers in the streets rocked to sleep by the sea, see the titbits and topsyturvies, bobs and buttontops, bags and bones, ash and rind and dandruff and...

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No one suspected or may have expected
As it was mind-boggling to even conceive
Of events to transpire that night by the fire
On a cold wintry Christmas Eve.

The Elf on the shelf was left by himself
And shenanigans...

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There is a water glint,
just shining through the copse beyond.
Autumn's sinking sun, 
barred by spindle trees and the last 
of summer's brindled reeds 
and sedge and rush that fringe this stilling pond.
.
 
Damp leaves hide...

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Requisite inspection June 29th, 2022 at Apartment B44

Aforementioned title and following
little known verses of Matthew
finds me feeling squeamish, 
peevish, anguish, et cetera
at our (the missus and mine) digs,
cuz low income rental housing regulations
require safe and...

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Rolly, rolling in shallow surf, every wave a wisp
that'll move me through this sticky sand to the lush land.
Lumbering, waterlogged, soggy heap in my tux,
arms flopping, flailing about, cool currents fill my ears;
mere vestige of...

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   "I have seen and heard the vibrancy of dreams, 
and the way 
of the crossings-through the ills 
and through the barriered things."

A fleeting spark that perceives, 
I, have seen...

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Fears Chains (Haiku)

First line 5 syllables
Second line 7 syllables
Third line 5 syllables
(7 syllables)

Caught within a snare
The paralyzing peepshow
Seduces you there
(Making itself intimate)
(undressing for your favor)
(Fairydust of lunacy)
Scrolls, parchments, bark, at the moon)
(Self fulfilling prophecy)
(Demons of...

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Forever doomed to reside at 2 Highland Manor Drive

A worse fate than death being hull hive,
I just realized after a surprise inspection
our opportunity to relocate cursed
after yours truly and the missus
subjected to vitriolic wrath
(okay hyperbole...

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SPOT THE HOMONYMS 
For the Homonyms are full of spots!

We were young and wore black
During the war we were under attack
We wear bright clothes now
Where were we?
I thought we were the prey
But now where do...

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Requisite inspection November 24th, 2020 at Apartment B44

Countdown triggers nails
bitten down to quick
geesh if only Mary Poppins
could pull off cheap trick
or think super tramping Glinda courtesy
film Wizard of Oz
Good Witch of the North
riding at light...

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Collisions between yours truly and the missus

Space at a premium
in our apartment
lettered and numbered b44
at Highland Manor,
cuz the spouse
heavily trends toward disorderliness.

She readily admits her predilection
to disavow being a neatnik,
yet owns the capacity
getting down to...

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The missus upstages Grosse and Quade at unit b44...
for upcoming June 2023 inspection/violation.

Countdown triggers nails
bitten down to quick
geesh if only Mary Poppins
could pull off cheap trick
or think super tramping Glinda courtesy
film Wizard of Oz
Good Witch...

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In Jan, nineteen thirty-three, there was man called Mick Malloy
At the time he was an alcoholic and a poor homeless boy.
A young Irish fire-fighter out of work
He left his home in Donegal - to find...

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lemme git down to figurative and virtual brass tacks 
and risk introducing this veritable unknown citizen, 
   who feels Trump stacks

odds against supposedly “making America great again” - 
   vis a...

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AL ::::: WHAT A PAL ??

I will assume you know AL, to many he's a pal
A fake friend to the end, to the grave he will send
        ...

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Not advertising that flippant flick. I just want to know
where my blooming flivver is. It ruffles my feathers no
end to find out, when exiting the embassy,
that my buggy's whereabouts are a mystery.

I must meet Sherry...

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on behalf of the little guy
deep behind enemy territory
welcome to the nameless republic
all good capitalists want a monopoly
all good physicians need you sick
the National Antidote Party broke down the door
I told them everything I know
so...

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Last Night

There is a stillness in the house
While I wait, as quiet as a mouse

I soak it up, this quiet respite
For very soon, I'll be more desperate

I will need the peace inside myself
To put my...

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I kept them in the 'fridge
In hopes to keep them fresh
To send to my friend Sharon
Our minds, they seem to mesh

I prepared the envelope for me to mail
(kind'a odd, cause I know not where she...

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they asking why its i, the doesn't cry
frowing away from the tears,to shy
its the same reason y'all don't fight
when the governments acting like they always right
its the fear, that somethings near, its like its right...

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A daunting press of gifted dreams
          The boyish boasts and sculpted schemes
              ...

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Black hoodie, black gloves and a black balaclava 
Allegiances born of belligerent father
A council estate with yards full of tyres
A rucksack that’s laden with tin tacks and wires 

Cars outside boozers where loyalist losers
Don’t spot...

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IV

A soul was broken to make room
For dusty halls and labyrinths.
A gossamer, nylon bed-sheet shroud
Enwraps the remnants of that mind.
And no excuses can be made; 
This disease does not justify that one.
I do not sleep...

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Her home was my escape
It was an awesome retreat
Full of wonders and surprises
Green glass and old lace
Cut glass and fireplace
A real ticking clock
Fresh laid eggs 
Queen Anne legs
And a cracket by the fire
The dresser, complete...

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Up on the Housetop

  1. Up on the housetop reindeer pause,
      Out jumps Good Old Santa Claus
      Down through the chimney with lots of...

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