Long Totem pole Poems

Alaska The Rarest Gem


                     Salmon imitates plunging dolphin movement
      ...

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EXCUSE ME!!!!
Do you not see me
standing before you?
Do you not realize that I,
a black woman had a life
that mattered too?
The black woman appears to be
the best kept secret in death
being wiped from the face of...

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In the green Adirondack foothills lies
the haven of our old summer camp,
once a place of adventure and outdoor joy,
and the loud cries of precocious scamps,
their energy you never could tamp,
scurrying ’round on small, rapid feet,
leaping...

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While watching Bill Reid’s wooden sculpture 
“The Raven and the First Men”(1)

One day, 
after the long and countless searches of bottom of the abysmal waters
with cycles of formation and extinction of renewed waves and ripples,
a...

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This was written after reading another's poem on this site. 
It just grabbed hold of me and well, I had to do something, so here it is. 


Those dreams that he promised 
Have gone up...

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Born shackled with globe sized
yoked millstone around my neck
rivaling the world Atlas shrugged,
or outsize boulder Sisyphus

eternally obliged to toil uphill
steepest mountain side
in concert with
Battlestar Galactica pièce de résistance
ear splitting discordant cacophonous din.

Simultaneously analogous twin tower
of...

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Weeds and grass grow in the cracks
of sun-faded, crumbling pavement,
a parking lot that once was full
of stressed parents and cowboys nascent.
A grand sign over the entry
now is rotted two-thirds away,
this old piece of my childhood
truly...

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We have five basic senses…which we use daily without thinking about them much
There’s seeing and hearing and tasting and don’t forget…smelling and touch.

Our senses are interconnected…into our life they’re totally infused…
but occasionally we’re asked..hypothetically
If we...

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Asking tribe’s future to the totem pole that grew higher 
with the stock of fogs, drizzles, snows, suns, moons and stars,
that Haida laid one at a time from the day of their first step 
on...

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Since it’s such a nice and beautiful day 
why not become a piece of cloud myself
or a stream of water, and go.

If it happens to be a cloud,
looking down a side of a mountain floating...

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Power is what runs everything,
Having control over a situation because you want to be the next king.
Power over your emotions so they don't become extreme,
Keeping your composer so you don't look weak.
Power over the money...

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--Fly away.
We were compelled to believe that all men are created equal,
But they lied to our fore fathers and we are just the sequel.
You can turn back the page and gaze at what the truth...

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When life brings its mischief,
Turn it to a masterpiece.
Like the old saying,
“When life brings you lemons,
Make lemonade
 or add the lemons to,
Your sugary sweet Kool-Aid.”

Mischievous beings,
Are miserable creatures,
Who want to alter,
Your beautiful features.
Motivation is the...

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I jumped out of a cold bed after a rather disturbing keen dream
I was standing in front of a corpulent old white horse, teeth clearly seen.
Pompous orange mane, and a patronizing shake of an empty...

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The native American and the paleface
Each claiming ownership over the place
For three hundred years they’d been fighting the fight
But peace would be parleyed later that night

Senators; soldiers; a chieftain or two
Agreed to talk peace by...

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I only compare myself to six 
Trixie is fierce and independent
Biting and clawing her way to the top
of the totem pole
in the form of a hawk
We back off and let her be

Faerie Queen is a...

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He told me when he was young and spry,
that life was a destination,
so he let the days fly by.
He now tells me, while forgetful and old,
that I shouldn't have listened to him.
"I was a fool...

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The storm clouds came rolling in across the autumn sky,
I was moved to dig a hole but didn’t know just why.

And as I finished squarin’ up the hole the rain came pouring down,
If someone were...

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Sacred Dwellers

I am of Native American born
To be caretaker of Mother Earth sworn 

I heal with powers, a medicine man               ...

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A wall of solid color
I think today I'm green. 
Wanting to translate
My words and what they mean. 

Angels descending, bring from above,
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love 

Fallen angels surround my soul
I sympathize then take...

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when certain voices speak
something inside me pricks up unseen ears
inviting the best of schizophrenia: mind, ego, body, the Deep

we are a lot of trouble - our degrees, you, and me
and the scientific way with the...

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My last visit home was sad, but true
All weekend I waited, just to see you
But the expectations I held, were much too high
Lowest place on the totem pole, there was I 

When finally, we met...

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To Be A Poet, Oft Strong Commands Come At Night

Oh, gawd- comes raging middle of the night
This horrid current, rise up and now write
An electric jolt, firing through me bones
Of new fortress looming, huge granite...

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One dark, blustery night with storm clouds thickening
I peeked out of my window, but couldn’t see a thing
My hands cupped as blinders, and squinting very hard
A brilliant flash of lightening lit up a dark graveyard

The...

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A long time ago 'twas, ships set sail
  For in England and on the Continent
Certain folks were doomed sure to fail

They were Puritans, the 'wrong religion'
  Or hewers of wood, down on their...

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