Peninsula Poems

They Named Me Zeus

From East to West
let my servant's trumpet
announce this victory
over those who defied me;
no Greek dares to fight me:
I am their uttermost deity! 

They named me Zeus
and look to me for guidance,
I carry the thunderbolt
and I strike all enemies with vengeance; 
they fell by the dozen
in the battlefield below Athens,
the ones who survived will challenge me again:
a huge temple can be destroyed and be rebuilt
in a year or less, not a life of a warrior
whose voice can be silenced by a spear!

On the Mount of Olympus
I'm watchful of conspirers,
I've sent Ulysess on a journey
he will land on the peninsula of Italy,
it's his second home more prosperous
than Greece, there Greeks will colonize
and build temples to deities in valleys
to withstand weather and time! 

They named me Zeus
and I ride the golden chariot,
Greek women bow down,
Greek men shout and fight;
I instill in them valor and grit,
and they'll persevere in their quest:
win or die, victory or loss
are carried inside until they have won!

IDIOMATIC PARADOX

A parallel universe, intricately crafted by God-
A realm where the rhythm of existence is inverted: 
One day devoted for diligent work and six for rest. 
Here, perpetual, invisible threads unite us all, 
Insulating a peninsula from the chaotic hodge.

Rockaway, NY

Ten mile peninsula in Queens, N.Y.,
nighttime jetties of moonlight white caps,
waves rising and ebbing.
My grandfather walking with me on the
daylight shore so many summers ago.

My dreams of Rockaway unfaded.
Watched the WTC twin towers being built
through binoculars.
Rockaway, in my soul's nostalgia
you still beckon.
Salted lips quenched by Coca-Cola.
The youth within me can still hear
the seagulls calling in the breeze,
and still see the amusement park
under 4th of July fireworks.
Dada, I miss you and Rockaway.

Poseidon Did Great White a Huge Favor

flippant great white was turned into a peninsula by Poseidon.
others protested on her behalf, but she was happy about it;
now she would be immortal
people would visit her for centuries.
her relatives faded away, or died one at a time.
she remains Shark Rock, a favorite of children.

Putin's War On Ukraine

The Russo Ukranian War dates back to 2014, with the invasion of the Crimean peninsula and the Donbas War 
which was fought by Pro Russian separatists in the eastern half of Ukraine. 
This has been going on for a long time, even before Russia launched it's 2022 offensive on Ukraine, when everyone in the US began to show it's Pro Ukrainian support. 
Putin has denied that The Ukraine was ever it's own 
country. He has said that the land is not theirs, but was a part of Russia that was given away by Khrushchev and Lenin. It was a part of Russia, in the 18th century, also referred to as in Russian "New Russia".
This Ultranationalism that Russia exercises today 
is not good for the future, it's been estimated that
 hundreds of thousands have died in this bloody 
conquest for land. I don't know if it will end anytime
 soon. I doubt it. I don't think a leader like Putin would 
do such a thing, seeing how he has turned the Russian Presidency into something like a dictatorship. 
Look how he has kept his power and then you will 
realize that this war won't be the last of him.

Hug Tree

that old olive tree
over sixteen hundreds years 
what a lovely tree!


In Salento peninsula which is part of Puglia, Italy. One of its names is Hug Tree.

Michigan Waterfalls

Angelic in beauty 
also in sound 
flowing over tarnished rocks 
carefree in the Lost world 
known as the Upper Peninsula 
tourist come from other states 
just to explore, hike and sightsee 
they're splendid beauty

Homes At Night

A living, breathing source of
Love-flamy light.
For what does each, in the heart
Stir up at night.

Though down in roads' sea-rolled view
Drunken, fogged most
Peninsula-prominent.
Safe helmsman boast.

Camel Ride In Cabo

Visualize Mexico’s Baja Peninsula
Let’s take a camel safari in Cabo San Lucas
We will hop on a hump
Might see pods of dolphins and whales
While we are on our leisurely stroll
for camels do not run, they walk.
Giving us more time to enjoy the beautiful Pacific Ocean

Up

I once visited an old copper town
in the upper peninsula of Michigan.
The U.P. as the Yoopers say

And on the U.P. it winters from 
October to April’s end
where saloons and

vacant churches pock each
devoutly sodden block with
a piss-penny for your thoughts.

The hay was made there
in the 1890’s, bronzed and
plaqued in a shag-city square

gray beyond grief
-faced for no reason
 it remembers.

It is a compelling obscurity.
that I will visit
again, one day

when I have
less to lose and
 more to forget.

There the parking meters
stand away from the curbs 
by big brick hollows,

beyond the plow’s carve
so high must pile
 the insulating snow.

Pink and Blue Sunset

Pink and blue sunset, gorgeous
before Ian takes a toll. Silhouette 
of tropical palms in Ponte Vedra.

The angst in Southwest peninsula
is more dire. Land exposed, meaning
the surf’s sharpening her sword.

Disneyworld is closed. The Mouses,
Mickey and Minnie, hunkered down.
Are the gators taking sides or bets?

Grandma, cousin, friend - all the same
person waits for the surge, and for the
resurgence to come from off the storm.

Some weeks are wait-and-see. Plans
could change, pandemically.
   Pink and blue sunset, gorgeous.

9/28/2022

Once Upon a Time In Hong Kong

Away the land of the flame tree blossoms
  Orient blown athwart a yellow moon,
to hearken the far sound of dragon drums
  and ride a Phantom into old Kowloon.
To Salisbury Road Peninsula doors
  where old enemies its waters journey,
where long ago in the Opium Wars
  Britannia ruled the South China Sea.
Now a new tale of skirmish is retold
  when two foes battled on a foreign field -
O’ but fell the armies in green and gold
  whose fate was All Black and forever sealed.
And to the victors do the spoils belong
once more once upon a time in Hong Kong.


          Written: November 2008


         A rugby trip to Hong Kong.

Cursed

I wonder why it started
Alcoholism, depression, and panic attacks
But It all makes sense once I trace it all back
Far away on an ancient peninsula
We thought we were superior,
Acted like Caligula,
Drunk I would piss on the mounds
Knowing now I’m Cursed, For desecrating their sacred grounds
Touched by darkness
Never to be the same
The rest of my life
Living in fear and shame.
The ghost that stayed with me,
Never again will I be free.
JEV

Jaffna Odiyal Kool

JAFFNA ODIYAL KOOL
==================

Beautiful ”Kool”
Call it Jaffna Soup, broth or stew.
Signature dish of Jaffna district,
Relished by every one in the peninsula.

Tamarind based Kool,
With seafood items,
Fish, shrimp, squid and crab,
Add taste beyond words.

Incorporates various spices,
With long bean, jack fruit seeds, manioca 
O what a taste it gives,
When odiyal flour thickens it.

Mouth waters at the sight of 
The fantastic odiyal kool,
Tastes better when you drink,
From a folded jack leaf.

Kool is an enjoyment at family gatherings,
In most of the Jaffna homes.
Without the traditional kool party,
Family gatherings seldom disperse.

 


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad

Shoreline Art

A crinkled shore on the Upper Peninsula.
We are hunting Golden Eagles.
Cameras fully loaded.

You find a small stone,
on it, a crimp and cockle
of wind and waves
has rucked an impression
of an eagle in flight.

“It's only ripple art, not even
a good depiction,
just water-wear. “
I say.

You throw it back into Lake Huron,
won’t hold my hand,
won’t even look at me,
until I admit the possibility
of prophetically placed crinkles.

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