Short Fifty Six Poems

A vision without action is an incomplete drawing....

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Nineteen Fifty Six -
If they raise minimum wage,
Can't afford to hire!...

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Hoping or hopping?
Both command your faith but one
is cured by crutches...

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frantic leaves blowing 
heated sun beats down on me 
fifty six- heatwave...

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Walter Cronkite,
Waxed erudite.
For fifty-six years he reported the news,
Trusted and revered for his truthful views....

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I thought I was young 
Fifty-five then fifty six
Pass here sixty years 
I would rather enjoy youth 
Instead I'm counting my years...

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Nineteen eighty-seven one hundred and fifty-six children....
Perished upon flight two fifty-five less one baby girl of whom
Heaven's hand had covered a moment in time her, Sole surviver....

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Built then in eighteen fifty-six
Earthquake, tidal wave couldn’t nix
Crescent City did lighthouse fix
At low tide it’s accessible
Strong and stoutly made of white bricks
Structure's not so  impressible...

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Cream Rises, Work Smarter 
Miracle Man
8/28/2024

When doing any job, work smart, don’t stop
My mothers advice, “Cream rises to the top”
Her advice seemed sound,
and to it I became bound,
And at fifty-six I retired early chop chop.





...

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“This is radio nowhere
is there anybody alive out there?
This is radio nowhere
is there anybody alive out there?
I just wanna hear some rhythm!
I just wanna hear some rhythm!
I just wanna hear some rhythm!
I just wanna hear some rhythm!”
Tell ‘em, Springsteen
we’re all fifty-six years old...

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popcorn clouds stretching themselves into cotton balls
a sky feeling somber, gently shadowing itself
fir trees darkening in the horizon,
a meadow glistening with dew
fifty-six degrees, a hint of spring
baby animals wake up beside their mothers
the world is coming back to life in time to greet May...

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the day before her wedding
Pandora found her mother’s loony box
there were journals about her bi-polar condition
and her suicide plans.
We were glad she kept it silently locked
did not read it on that day
or any other day,
preferring to burn it unopened
after she had been married for fifty-six years....

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I am wearing sandals.
It is February.
This should be a no no
But it is fifty six degrees.

I am old.
I could be dead tomorrow.
I had best wear them today.

Your toenails are horrible! My husband says.
He would have been better off never saying that.
Do you have any idea how much damage sharp pointy nails can do?...

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my phone is at fifty percent power
losing juice fast
we have no electricity
I cannot plug her in

she is my only link to normalcy
internet out
lights out
tv out

it is too dark to draw
I cannot see my paint colors
I stare at the phone
what does 5G mean?

fifty-six percent power says my husband
oh, that’s a six?...

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(This poem is about Norman Greene. He died June 12, 2001. He was fifty-six.)

When I learned that my uncle had lung cancer, I was stunned.
He died in 2001.
He smoked four packs of cigarettes a day.
Sadly he's gone away.
I wish he would've quit smoking or at least cut down.
The world would be better if he was still around....

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Prince Harry’s to wed Meghan Markle
Her dress, see it shimmer and sparkle
What I can’t understand…
It cost fifty-six grand
No wonder there’s such a debacle!

Inspired by another news story

N B The haute couture dress was originally on sale for a whopping £56,000 ($77,587.23) but I've read they got it at a reduced cost

01/21/18...

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Fifty-six years her beauty's heart did glow; a nineteenth century
Love song amid eastern skies northern lights; she danced as dwelled
In dreams these possibilities ? Clandestine, verses sublime gables rhyme
Of sweet perfume, and timeless time; singsongs, choirs, your carriage awaits...
Segue Juliet, this music she plays; parallel, heirlooms her love his, corsage; we kiss....

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The red gumball machine was full of fun
A machine that knew she was number one
Other contraptions thought they were a contender
They were certainly not said my cousin, Sam Lender.

I have had this machine since nineteen-fifty-two.
I know that’s a lie, but Sam is often a liar too.
You were not even born until fifty-six, I say.
He and the gumball machine begin to play....

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We have had chewing puppies before we got Buddy.
But this is the first time we have had a dog with indestructible teeth.
Buddy can chew through tin cans.
He chews electrical cords as if they were popcorn.
Our vacuum cleaner cord is in fifty-six pieces now.
We have raised over nineteen dogs.
Buddy is the first Great Dane mixed puppy we have ever had.
I envy him his teeth....

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No 56

A two and a half bed room place,
A man and a woman with a beautiful face,
One boy, another boy then a little girl,
Two more boys as rare as a pearl,

A two and a half bedroom place,
Two adults and five of the Heavey race, 
Four more girls for number fifty six,
Two adults , Nine children in that family mix,
No 56 a magical life ,
All start with the love of a man to his wife....

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How do I find a girl? He asked me.
He is alone on Valentine's Day.
He is fifty-six years old.

Maybe you are turning them away
By calling them Girls I told him.

Develop yourself to the best of your ability.
Play a guitar, sing, dance, paint, skate.

But get ready for a full fledged woman
Because you deserve one of them, not a girl.

Do things that are so much fun that she will find you....

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Fifty- six years of togetherness; some think it is strange.
For Ida and Frank it is normal
They have been best friends since their teenage years
They cuddle on their swing looking over their lake

Reflecting on the successes of their business and children
Two snoring dogs lie contentedly next to them
The orange and pink sunset looks gorgeous tonight
They sit in comfortable silence, united in their happy thoughts....

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He guest-starred on "The Jeffersons" and "Serpico".
He also guest-starred on "The Bob Newhart Show".
He starred in "The Sting II", "Iron Eagle" and other flicks.
This very talented man died at the young age of fifty-six.
He guest-starred on "The Dukes Of Hazzard" and "Archie Bunker's Place".
Lung cancer ended his life too soon and he was a credit to the Human Race.


[Dedicated to Michael Alldredge (1941-1997) who died on December 19, 1997]...

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Baby shower for popular Jodie
Fifty-six presents, games, prizes, 
Lots of laughter, thirty-two co-workers in attendance
Hilarity rings out bringing in two more co-workers

Two weeks later
Same company
Same invitees.
Different mom-of-honor.

Baby shower for shy Pam.
Five gifts, three co-workers show up.
Two games, difficult to play with only three.
Lots of left over cake. Feelings of embarrassment.
Sad comparison for Pam had been to Jodie's shower...

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Each card I hold is a memory
of my time with you
Fifty-six hand drawn images
that feel all so brand new

Then I hold another deck
with images all emptied out in white
hoping that you'll come back to me
one day and again be my wife

Either pen or pencil can draw the images
they will surely come to life
capturing the essense of each day
morning, noon and night

Two decks of cards of which I cling on tight
Even if things don't go my way, they never leave my sight...

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