Short Levee Poems

by the old levee
summer's caressing breezes
off the mudriver
whisper so lachrymosely
southern painful centuries...

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There once was a girl on the levee
Who by anyone's judgment was heavy
She tried to get here
By crossing the pier
But ended up crushing the Chevy...

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Smoke on the water or dust in the wind,
Rain has been purple since innocence sinned.
The levee is dry and the spirit retired,
But song-writing seamstresses still seem inspired....

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Six men are strolling atop the levee
They whistle a tune, happy as can be
Recklessly one falls over,
Splashing into the water
I’m glad the unlucky one wasn’t me.

written November 27, 2021...

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Torrent Rain Storm

heavy
levee
~

Perfect Chef Salad

salad 
ballad

~
Sexy Super Model

chin up
pin up

~
The Last Go Around

fate 
debate

~
5 O'Clock Traffic

stuck 
chuck

...

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Here lie the remains of Herkimer Sevy
Seems he drove off the pier in his two-tone chevy
Hitting his head on the steering wheel
It split and laid back like an onion peel
And that’s why it’s called it Sevy’s Levee.

Written July 9, 2022...

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Had I not in my idling
neglected you;
neglected morning carol;
neglected evening requiem;

neglected the unforeseen 
whimsy of words,
the nitty-gritty of my
most solemn soul,   

sooner could have been
release from bondage,
levee collapsing revelation,
my poems.

July 28, 2013
Kathryn Collins...

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Into the funneling drains,
go the lesser drains,
as they flow or seep.

Culverts coalesce,
the rain keeps moving,
the flushed keep swimming
through their own
momentum.

Is there an end to the flowing,
the passing through?

The highest dams,
the longest levee or dike
cannot hold back,
not a single drop
                  of sky or earth....

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Poverty of thoughts
beats you endlessly.
What  was the other form of violence ?

Body of water bursts.
There was an absentee lover 
trying to overtop the levee.

Pounding of chest
was figurative.
Someone was dying of hunger.

It was a great paradox.
The eagle was rising
for a sudden dive.

Labyrinthine. An intricate
argument. From which-
side will come the death ?



Satish Verma...

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A dirty old sidewalk
runs in front of grandma's house
with bumps and cracks from the roots
of ancient white-oak

Armed with cane poles and sack lunches
crickets and freshly dug earth worms
we meander down to the levee
barefoot in careless summers

One low spot beneath
a straggly Chinaberry
filled with pitch-black delta dirt
washed in by summer rains
We shuffle through and dig down
cooling our toes...

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God, I don't think im ready
my confidence is drowning like a Louisiana levee
I don't feel prepared
and all that comes won't be shared

I don't posses what I feel is mine
I feel like i've forgotten how to rhyme
I'm hungry like im poor
and I keep meeting up with closed doors

But when I go where I go, sometimes I get lost
I get led on and I get forgot
So I approach life anxiously
because I know more pain waits for me...

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The Dome is dark and all are scared so
Mama's gettin  weak cuz her sugar is low
Whispers don't let child see me go
But child knows when mama goes
A child always knows when Mama goes

And now we're grieving 

Sorrow that washes despair
Tears sheddin natural wash mama here
All the reasons to US are unknown
Father, take her to your heavenly home
Father take her to you heavenly home. 

And now we're reeling...

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August 2005
Hurricane Katrina 
wanted no man alive.
The Good Ol Boys 
said Head to the Dome
For those who can't get out on your own..
and they left us here all alone. 

And we are prayin

We are the United States
We will brave the wind, the storm
and the man-made mistakes.

The storm stole all our material things
But we're grateful 
for the hope that life brings.

Yes, we are grateful for the hope that life brings....

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Trying to figure out this way that I feel
I'm a dark banana; whole world is my peel.

Sunshine without light, my soul is heavy
More clouds and tears of rain, break my minds levee.

I'm always in darkness- most of the time down
The guy who always laughed wears only a frown.

If I could peel away this shell of disgust
Blow away these dark clouds of hate and mistrust.

This layer of skin that sheds so easily
Goes away designed, not to end pleasingly....

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And now we're waitin

August 2005 
Levy gave way
wanted no man alive. 
Water rising all around us
Who has got a cell phone?
Man, they left us here all alone
They left us here on our own. 

But, we're still prayin 

We are the United States
We braved the storm, the levee
and the man-made mistakes
Can't let child see dome- horrible things
But I'm grateful for the hope
that life brings.
Yes, I'm hopeful for the hope that life brings.

And now we're waitin...

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