Short Memphis Poems

Five persons travel
Noonday, in Memphis sand dunes
In sandals and robes....

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A leaf blew downtown
Amongst hands pages flew
Floating about a clean breeze...

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Her light, peach face
Is like a blossoming tulip
On an infant stem.
Those kind come expensive in Memphis
So they say....

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A choirboy from Tupelo
Soon saw his fame grow,
From a gospel sound
To world-wide renown-
Ends suddenly in Memphis town....

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Ole Tyree was a tourist from Texas
who went to a rock and roll nexus.
He yo-del-io-ed
in Sun Stu-d-io
that's how he got kicked out of Memphis.


11-14-14...

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circling above clouds
trouble’s first inclination
reroute to memphis
wait for hours and hours
making headway - through my book

8/31/2020...

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On the Savannah, animals co-exist
Why can't we, what did we miss
Part of our brain
Missed the last train
Twas the last train to Memhis sealed with a kiss...

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An enterprising young boy from Memphis
Made it his goal to climb Mount Olympus
Short-legged in stock
He fancied a smock
And he couldn't round up a consensus.

May 29, 2021...

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I dreamed I was sitting on a piano stool
Next to Memphis Slim
Watching his fingers stride.

When I woke, for a moment
It was not a dream but a memory
And I was thankful for the life I'd lived....

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IN MEMPHIS

In Memphis, a stage delivers Elvis.
Excitement for girls - thundering pelvis.
They throw panties and bras,
Plenty of oohs and ahs.
In Memphis, the girls, hopelessly zealous.

9/16/2017...

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Civilians who chant “liquor store blues”
within a Memphis alley way
Where the classical band plays
From dusk till dawn
Would lack intelligence
Should they be taught
That she resembles a foul sprite
For some wild centaur....

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Sailing away
Leaving today
on a Memphis honeymoon
Im so glad you made me happy
we are getting closer now
When you give me your heart
the great unknown will grab us
I feel the ease now
on our evening song
shared viewpoints
enjoin the same

...

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Kennedy didn’t die in Dallas
And Elvis lives outside of Memphis
You see they got sick of the guff
And took identities that were good enough

So if you see an impersonator in their act
Looking good as a matter of fact
It may be the real deal
Hiding in plain sight comfortably real.

© Paul Warren Poetry...

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Memphis the fish wanted to be a whale
                                   Went to theater to see Luis Buñuel
                                    He married Juan Simón's daughter
                                              Invited Harry Potter
                             All went to Hogwarts to eat sleep and swell...

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Beloved of Ba’alat, 
Consort of Ba’al,
Mistress of the Sinai mines 
Whose turquoise eyes
Unlocked the hieroglyphs 
Lining the promenade
Leading to the Temple of Hathor, 
Inventing first an alphabet, 
Then a song to sing in Canaan, 
Prompting gossip and rumors 
From Memphis to Kush, 
Echoing famously now 
In Serabit el-Khadim....

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A Shadorma

I recall
ancient Egypt’s prime,
the temple
of Bastet;
my feline friend by my side,
worshipping.

In Memphis
services rendered
to a king,
to goddess,
gave us needed sustenance,
fine delicacies.

Together in
this present lifetime
I mention
memory
ears laid back you look at me;
remember.



...

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Went to Tennessee with my niece, 
                          ate Memphis ribs sitting in peace. 
                   Barbeque in the South,
                   still watering my mouth-
                           where Elvis sang his first release!



howmanysyllables.com
Syllable count: 8-8-6-6-8

State Limerick Poetry Contest
Kevin Shaw
July 23, 2019...

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Many moments recalled in pain
Even as everyone wonders in vain
Martin lay motionless at the Lorraine
Photos pour popular chords of disdain
His was a hallowed history to gain
Innocence into infinity’s drain
Seasons secure will never be slain

==========================================

Featured Poem on Poetry Soup - April 4, 2021...

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The bike broke down,
my money gone,
Beale Street calling
—Memphis in my dreams

The diner’s empty,
last quarter found,
the jukebox playing
—Memphis in my dreams

The waitress smiles,
she’s off at six,
her place a walk
—Memphis in my dreams

The kindness of strangers,
a baby cries,
the sun’s come up
—Memphis in my dreams

(Dreamsleep: March, 2020)...

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The Father of Rock and Roll was not Elvis.
It was Chuck Barry, wild man from Chicago
He was the rhythm and blues king
His guitar solos and showmanship are legend.

Today we still hear some of his best songs on the radio.
Johnny Be Good, Nadine, Maybelline, Ding-a-Ling
Sweet Little Sixteen, Memphis Tennessee
He was amazingly talented, and marvelously fun to watch!...

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Ain't got no mean, lowdown, painful, hurtin'
all night come home to me Baby, blues.
Ain't New Or-leens out them two-storey
sycamore-lined windows that don't open
to Memphis piano-roll sweet afternoons as
sweet as making love in beignet coffee-time
mornings where there's Basin Street Boogie
on street corners, and Gladys--she done
caught that Midnight Train to Georgia....

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Moving fast moving slow
Memphis bucking is the way to go
Flying low, slide high
I think i just walked thru the sky
In the car to make a dash
goota go pick up some cash
Riding out feeling good
Nothing stupid going on in the hood
Bank teller asking what you doing here
Trying to make sure this check clear
Got my cash about to roll
Damn look like Memphis took its toll...

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Do you know where I live?
I live in Rome
I live in Greece
I live in Egypt too
These three great kingdoms of antiquity
have all faded into obscurity
So I ask you,
do you know where I live?
Syracuse once was a great city
in ancient Rome
Philadelphia once was a great city
in ancient Greece
Memphis once was a great city
in ancient Egypt
Now, do you know where I live?...

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Humble beginnings
Rising to top of the pops
Song heartbreak hotel


Dubbed as the King of Rock and Roll
Elvis the pelvis also sang soul
Of Hispanic origin
Blue eyes sent girls in a spin
The hearts of old and young he stole.


Memphis idol's funeral, adoring fans in thousands pass casket.




Contest: Charlie Hai-Lim-Ku
Sponsor: Charles Messina
Date: 31st January 2022...

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Oh! baby let’s play house
no one sided love affair here,
you’re so young and beautiful
and that’s all right, when the
next step is love. 
I Hope darling you’ll always
wear my ring, I’m sure you know
I’m playing for keeps,
although i am just a 
poor boy, from
Memphis Tennessee,
no heartbreak hotel for us,
just a promise of love me tender
whilst I’m loving you.

© Harry J Horsman  2012...

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