Short Notches Poems

Jim was suave, sophisticated, two notches above debonair
his appreciative entourage band followed his lead;
bevy of giggling ladies followed him from town to town
trying to grab his saxophone...

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Circled days
hide their faces
on the far side of the fridge.

Dates and reminders
clog the cyclic notches
on my prayer wheel.

Calendar dreams
wake up far too late.
Ducks fly across a fridge magnet.

I hear the distant quacking
of a missed anniversary
disappearing
over a dimming horizon....

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Work makes free, a lie 
Notches on a sickle, a tally 
Death's head obliterates 




( Yes, I know that this is not a true Haiku, if we all follow the rules...5/7/5 words per line )
I chose to tweak the "rules" to make the grammar flow better with commas, etc, 
If anyone objects, I am happy will delete this haiku. )...

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It is time for the circled days
to hide their faces
on the far side of the fridge.

Dates and red letter reminders
clog the cyclic notches
on my prayer wheel.

The calendar dreams 
always waking up too late

I recall how fish in a bowl
forget every seven seconds.

It helps, but date sharks
still hunt me down
when I mess up....

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To control women
men feel they have
to be weakened,
brought down a few
notches so they can rule,
or at least feel cool,
"Calculated Traps" are set
to get women in compromising
positions, where they are
incapable of making healthy decisions,
Sometimes cheated out of their wordly
possessions, because salacious men have
dishonorable intentions....

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glorious is your victory
no prisoners do you take
as the notches keep getting deeper
with each heart that you break
on every single battlefield
in the mist of the moonlight
the black knight is still standing
as he captures the flag of white
the dying and the wounded
suffering from shell-shock
and he turns the golden key
on a heart that remains locked...

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Red letter days
give birth to each other
like pregnant goldfish.

Once again
the red circled hides its face
on the far side of the fridge.

Dates clog the cyclic notches
on my prayer wheel of anniversaries.

I hear an untimely cuckoo
in every paper window.

I need buttoned down numbers
that don't skid off
the expressway of things to remember
every time I see a squirrel....

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My current level is ceaseless worry
Unflinching doubt occupied state of mind
Wonders and what ifs whipped in a flurry
My current level

Features disheveled with nose to the grind
Nowhere to be in the biggest hurry
Just to get there and wish I could rewind

If my own view were a bit less blurry
If common kindness were a common kind
I'd dial back few notches from worry
My current level...

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Drunk
Breathing
Tension easing

A shove
A name
Momentary pain

And then I know that once again
I’ve made a choice I can’t reclaim
Like every time that’s come before
I feel the sense of self deplore
That washes through my damaged mind.
I loathe that I had gone to find
A man who could affirm my worth 
When all I knew I’d gain is hurt. 

And as I bid that man adieu
All I think about 
Is you....

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Any (every) man
can brag about his conquests, 
the notches in his belt
little rungs on a ladder
baptized in bullshit. 

Any (every) man
can regale you with stories
of their swordsmanship or cunning
linguistics.

Any (let's just be honest and say all) man
can try to hold a woman down
while pretending to hold her hand.

But it takes a REAL man
to look a beautiful woman 
in her emerald moth eyes
and say;

"Will you teach me how to fish? "...

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Someone has tinkered with the 100 Community List
And it appears that you are still at number thirty-four,
Down a few notches, I have not booed or hissed
‘Cos I’ve been much lower on lots of lists before!
In fact, it’s delightful not to have the pressure, you see,
Let others get “put down” for their success for a while,
For I get no thrill from checking where on the list I’ll be,
But seeing you haven’t come up a notch makes me smile.

Written October 28, 2022...

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