Short Portland Poems

You are my friend
For you gave your life for us
Thank you America for believing in the 
Truth
I will always be your friend
Even to the death
Thank you America...

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Give it up, give it up everybody
for OXFORD SUITES
12226 N. Jantzen Dr.
Portland OR 97217
(503) 283-3030 Reservations 1-800-548-7848
www.oxfordsuites.com
on pen...

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‘Mid two trees

    Squirrels, maybe four, 
Maybe five, 
   Maybe more. 

I glance the floor
Sparse blades, short in fall,
    Scattered
 Peanut shells, fragments
 No meat left....

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Columbia, Willamette stream
Forth their gentle run,
As salmon glint beneath each beam 
Of a Northwest sun.

The rain-swelled rivers rise and roll
Back where they began,
Like ups and downs of someone’s soul:
Seasons of a man,...

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Condemnation, confrontation
  Nasty, no-compromise nation

Protestors plentiful, a passel irruptive
  Ornery out-of-towners, so disruptive

Downtowns deflowered in
  Portland Chicago, Seattle
Lawless looters ~
  Time to skedaddle...

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of Babylon it's written
of Rome it is said
of Athen's glory it's recounted
of Egypt's pharaohs long dead
   Anaheim's alive
   Dallas, dynamic
   Phoenix is rising
   Portland is panoramic
we pay homage to what was; overlook what glistens, the aerodynamic...

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A Portland man found himself in perpetual gloom
Invited a pretty gold digger up to his room
He paid her well for special services,
Asked her to be one of his mistresses
And learned later she swept him cleaner than a broom.

written January 24, 2022...

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Ira Earl Hudson

January 6th 1961 - December 20th 2023


VIEWING
Terry's Funeral Home 
2337 N Williams Ave, Portland, OR 97227
Jan 18th, 2024 @ 4:00pm


GRAVESIDE SERVICES
Willamette National Cemetery
11800 SE MT Scott Blvd, Happy Valley, OR 97086
Jan 19th 2024 @ 1:30pm



...

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Thomas,
Loving, memory, poetic, visual
Brother of Bobby
Lover of Joyce, Hanna, stars
Who feels love, closeness, joy
Who fears confrontation, violence, snakes
And not wild about blood and gore, the military, crass cultures
Who would like to see peace, harmony, acceptance
Resident of Portland, Oregon
Martin...

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It’s windy eve,
inside is free 
of the wind but
not pithy peeves:

heaven’s thousand
eyes clouded 
by lights
although the sun
-rise clouded
delights. 

against cities,
(all like-fashioned):
moon’s bow stretches
dim sky lashes. 

in walls is warmth
confinement,
anger
the winds withhold
comfort not
wonder...

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so many moons have danced a-sea

          and swum in eyes, entrancing me

               but such dear blessings pale to one -

     the chance to rise with each new sun.









Copyright © Gregory Richard Barden, October 6, 2023

( photo of sunrise at Portland Headlight taken by Gregory R Barden 1974 )...

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Percy the pink male peacock was the talk of the town.
The female peahens surrounded him in their golden brown.
They tried to get his attention, but he was not interested at all.
What is wrong with this peacock? They asked. He has so much gall!
His girlfriend was in Portland, his wives were in Seattle and Tennessee.
He simply did not have enough energy to take on one more sweet lady....

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O, do you remember sweet Betsy from Pike?
She trekked ‘cross the prairie in search of a dyke.

She developed incontinence in Illinois;
She was cured of what ailed her by a strange nether boy.

Well, she only spoke German and he only spoke Dutch,
But the way that he plugged holes, didn’t need to speak much.

She’s sworn off the women, and forsaken the booze;
They’re now clogging in Portland in some fine wooden shoes....

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A red-streaked panorama graced Washington's dawn
   Clear lake-blue skies there all day long 
Portland smoke-gray, from tear gas and pepper spray
   Antifa showed its true colors on Inauguration Day

Not a hint of outrage from the government or the press
   It's alright if the fascists are left-wing, I guess
At the Inaugural Ball, attendees donned their prettiest dress
   Masks muting their 'concern' over the Oregonian mess...

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Frayed edges, dust and dirt clumping in little hands
After the sun shower, cast out to the rough cobbled
Street. 

Newborn in her arms, mom watches as the children
Climb the three foot rope-swing, merrily dangling
Above toy trucks and doll-houses.

Smiling, we glide past, comforted, family at my side
As we carry treasures from the street market back
Home, knowing I too enjoyed such moments, and
Share them still today.


Portland, Oregon
June 2021...

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they are green anarchist who listen
 to national public radio along with 
pseudo punk rock chick bands.

they are angry and i am pretty 
 sure they killed jesus.

 they have names like ryan and ashley
 and in the fourth grade they kicked me
 in the nuts and left me on the ground
 at recess.

 these angry vegans also like to chew 
on organic vanilla granola they buy 
at the local new seasons store.
 going outside afterwards to 
chain smoke and give me 
dirty looks....

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I know i'm not a saint
 but i might be your martyr 
even if just for a moment.
 
stranger my eyes to you.

 the ambience of two hollow 
tabernacles passing in 
silence under heavy raindrops.
 
 our reflections caught in 
the window of a coffee shop
 next to the old church
 on 11th and clay.

 you lifted your head to
 exchange the glance
 that said i don't know you either. 

a few more steps past the window
 and then there was only
 silence and cracked pavement....

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Shirley is a professional generalizer of people.
Rapidly slinging out stereotypes.
All blacks….
All Kansans….
All men…
All Irish….
All Asians…
All city dwellers….
All children….
All whites….
All teachers….
All Ukrainians….
All firemen….
All thieves….
All women…
She blames everyone in Portland for bad weather.
She says all Danish bake muffins in the morning
Her generalizations have alienated most of her co-workers
Her bosses use her to shorten people’s lunch breaks...

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I wrestled with a devilish devil
Its eyes were red like tomato sauce
In an environment that was rainbow purple
I threw the devil under the table

At the Portland Island it came with Goliath’s strength
I was too small to be David
My voice was blunt
SKAT was on this devil’s hunt to skin it alive

Strong like a rock, the devil approached
Turner heard my cry and turned the devil
Destroyer destroyed the devil with hot soup
They freed me like their beloved son who was held captive...

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