Short Satchel Poems

A satchel of poetry rests over my shoulder
A silver pen, parchments and paper, and a journal
Laying them, next to the wine, on the blanket, next to you
And you are Mars to me, and I Venus...

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Crackling cold, satchel in tow. 
Back for the role of baby for home. 
For mama and daddy,
I’m proper lil Natty. 
Back for the holds, cuddled for soul. 




2/17/18                 'As I was Walking in the Snow' Contest
                                          Sponsor: Kevin Shaw...

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A new family moves to neighborhood school.
Children are in kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth
Six boys and one girl
Atchel, Satchel, Batchel, Ratchel, Datchel, Matchel and Snatchel.
Which one is the girl? Someone asks.
Snatchel I believe.
Or maybe Satchel.
Not sure, but we’ll figure it out eventually.
Or not....

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EVEN swaying mountains are smoother hungry clouds 

And your ticklish roseate lips like match-lit dewdrops 

are not a memory but realized onward and carried 

within an old man’s satchel; depressed lines as thick

as unfeeling skin; a path to have traveled until the ending

unlike the empty nest that’s screaming.

:: 06-28-2017 ::...

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You can't protect yourself
From the future that awaits,
It comes to you like an elf,
Ambivalent to your fate.

The future is not a magical
happenstance like a fairy tale,
Although it can be theatrical,
Too much for anyone frail.

Sometimes we are more fragile
Than we expected,
Sometimes we simply pack our satchel
And wander paths undirected....

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Translucent wings, reflecting the water droplets they ride on
as they fall from the clouds.  A halo of pixie dust caresses
their faces.  Falling onto leaves and blooming flowers, they
land lightly, quietly, brining Mother Nature's glory in their
satchel of bliss.  The faeries dance as they emerge from
watery homes, reflecting light off their translucent wings....

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Whale-bone satchel hidden underneath
The husband comes in to take the sheath
From his wife, 
To pull away the knife.
Support this cradled strap
Call the cartographer for a map
To chart the followed Path,
Taken before by Plath.
Hold the chest
For this test 
Of love,
Of affection
From above,
This rejection
Holds still a toy
For a boy
And twirls 
For a girl....

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Between the warm leaving rain
and the coming of the pizza –
a beer flushes through a gurgling gullet.

It's coming...Medium Margarita,
sweet roasted tomatoes and bubbling cheese.

The evening sky breathes deeper.
Womb-warm, the pizza-satchel sings
to my drooling taste buds;
a delivery almost born,
an ordination, almost consumed
by the wait.

I pour another beer....

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Winter's snow is melting; got a satchel full of Spring.
Blow it to the wind and from my front porch watch it bloom.
Capture vibrant colors; tie them up with satin string.
Loose them in December; brighten Winter's graying gloom.

Summer's heat is waning; got a pocket full of Fall.
Spend it all on jewels just to gussy up the trees.
Grab a frosty morning; wad it up into a ball.
Throw it to next August; catch a welcomed, crispy breeze....

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If God exists and grants each man a wish
then mine is this: a peaceful day to fish
with breeze enough to help maintain my cool
while I explore a muddy swimming pool
that would begin along a nameless road,
by careful step, so not to spill the load
that straps my shoulders in a satchel patch
containing vengeful bait – a special batch
to lure exotic trout the rainbow skipped
whose swollen lips still hook the devil slipped.


12/10/2018...

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(This was written for a photographer who takes incredible b&w photos of the homeless in San Francisco)

In bits of newspaper confetti I nest you
black and white softening your stricken eyes
Passion in your finger tips still, itching, scratching to get out.
You riddle words of wisdom and I stuff them in my satchel at my hip
-never to be lost, never to hop the nearest freight train to the next town.

I make you indelible.
You make me human....

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He was parked on top of a worn satchel in Omaha
In the middle of a train station, so lah-dee-dah
Where was his child? He began to scream for his ma.
She ran up and grabbed him by his fluffy padded paw

I told you he would wait for me she told her astounded mother.
He is more than my pet, my cuddler, my protector, and a brother
My teddy bear is the one who loves me the very most.
He adores me! She told the other passengers, in an honest boast....

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