Short Shanties Poems

Collective Senryu

Dolphin Pod

white water surfers
dolphin pod squeals sea shanties ~
gymnasts of the sea...

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Sentinel never sleeps;
resting upon water thrashed rocks,
this shining beacon of the sea.
Her watch, sees all,
Her stories sung in shanties,
by old salts;
She holds within the secrets, 
which ocean confides.
She is a lighthouse and 
she never betrays a trust.


12-17-18
“Lighthouse Poetry Contest”
Sponsor: Eve Roper...

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The beautiful things of today,
tomorrow become outdated.
A Porsche building in the sixties,
is now numbered with the shanties.
The most recent and unspotted
models of choice vehicles may
soon be phased out from our cities.
Fashions and styles of yesteryears,
are today mocked by fellow peers.
Tastes are as much ephemeral
as our lives are temporal....

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Listen to poem:

Hold a conch shell up to the ear
to hear the sound of sea
trapped inside echo
as the shell cavity held against the ear
occludes other sounds
and resonates.

On a calm day you can hear
all the seashell choir stranded on the beach 
sighing seas shanties under their breath.

Like heartbeats never heard, nor listened for,
except when ears are covered
or ear to chest is pressed
to hear the sound suppressed
in a seashell....

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Dry, dirty, dilapidated buildings by day
Become suspicious, spooky shanties at night.
Daytime woods are filled with cute, cuddly creatures,
Yet at night they're forests filled with ferocious fiends of foul intent.
By day the moon is hidden half a hemisphere away
But shines marvelous, mellow moonbeams at midnight.
Invisible entities that revolve around our world by day,
Provide a panorama of planetary beings parading across the cosmos at night.

©  07-14-2012...

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Let the toothless dog bark 
it wouldn't harm the shark 
Because they continue to embezzle the fund
And crabbing public land
Dollar meant for developing the shanties 
into reputable cities 
Stole by rich becoming richer day by day
Poor languishing in poverty without pay
Urgent alarms for sobriety rings 
See what lack of knowhow brings 
If you know your Constitutional rights 
It's about that time to fight
for what you deserve at the grassroot
Fairness be your prime pursuit...

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Crème de la crème of society
Bone de la bone of the beggary
Castles suffocating with excess loot
Thatched huts with nakedness afoot
Mansions ignorant of starvation
Shanties bereft of constipation
Wardrobes of polished shoes, suits and ties
Cupboards riddled with bugs, roaches and flies
Despite the abundance, children are just a pair
While in lack, procreation is spared the care
When all is said and done, we arrive at the divide
When all that is left is for the earth to open wide...

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