Short Up The Ante Poems

Poker table blues.
Hand after hand, a looser.
Ace up dealer's sleeve....

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First,
you need to have
something to say

Before,
figuring out
—how to say it

(Dreamsleep: April, 2021)...

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too late to ante
I already folded
your bluff is good
with the cards your holding
winner take all
and I pay the price
for sitting at the table...

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I shuffle the cards
a five card deal
I parlay true love
you ante sex appeal

my poker hand good
a queen high straight
I win your heart
a twist of fate...

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Three manic morons: Moe, Curly, Larry
  Ante up for a talking canary ~
    It attracts boobirds
    They cry, 'How absurd' ~ 
  Clever jokers rename her 'Miss Carrie'...

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Charles Bronson, star of "Death Wish," 
  Served punks icy-cold revenge dish.

  On body counts, he raised the ante.
 America's screen one-man vigilante...

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I lay them on the table
all my cards face up
there's nothing up my sleeve
or sleight of hand card tricks
all my truth and fiction
is laid out for you to see
ante up or call my bluff
you can only win...

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Julho

Julho
chegou
para mudar
o gosto de julho.

Dá-me a tua mão; 
dê a tua mão: 
tenha certeza 
na sintaxe extrema
– servir,
relacionar, 
comprar
vender
e fazer
mais e mais!

E julho será 
à gosto
ante-sala 
de agosto!...

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young people taught to believe
that once they learn repetition
they're ready for the out-world

s..t happens: just the universe

it matters not whether a god is
a peculiar determinism matters
of peace, love and of letting go


stan sand...

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Ante Up For Love

Love is a gamble, the players facing unfavourable odds. 
Still you risk that which you can't afford to lose. 
Never able to explain or recover the loss.
The cards have been shuffled 
and ready to be dealt. 
Are you in? Ante up!...

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Ante sala do Natal

___
está a findar 
?  dezembro
que pode mudar seu mundo,
o mundo das pessoas 
a sua volta.

Vamos lá, soldar relacionamentos,
abraçar a vida com paixão
vencer desafios com ousadia,
fazer negócios!  

Faça hoje 
que ainda tem tempo....

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Novembro

Desde sempre
novembro 
é ante-sala
de natal.

Dá-me a tua mão; 
dê a tua mão: acredite:
mostre palavras
fique atenta ao tempo: 
faça agora
um pouco a mais,
na vida e nos negócios o tempo,
muda o presente
escreve o futuro
se faz
mais e mais....

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Junho 
está a findar - 
À gosto
Que pode mudar
O gosto de julho.

Dá-me a tua mão; 
Dê a tua mão: 
Acredite: 
Mostre palavras
Autênticas, sinceras –
Tenha certeza na sintaxe extrema
– servir, relacionar, comprar e vender!

E julho será 
À gosto
Ante-sala 
De agosto!...

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Nunca

Nunca conte horas
ou dias 
ou anos de
luta sobre-humana; 
ah! O que são dificuldades hoje
ante o progresso do amanhã!

Dedica à existência, 
para a luta teimosa, 
sentindo-se 
doce e bem disposta.

Mantenha hoje e sempre
a sua atitude para Fazer sempre
um pouco a mais....

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In what to me now seems like ages
I've only read some sundry pages;
Lord Byron, a Romantic poet, 
was a dark wit; you'd just know it.

But I (yes, I!) know much better,
for I know it to the letter,
that Byron was an insatiable lord
(with “ssssss” as the head of a large “sword”)!...

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Gaping open wounds that never heal 
Is this what is for each of us is the real deal
Sometimes it’s the pain
That in the end remains

You may think your heart will break
For what in the end will you make
Of this world of bitter tears
Look to ante up you may be in arrears.

© Paul Warren Poetry...

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Vamos

Nas linhas das palmas das mãos,
eles escreveram o destino dos passos
com a pretensão de escrever o destino do sol.

Agora é o momento
o sol já se liberta
mostrando o caminho da liberdade dos passos.

Levante-se,
levante sua mão –, 
coloque “pé ante pé”,
a longa noite para de sufocar
e o dia chega....

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Blinking and breathing in secretive silence
Fending off feelings of misapprehension
Trying to function in passive compliance
Ignoring repeatedly twisting of tension
Sitting in darkness with nothing to mention
Blinking ’s a sound of sightless defiance
Waiting for light to blithely appear
Knowing that reason can  deal with the fear...

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I passed over Monet this morning--an Ohio River-crossing;
the promise fulfilled with ante meridian mists,
trees, sun, and deep, moving waters
exploding in mute reflection
as leaves on the banks paid homage.

Sudden, brush-filled hands shot up from the depths--Excaliburs all--
staking their ancient claims to everlasting morning glory....

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Desde

Desde sempre
um dia ou ano
está a findar?
à gosto
que pode mudar
o gosto do seu esforço.

Dá-me a tua mão; 
dê a tua mão e acredite: 
mostre palavras
autênticas, sinceras —
tenha certeza na sintaxe extrema
? servir, relacionar, 
comprar e vender!

E ano ou dia
sempre será 
à gosto
ante-sala 
de fazer 
mais e mais!...

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Y ahora el camino
palabra de espiga.

Ahora me nombras
palabra de verso.

Ahora me atas
palabra de sueño.

Ahora me asustas
palabra de negro.

Ahora me tocas
palabra de beso.

Y entonces me miras
palabra de espejo
y ante tu mirada contemplo mi aspecto.

Y ahora cerezos
la voz de jardines
palabras de lluvia
gotas de silencio....

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En los ojos y palabras de un hombre
he visto peligros y amenazas
Sus pareceres son un macabro
laberinto de intenciones
perversas y demoníacas
Gran misterio es la cueva
de su corazón
Solo la integridad
la pureza
y la verdad constituyen el yelmo
de protección contra sus
tenebrosos dardos
Puedes estar en paz
y cerrar los ojos ante un hombre
solo cuando lo veas en su tumba...

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I was not afraid of legacy
seeking out a collateral
collapse of a fantasy.

Raising the ante?
I was prepared to meet
the unknown in your chest.

What came as a surprise
in a white boat. I will
never know of death.

A pause, a stutter,
sacrificing civility to open
the door of the poor syllables.

The secret will go in?
the grave along with 
the famished poet.


Satish Verma...

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Sea of the cold hollow sandS
Traveling in the chaos TiamaT
Absolutely Absolvent empty AmbrosiA
River of currents, culling-hands that steeR
Saguant navigation of bouyant bendS
Carbon fingerprint, ethereal and cosmiC
Runes of bands-shapeshifting acrostic BezieR
Endless coil, kiss of anathema, soiled-absolutE
Anti by the light of the moon, it is Death in a comA
Morpheus embed, with cold -ante rooM...

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ANTE MERIDIAN

I didn’t have my coffee 
I didn’t smoke my cigarette 
I don’t face him – I am too bitchy – 
so many words in the marriage
they come out like glazed ants
irrational “good morning”

I understand my womanhood 
in an amazonian way
an I placate my own voice
in the exertion of waking up

he dances a kiss on my cheek
to peel off the numbness
and dulcifies the leap 
from dream to reality...

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