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Best Poems Written by Andrew Jacob Jung

Below are the all-time best Andrew Jacob Jung poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

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The Sage of Glasgow

 ~ I - I Arrive in Glasgow ~

When I arrived in Glasgow town
I knew nary a soul
So tired I's nearly fallin' down
Yet I'd no place to go 

I wandered up Buchanan street 
In hopes to find a bed
Or e'en a simple mat o' hey
On which to lay my head

Lady Fortune must ha' smiled on me
For as I ambled up the road
An elf-like fellow waved me down, said pray come in
And rest your load

Upon our hearth awhile
Abby, fetch some haddock stew!
For this establishment is meant for weary
Travelers such as you

A dram'll do ye just fine
Let us turn now to converse
I am Seumas MacIntyre
Ye'll no yet heard of me of course

~ II - I Become Acquainted With the Sage ~

My family's been in Glasgow 
Since Saint Mungo was a bairn
My Da he was a boatwright
'Twas a trade he had me learn 

Aye but I's a restless lad
An' struck out on my own
For nigh on two and twenty years
The wide world did I roam

I've stown away in oxcarts and
Dined with Turkish royalty
I've climbed glaciers o'er in Canada
And sailed the Indian sea

When I returned to Scotland 
I'd learnt a thing or two 
Would ye hear my admonitions, lad? 
Pray, tell them to me true!

~ III - The Sage Imparts Wisdom (As Sages Do) ~

Well first ye see, there's Confidence
Ye must look a man in the eye
And keep your shoulders squarely back 
This today's in scant supply 

A man's friends are his family 
Wherever may he be 
Though brothers ye may sorely lack 
A true friend's as good to ye

Lastly be not in a rush to
Leave thy mark upon the age
For only two, three, four score years
Have ye wisdom 'nough to wage

~ IV - I Meet Bonny Abigail ~

'Twas about this time a-night
A ruddy girl with auburn hair
Drew upon our table and
Sat down 'side MacIntyre

Now must you so prater on,
She said patting his head
I'm sure our guest is weary
And longs but for his bed

The words she spoke were kindly
Yet she had no Scottish brogue
Miss, are ye not from Glasgow then
If I may be so bold?

You're quite the perceptive one
Replied Abigail
Though I've lived in Scotland half my life
From America I hail

For when I was but a young girl 
Not more than ten and three
My dear Papa, a whalin' man
Was lost upon the sea

Having never known my mother
I'd then to make my way alone
Whilst trav'lin' Seumas found me and 
Kindly took me to his home

He's like a father to me hence
And in his Inn I serve
Though I've a mind to strike out again 
One day if I've the nerve

~ V - Revelry, and I Take My Leave ~

Aye, America lives in ye lass
Spoke Seumas with a grin
A fine proprietor ye'll one day make 
Of yer own New England Inn

But the hour has grown late, my dears
And to rest 'tis nearly time
So let us toast one wee dram more
And sing of auld lang syne

We laughed and drank and drank and sang
We merry travelers three
And I thanked my Lord, such friends to meet
Though we must soon part company 

On the morrow I set out again and
Bid a fond farewell
To the one true Sage of Glasgow and
The lovely Abigail 

Oct. 2, 2017

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Ten: a Dark Love Story

I travel in time twenty-five years
And see my lover in the passenger seat
Shifting currents gliding us toward
The tangled fates that we must meet

So many reasons why to go 
But I can't see beyond these walls of stone
The oceans between us only grow
And who we are truly can't be known

You hold out a tattered glove 
And remember the coming winter chill
I scratch out your name on the wall
And meekly accept my morning pill

I will send you a thought like a butterfly
That at least we're both still alive
You will chase it away with a whispering hand
The very moment it does arrive

August 27, 2016
For "Rock 'n Roll Rhyme Fest" poetry contest

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If Only

If only you could hear me sing
Maybe you’d forget your pain
Sometimes I try to conjure you 
An effort that’s always in vain 

If only you believed in me
Maybe I’d be fit to fight 
Sometimes I only seem to be 
A pallid, weak and starving wight

If only words didn’t fail me so 
Maybe then you’d know my love
Sometimes when I dream of you
I imagine that’s enough 

August 2, 2020

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Take a Knee

Take a Knee
Let’s call it a day
We’ve been over this 
‘Til there’s naught else to say

Take a knee 
Don’t make a sound 
My will is Power 
Now get on the ground 

Take a knee 
One day you’ll see
When I’ve got the gun
Justice is Me

May 29, 2020

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Philosophers Waltz

This is a song about nothin’ 
‘Cause I don’t have nothin’ to say 
And now’s not the time to not say it
That’s why I’m here singin’ today 

The new days lay so far behind us 
The past stretches out up ahead 
The ancient prophets have spoken
But we ain’t heard a word that they said

You can’t tell nobody nothin’
‘Cause that’s all that anyone knows
But you love to hear what you’re made of
That’s why you’re at all of my shows 

Believin’ and seein’ ain’t knowin’
Knowledge ain’t necessarily so’s
But I believe that I know that I love you
‘Cause that’s just the way the song goes

I wrote this song about nothin’
‘Cause nothin’ is somethin’ to most
And that’s why we’re singin’ and dancin’
This waltz with the Philosopher’s ghost

July 18, 2020

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Mangrove

Tiny black crabs climb
Up and down my arms and waist
As I drink the humid air

And taste of the salt
That the heron also knows
When she snatches at the clams

That lay at my feet,
Reflect color of my face
In shades of black, red and white

Details | Andrew Jacob Jung Poem

The Ballad of Poor Henrietta

Dr. George Gey from Johns Hopkins Hospital
Was looking for cells that would be reproducible
Of their own accord for the benefit of medicine
And lo and behold one day found the perfect specimen
And how he acquired it didn't rattle his conscience
Because there weren't any rules then that governed the science
So he made them immortal or maybe God did that
Then he gave them to others who sold them for profit
And the cells multiplied and aided discovery
And they probably will help cure cancer one day

But where did they come from, the specimen's human?
Those cells were extracted from a mother, wife, woman
Poor Henrietta or maybe Loretta
Was a work-a-day lady who hailed from Virginia
She married her cousin and bore him five children
Then after the war steel work took them to Maryland 
One winter's day Hennie felt her womb knotted
"Hennie," said Day, "we should go to Johns Hopkins"
"Henrietta, you're pregnant but there's something else growing
And what's in your system for sure we're not knowing" 
So commencing the testing and treatment for cancers
But for all of the prodding came not any answers

At age thirty-one Henrietta died painful
And to her baby Deborah she'd be a guiding angel
So imagine her shock when she learned about HeLa
The cell line immortal that came from her mama
As reporters and charlatans flocked to their family
Some of them claimed they could gather owed money
But more than the money was the need to acknowledge
What their mother had given and pay her due homage

So bear with me now as I offer this paraphrase
Of the beautiful refrain that her headstone articulates:

In loving memory of phenomenal Hennie
A woman wife mother who touched the lives of many
Here lies HeLa her cells helping mankind eternally
As the Love forever to you from your family

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Madness

The giants appear 
When winter skies clear 
To combat the march 
The battle is here 
Bearing the lance 
As the drive to advance 
Through the war of the floor 
And of four takes their stance 
And only one thing 
To acquire the Ring 
Of the giant that triumphs 
And calls himself King

Details | Andrew Jacob Jung Poem

Prayer For a Telephone Lineman

Each day I climb a dozen poles 
Or venture into underground holes 
To run the lines that carry tones 
Of voices into people's phones 
Protect me Lord as I climb high 
The poles that reach into the sky 
And please, Lord, catch me should I fall 
But better that not happen at all! 
And as I crawl through dark, small spaces 
Don't let me get stuck in one of those places! 
And Lord, give me a sturdy truck, 
And trusty tolls and lots of luck 
Because my job isn't glamorous 
Or thrilling, hip or amorous 
But it can be fun, though kind of scary 
Which is why I need you to be wary 
And make sure I come home okay 
At the end of every day 
And as I run each telephone line, 
I'll thank you Lord, for making this job mine

Details | Andrew Jacob Jung Poem

Mr Baseball

You've been comin' to me live since I was six years old
Part of almost every single summer that I've known 
You tell us when it's Miller Time and that was just a bit outside
For almost fifty years and one hell of a ride 

Chorus:
You must be sittin' in the front row
Thank you for bringing us along
We're all sittin' in the front row
Get up get up get outta here gone

Beer made this city famous and our team's named for it too
But neither one would be as much fun if it weren't for you
Come on out you boys and girls while there's still some daylight
We'll roll out the barrel and make some memories tonight

(Chorus)

Some will say our pastime's day has been here and gone 
One hundred fifty years of history tells me that they're wrong
So sons and fathers, moms and daughters let's all raise our glass
And toast to Mr. Baseball and tell them to kiss our {EDIT}

(Chorus)

Opening Day - March 29, 2018