Category: Poetry
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Alibis Abound
Alibis Lives full of alibisDeny responsibilityCulpability Point the fingerSomeoneAnyone elseThe blame We have ourAlibis Our socialCognitiveDissonanceIntellectual dis-Honesty Puts the lieTo progressiveAnd conservativeClaims of Humanity –LE
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The Heart Of Saturday Night
The Heart Of Saturday Nightby Tom Waits Well, you gassed her up, behind the wheelWith your arm around your sweet one in your OldsmobileBarreling down the boulevardYou’re looking for the heart of Saturday night And you got paid on Friday, your pockets are jinglingThen you see the lights and you get all tinglingCause you’re cruising with…
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Memorial
I met Ray McNiece at a poetry reading, commemorating the Kent State Massacre of May 4, 1970, at Brady’s Cafe in Kent OH, right next to the Kent State campus. He read the first two stanzas of this poem that night. He composed the second two stanzas a year later. We went to see him…
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Irises
Irises bearded Irisespurple and whiteyellow and burgundyrust and pinkand brilliant whitea fixture oftemperate climesflags signalingfond nostalgiathe clarion ofsummer vacationsthe ending of springand the sum … sumsummertime bluesyet to come –LE I love Irises, but don’t get to see them anymore, other than on the internet. They’re not native to the high Sonoran Desert, my current…
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Santa Catalinas
Santa Catalinas under a cerulean skysharp shadows definevertical and diagonalridges and cutaways the stark, austerenorthern boundary ofthe Tucson basinpainted in pinks and graysthe long rays of sunset then disappearghosts in the darkidling over the sleepingcountryside long beforehumanity thrived and will remainlong after we’re gone –LE
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Mid-May Morning Ride
A Mid-May Morning Ride On The Tucson Loop Bright morning sun40 degrees of the eastern horizon Mountains in pale silhouetteNorth, south, and east The mountains to the westBright, jagged and sharpFacing the sun in the eastLike the ragged incisorsOf some carnivorous feral beast Four coteries of weiniesAlmost always in a big hurry A few leisure…
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The Devil Is An Angel Too
The Devil Is An Angel Tooby Janiva Magness Well, you look just like an angel, you sound so bright and true,You seem so sweet coming down my street, but the devil is an angel too,The devil is an angel too.Somehow you seem familiar – haven’t I seen you before?Got a different name, but is it…
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Mid-May Morning Ride On The Tucson Loop
Mid-May Morning Ride On The Tucson Loop Rode out under another pristine skyNot a single cloud shading Sol’s eye The sandy Santa CruzOnce again, bone dry The season of yellowOn pause or at an end A few faded Brittlebush blossomsFluttering pale yellow in the gentle breeze In the High Sonoran ‘dry season’Between the winter rains…
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Guilt
Guilt Guilt like ‘sin’Inventions of societyOf human minds NOT spiritual truthNor mandated by any godWhatever you perceive it be Merely human inventionsJust like the restOf human society –LE Although the most acute judges of the witches and even the witches themselves were convinced of the guilt of witchery, the guilt nevertheless was non-existent. It is…
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Mid Spring Sunny Day Haiku
Sparrows’ songs sunshine,vapor trails across deep blue –dried-out worm… Sol’s prey? The sun’s dream, burningmy shadow on gray concrete –goat-head thorns abound. –LE
CynOp 