AT HOHENSALZBURG – By Ray Gallucci (in Salzburg, Austria) Upon this mountain high All comers I defy With walls that can’t be scaled And Gates in iron veiled. Above my Town of Salt, I, Hohensalzburg Fort, Defend where Mozart grew And Von Trapp legend too. And though I may be old, My fires’ embers cold, My memory is […]
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ON BEING SAFE His mantra starts out, “Warm, clean, comfortable.” He’s had his share of troubles — health, work, relationships. He’s never been consoled to hear, “Others have it so much worse.” Why would that make him feel better? How many people go hungry, combing dumpsters for food, or sleep in cardboard boxes in freezing weather? Others […]
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When I pile up cut tomatoes, red onion, and radishes on top of romaine lettuce, I think of the hands that picked, cleaned, packed, and loaded them on trucks, carried them to cold rooms arranged them on shelves. As I remember stories of my father, a new comer a child-laborer in another era in another country, I say a […]
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FLIPPING OUT Every seven-fifty grand Earth performs a sleight of hand When magnetic north and south Make a total turnabout. Sun does same each dozen years Minus one, when sunspots clear. Relatively quick event Due to plasma turbulent. Earth contains no plasma hot, Just a core of molten rock. But this has the same effect, Quite […]
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Surf Vibes I was having surf vibes on my surf board. Trying to catch a wave. The pristine, ultra white beaches against the sea was enough to take my breath away.
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WHERE NONE HAS GONE BEFORE Though we arrived just yesterday In geologic time, Appears we’ve had too much to say, And none of it sublime. Repeated cometary blasts, The forces needed to Turn species into fossils past When time was overdue. Like plague of locusts, we can scourge Wherever we alight. Primeval ecosystems purge. We’re quite […]
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“ONLITTLE CAT FEET”* Pussyfooting around the bush, Shoving not once beyond the push, Mincing words as semantic ploy’s Wanting hamburger, eating soy. Rather than a direct approach, We have Casper who’s milking toast, So afraid to communicate What exactly we like or hate. God forbid! We might give offense! Tell the truth, with B.S. dispense! Step […]
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LA BÊTE DE GÉVAUDAN: 1764-1767 (THE BEAST OF GEVAUDAN) (Based partly on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_Gevaudan and translations from http://www.dinosoria.com/bete_gevaudan.htm and http://facteurx.chez.com/betegevaudan.htm) What devastated Central France three centuries ago? “A Wolfman Beast” said those who glanced and dodged this deadly foe. “La Bête de Gévaudan” – from Hell some thought this demon came. Yet only kids and women killed, no […]
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THE HORSE’S TALE (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_Horse) The story of the Trojan Horse Owes little to Homeric source. Its mention in the Odyssey’s About as brief as brief can be. It took a Roman to explain (Descendence from the Trojans claim) The tale of Grecian subterfuge, Epitome of classic ruse. For Virgil in Aeneid’sverse Records events of equine curse, Although […]
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Fast Food Service – Frank De Canio The one girl commandeers my frothy shake. The other, wary of the method used to garner it, starts probing in her wake, in the event due process was abused. And I feel safer by the measured means she musters to make certain of fair play. But having validated the machine’s efficiency, she […]
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