THE RETIRED ARTIST Such a relief to shut down my temples. I’m just a roof, some columns, an auditorium deep but empty. And, if you’re keeping score, I forgo the easel, the baton, and all that writing across time. If they want me, they can drag me out of what I’ve already accomplished. I plan to be […]
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Age Has Curtains An incident in youth never meant to happen recorded on a pad to be read another time is found decades later in a drawer of socks by the writer who is then on the precipice of age. His reading glasses help him understand who it was and why he did it. Not so funny now. Can’t apologize. He’s […]
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I Traded Ethel for Tiffany I know very little about computers but I use one for basic needs. Poems, stories, not much more. Like some nice women I’ve known, I’ve discovered computers have a mind of their own. They do what they want and expect me to understand. The problem is I never do. I babble in amazement. And like the […]
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ON PORPOISE Am I watching the dolphins Or are they watching me, Somersaulting on backfins, While I swim clumsily? At the junction of our worlds Where the land meets the sea, Somewhat shallow for their twirls, I can stand awkwardly. I’m not native to water; They’re not native to land. Still each other we ought to […]
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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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Making an Attempt An enclosed UBH hospital room is the first step to maintaining my privacy and treat my phobia to the outdoors. The second step is to visit a restaurant and eat a grilled cheese sandwich, along with mashed potatoes. I have a window to view the sky; I don’t need to visit a small park […]
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AN OPEN LETTER TO GOD Dinosaurs lived on this planet for 165 million years and God was patient but then He said “This ain’t working out so good,” and He threw a big rock at the earth. Man has lived here for less than 10,000 years and we’ve done far worse than the dinosaurs did and God’s losing […]
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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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Insomnia The house sleeps, but I am awake, tiptoeing back through my day. So many pieces left lying about, I want to fix them all. They’re too distant though, just beyond my fingertips, yet, squarely between me and my dreams.
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Parents Night Emma used to do real good in school her mother tells her new teacher. It’s Parents Night at Ryland Elementary. Mostly mothers in attendance. What’s the problem, her mother asks. Fifth grade shouldn’t be hard for her. Emma’s never had a grade lower than a B, her mother says. Teacher says Emma doesn’t do her homework and talks a lot in class. Her mother can’t believe it. Says her […]
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