Category: childhood
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Mequbbal
Do you ever think that a prophecy is pre-existent somewhere – somehow That a prophet is just returning to the past to drag us kicking and screaming into the future Like our parents lecturing us on the living room couch that someday we would understand Someday is now and we are living that promised future…
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Inside
I still think of dad and how he wouldn’t crawl inside our backyard tent because he knew what the inside of a tent looked like And he vowed that if he survived the war he’d never stick his head inside a tent, again _____ I always wanted a gun to shoot and hold in my…
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Indiana summers
Tonight, I can taste braunschweiger on white bread Red Kool-Aid that left a smiley face Peaches so juicy I ate them on the back steps and Fudgesicles that dripped down my chin onto my shirt I remember playing kick ball in the street Chicken on my bicycle and never turning away Freeze tag and hide-n-seek…
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That guy
I am that guy that guy who stands in a museum up close to a Frankenthaler painting looking at an individual stroke where a brush fiber rises up thinking everything I discern had meaning for the painter I am that guy that guy who stares at a Kahlo piece from across a gallery trying to…
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Fried hotdogs
Fried hot dogs split down the middle Yellow mustard on a plate green olives straight from the jar This is not health food or a recipe from Southern Living This is childhood memories hot summer days on the end of a fork You can savor and burp in the middle of the night 7-2-20
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Barefoot on my daughter’s front porch
Tired and hungry from the night Mustapha whines at the back porch screen. It is my daughter’s house so I won’t let him in I want to listen to birds and sip my coffee quietly before the sun and grand kids rise. I tell him to hush, go somewhere else. He continues his mewling high…
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for Marie
Marie lived in the big house she was born in. She had a baby grand in the parlor and cookies in the kitchen. She was my mother’s friend. She was the pianist for the Masonic hall. She told me I had a good voice. There was a picture on her mantle, of a young woman…
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reflection
while night birds softly awaken the sun you try once again to empty the emotion of loss ___ the anger and arrogance anger of caring so much you hate your gift ___ you sing notes in your head you feel the reverberation inside roll off your tongue into the air ___ you caress notes and…
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The Couch
Change your filthy clothes Before you sit on the sofa Don’t put your feet on the couch If you want to sleep go to your bedroom Sit up straight, so three people can sit down Those cushions don’t belong on the floor You two keep your hands to yourself This ain’t no whorehouse When your…
My husband's poetry 