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GIVE THANKS

Give thanks for every step you take

that you can make it,

thanks for each thought

that you can think it.

Bless each moment's constant rebirth

then give thanks for the bounty of mother earth.

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New Year's Eve 2

The Champagne
has left our heads swimming,
feeling idiotic and in love
as two young lovers
skinny-dipping at midnight,
readying to leap into the darkness
of another year 
with only the compass
of our foolish passion 
to guide us.

-

I have drunk so much the dead are 
coming back to me,
the ones we crossed arms
and promised not to forget,
ferrying back across
the dark waters of m...

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A rose garden at altitude under occupation

 

 

The unpurged images of day

Will not give me away to complacency

Even after fifty years of Chinese

Occupation we Tibetans continue

To resist, especially in mid-winter

When we picture our rose garden,

The secret garden of our soul,

A place where all that is, is good 

And all that is, is fine

Is writ in large, in watery wine:

Written in a tender-script divi...

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Also by John E Marks:

CALCULUS | Poem for an anonymous Moorish Poet on the defeat at Seville November 1248 | The flowers of the forest | Lost in translation | To the crags, where eagles soar | A winter blossoming | A continuing calvary | To the Ghost-dancers of the Sioux | Manchester | Forget-me-not | Call it dreaming | Christmas roses | Wild is the way | Tabula Rasa | For Cathy, poet | On the Narrow road | Love will tear us apart, again | The Alpha and Omega | Nothing more | Burnham Beeches with Anna, 1985 | The solitary rose of your breath | A shadow behind the sun | Suttee |

OLD YEAR - NEW YEAR

As Father Time now wipes an eye and takes a long look ahead

Past a moment  when half the world celebrates...with the other snug in bed,

Let us take stock and ponder whether we really did the best we could

In the days of the year that now fade away - like dusty bluebells in a wood.

Did we fail when called upon to act or say the things we ought?

Did we shrink from giving.when the most...

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Also by M.C. Newberry:

WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AROUND | CHARITY AND CHARITIES |

Invitus et al

Invitus das da spang

Invitus boot ma link

Corga mi slank innerdank

Pobe na fang ma yade

Dr flik.

 

Oh oh mozzie brittel

Flag bon fang da boot

Na clagger

Na yark

Na mudder ban ittle.

 

Wranfler fi bornet:. VC Pkinki

 

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Also by Tommy Carroll:

2000 miles | t h i n k i n g s i d e w a y s |

Old Year Eve"

This last day off to sleep

It was great to see it weep

 

365 days went rolling by

Only 1/4th left to die

 

Shall i cry, bidding goodbye

So many memories, i need to cry

 

Nineteenth year of a Millennium celebration 

Making it's way to handsome jubilation 

 

All the lessons learned and unlearned 

Gifted us with hope, peace and felt loved

 

As the evening ...

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Small Promises

Out there beyond the hill

Lights twinkle in time with distant voices

Preparing for the new year,

Making small promises of things to come,

Promising small victories of things to overcome.

 

What will they remember

When they look back at the year,

The fickle promises collapsing around them

Or the achievements made,

Or the constant redirections to get them through anothe...

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Also by kimberly:

Recurring Dream | Cold Rushing In | More... | How We Begin | Sensations | In the Dead of Winter | Wine Thursday | Weekly Sessions | Climbing up the Walls | Daydreaming | Looking Back | Name That Tune | Searching | Delicate | The Train |

new yearpromisesresolutions

New Year

Discard the ageing twighlight,

Embrace the soothing dawn,

The seduction of change, do not fight,

There's a chance to be re-born.

 

You see hope glimmering,

Amongst the shards of defeat,

The rays of belief,

Amongst the rain and the sleet.

 

Mourn no more your weary feet,

Profane is your sorrow and despair

The new year is here to greet,

So surrender to your fut...

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Also by Charlie White:

Date night 1 |

I want just us to be!!

I love you

This is the only truth

I want us to be

That is what my heart feels

So don't play with me

Just sink it in

Let things be

I just want us to be

It's my only prayer

So don't mess with it

Just settle all affair

Dark or light

Black or white

Sad or happy

Everything belongs us to be

Life or death

Freedom or not

Till my last breath

I want just...

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No Words to Explain

No words can explain
 

They ask me why, what do you see

I have no words to explain

 No reason why she is working for me 

 

Millions of people will be better than any reason

Millions of notions will trump her by far

 No reason why she is raising the bar 

 

Her smile is in the breeze of the sea

 My heart is at peace, to let it be

 Her kindness, like the waves washin...

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I Am a Naughty Ditty

I Am a Naughty Ditty

 

I am a naughty ditty

I joined the saucy crowd

Drove moderators round the bend

For speaking up too loud

 

To pay for my transgressions

They'll dig me deep (a grave)

At midnight they will Archive me

Because I can't behave

 

 

Eth? I can't help it......I'm tearing up.....

 

Don't fret pet.....You can still dig it up.....

 

It w...

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Also by Don Matthews:

LMS Is Taking Off | London Smog and New Research | Abou Ben Adhem for Today's Poets | Plink, Plink, Plink | 10,000 Miles to your Blank Screen | Three Christmas Poems From Downunder | I've Just Got a Shock About Santa | Governed by a Two-Edged Knife | I Was Wrong | Scriptwriter | Supertramp. Ahead of Their Time (1974) | Meeting Turns to Crap | Ethel and Bert | 40, 42, 41, 44 | A Perfect Fit | Write-Off | The Letter Writer | Crowder | But I Like Helium Balloons | Side-glancing in an Argentinian Cafe | The Newsagent | Publisher Wanted | Doomy Gloomy | Does No-one Know Where Rose Is ? | Brains to Practice On | The Lady of the GPS | Fluffer Round With Flowery Words | What is The Like-Minders Society ? | Learning Haiku – Important Point |

Enough

The humm of distant traffic gently fills my ears,

It will pass us by, our proximity soon forgot,

It will rapidly move beyond our confusion and tears,

In short, it will do what we cannot.

So many memories to cherish down the years,

So many moments to never be forgot,

But I'm tired of being tested to comfort your fears,

In the end, I'm either good enough as me, or I am not.

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Also by Jason Bayliss:

Darkling Shadow | Truth & Lies | Haemo-spherical | House Of Glass | Love Doesn't Always Mean Like | Cracked Pot and Scuffed Pan | Responsible | Stand Up | Stoic | I'm Tired | Angular | Highway Code |

...In The Ink...

Stellar wounds flickering…

Can I ask a question of the lights I cannot seem to touch?

Why is it so deeply you fascinate gazes in horrendous distances?

 

Come closer to feel the street.

 

I say your anguish is remarkable.

A fall to the very whim.

Root; antique war weaponry.

Seeds; the overbearing gust.

Those dreams beneath the stones.

Human dexterity; textures of ea...

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Also by Mimi:

...In Admiration... | ...Things With No Sound... | ...Nevertheless... | ...After These Hours... |

Homeless,for a key and a door I continuously pray !

I sit outside a bank appealing for loose change,

I'm looked down upon as if something strange.

People pass as if I am not there,

Avoiding even giving me a glare.

 

Unfortunately there are many of us on the street,

Getting something in my cup is quite a feat.

Yesterday was tough I was soaked to the skin,

But ended up with a cup with something in.

 

Eight quid in change...

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Also by hugh:

'Twas the night before Christmas | A tribute to Sara Britcliffe our new M.P. A baby of the house,only 24 ! | Spinning a yarn |

The Fool

I lost out to the fool

who listened only to the proud

shut his ears to the complex

and shouted banalities out loud.

 

I lost out to the fool

who believed only the vain

graduated in the university

of who can I ridicule and blame.

 

I lost out to the fool

who trod the well-paced path

never strayed from its borders

now he will suffer my wrath.

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Also by Jon Stainsby:

Lead me on | Beautiful You | The ledge | Goodbye voice |

Fool

SHED

SHED

love
unrequited
rejected
spited
jealousy
couldn't fight it
enraged
labelled
tagged
devastation
regurgitation
stigmatized
begged
cried
ostracized
drug hazed
guise
self
loathed
rough
road
facing
gales
bond
bails
shaemeless
aimless
bedded
shredded
romped
stomped
stamped
tramp
pills...pills...pills
buried
still
suppression
depression
inside
dead
shed...s...

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Also by cindylee loucks:

EVERYDAY | SEASON OF ME | UGLY DUCK |

POEMS by cindy lee loucks

Hashbrown Town

I took a trip down Hashbrown Town,
To take a look around, and found,
Everything there, was textured-triangle
With angles rounded, and not at all Square

Unlike Toblerone Town, where everything is,
Monochrome mocha, with sides geometrically true
T'was more akin to deep-down, Old Dorito City way
Having uneven slopes, covered in a crispy-golden hue

Milling around, downtown Hashbrown Town,
...

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Also by Doug Berry:

A Nature of London | Searching for the Spirit of the Season |

Baby In A Shoe Box

 

Baby in a shoe box

left in a dumpster

behind the grocery store

weak but alive

barely breathing

 

found by a tramp

looking for stale bread

now he has a baby

in a shoe box

 

who left it and why?

someone hoped

it would not be found

a burden

that could not be dealt with

the mother changed her mind

had second thoughts

the father distant

unin...

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Also by d.knape:

Planning My Own Funeral | NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS | Christmas Lights | Christmas Wish | Mother's Lament | Mother | Public Domain | Things My Mother Taught Me | Letter To My Daughter | Crescent Moon | Men In Homes | COWS---A poem by O.L. Buzzerd | See Something, Write Something | We Live To Eat | Then It Hit Me | KOREA | RATS | Book End | Easy Pickings | Whale Fall | Vaults Of Wisdom | Stupid Old People | Waiting Room | IT | Solid Ground | IF THE TURKEY COULD TALK | My Enemy |

Finding a Way Down

Finding a way down
Twisting and turning
Orient crucial at every turn
Wait for the water to still

A mirrored pool
Thoughts already had,
A breath already taken.
The dissociation begins.

Pieces falling out of place
A calm mind essential.
No mind present
Left now right, up down, now and never.

The broken string
Dissonant promise of love.
All is lost, and never was
The ill father c...

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Also by nightflower:

Come. Let's swim. | Untitled - 2 | Untitled. | Poet by nature, not by practice. |

The noise of life

You could let
A lot of things
Bother you 
If you wanted to
The daylight 
Breaking your sleep
The darkness 
Of cold mornings
The noise 
Of life 
Dragging you
Along
Passing you by
Taking you in
And 
Under
The people
Asking too much
Or too little
The gaps 
Where things ought
To be
But aren't 
The traffic and 
The travel
When 
Everything 
Should 
Stand still 
The freeze an...

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Also by Twilbury Wist:

Shopping | The Aunty Phoenix |

Selfish

You call me selfish for trying to take what is mine, and mine only, and do with it as I wish

 

Your claim and the belief behind it, is even more so

 

And, though you may not realize, all you are doing is prioritizing your pain over mine

 

You pacify your fear of heartache with my suffering

 

So tell me true, if you were in my shoes - if you overlooked your own feelings to e...

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Also by In Her Head:

Truthful Lie | Garden Greed | What Sits Behind Blue Eyes |

selfishmankind's selfishnessselfishnessEmpathysympathymineIfIWishIt

Burn

This abusive relationship
Was never supposed to take a life
When it's all you think you deserve
A death wish can seemed like love

I believe you that no one understands
Societies can never true love
The road was traveled just abandoned 
By the fuckers that gave it a promise
Leaving wasn't an option

We're all looking for a home with a nameless face
The person that loves us the most is ...

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Also by Mikey V Kinsey:

I Was Never a Enough | Giant | (untitled) |

46

I wish I could rewind to before 

When things seemed much easier 

Somewhat childlike and innocent 

Tinged with a longing for something more 

 

Your way with words 

Had me falling in love 

While I was busy falling too deep 

You kept me at arms length, too afraid to try 

 

I want you to come home to me 

Nestle in between warm blankets 

With the windows wide open 

...

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Also by Cait Abbott:

The Greenhouse | Ghosts Passing in the Night | The Marks | Storm in a Teacup | Suffer | Do Not Disturb | Limbo | Ascend |

Betwixt

Inspired by this time space we currently find ourselves in....

The land of betwixt and between

What's been

Versus 

What is unseen

Next year hints

A clarity

Of vision

Perfect for

Leap year

Decisions!

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Also by Ruth O'Reilly:

Christmas Angels | Mistletoe Mistakes | The gift of words | Out of body | Solstice state of mind | Christmas game of cat & mouse | I-solation |

Stuck in the middleChristmasNew yearNew decade

Forest Fire

 

STOP the world I want to get off
with you, in a space  
neither left nor right, east or west.
It's time to feel the reaction to all our action,
feel the recoil of our scattergun shot.
And feeling undeserving of sleep
we yearn the stronger to dream.
And in this dream space, and thanking God
we are here to help one another,
in this wood, blundering through the trees,
forced this way b...

Read and leave comments (2)

Also by Adam Whitworth:

Rising Waters | The Pledge | A Sonnet Of Sorts | Along English Lines | Let's All Dye Our Hair Grey | On Being Asked | Neighbour To A Mirror | Dressed In Easy Colours |

Oldest Teenagers

 

I need you to be 

This for me

 

I know it’s not 

Who you are

 

But it’s a start 

And I’ll be

 

That 

For you

 

And sometimes

We’ll trade places 

 

Without 

Telling each other

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Also by Robert C Gaulke:

life- the movie | you're such a nurse | last year | Strangers | Rhyme Scheming | Security | At happiness headquarters |

A NIGHT OF REFLECTION

 

A NIGHT OF REFLECTION.

Some is for healing other times learning or growth

Each time different but the same a soul level oath 

There's no words to explain although life lessons were had

Each one a revelation some happy some sad

And as I move forward l left my painful memories in the wake

Because my heart rises with more love and less hate

This levels only reached through n...

Read and leave comments (0)

Job Loss

A job loss
Can feel
Like someone died

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Shirley Smothers:

A Child | Blank Page | Poetic Highs | Candle |

JobLossGrief

Alpine Village in France

Coffee white treetops

at elevated heights.

Road awash with ski shoes

and Polaroid eyes,

to view a summit

adorned by a solar mood.

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by David Addington:

DIY SHAMAN | BRITAIN SINCE THE NOUGHTIES | How to survive the apocalypse | It’s Rock Jim, but not as we know it | Birds play war |

t'Posh Lad

I had cause to question if I was suited to a “posh” university like Durham as soon as I landed there.

It was Freshers’ Week and there were any number of events planned to welcome us.  One was a meet-‘n’-greet for our hall corridor.  But let me say from the off that Durham, viewing itself as Britain’s third best university,  didn’t have halls of residence but pretentiously aped Oxford and Cambri...

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Also by John Coopey:

AWAITING A LEADER (A CHRISTMAS CAROL) | LE PERE FOUETTARD | THE BODY | "BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE" | HE'LL HAVE TO GO | "ALL LIES AND JEST" | COS HE'S A LIAR (BUT YOU'RE NOT BOTHERED THAT HE LIES | THE MORE THAT IT CHANGES |

Humanity Washed Ashore

Refuges looking everywhere

for shelter, peace

and a morsel to eat 

are driven away from all shores.

The sea-water has swept away

many hopes for life.

As ruthless currents overturn their boat

their bodies swarm the seashore

where vultures and death-eaters sit expectant.

They are thankful

to the inventors of war.

Today humanity has been crowned

while many dreams h...

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Full Circle

When I was young I loved a man
Who loved me as no other had
Alas, he had to set me free
For at the time it could not be
I knew we had to part our ways
Yet in our hearts an ember stayed
Now and then it did ignite
A flame of memories, a guiding light
A beacon not to be ignored
Ever drawing us toward
The time again when we could be
Together in simplicity.

Here that time, at last, has co...

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Assay

An uprooted tree lies ebbing in the street.
The one who pledged everyone with a refuge
is herself in exigent need.

People come, see the fallen one.

Not a soul seems to be concerned.
Zero, zilch, nada, none.

They don't remember
those cloistered, sizzling infernos of June
those solitary, shivering nights of witchy new moons

and those

sodden, sultry volleys of pouring monsoons

...

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Also by Chandra S.:

Laissez-faire |

naturedeathtreevaluesvalueobservationaccomplishmentsselfishness

3 x new poems published

Seasons greetings...

After been away for a few days over Christmas, have come back to discovethree new poems of mine have appeared in three different journals.

Enjoy!

Andy N

 

"Exit Wounds" has appeared on Panoply

https://panoplyzine.com/Exit-Wounds-Andy-N/

 

"Christmas from Winter to Spring" has appeared on Cajun Mutt Press https://cajunmuttpress.wordpress.com/2019/12/25/c...

Read and leave comments (0)

No Drive

Soon self-driving cars will be the norm

And we will long for the days behind

Because we are unable to just go for a ride

Without a destination in mind

Read and leave comments (2)

Also by Joe Marcello:

I Need a Raise | Looking Good | Perfect Strike |

Recognition universally

Recognition Universally

Thursday,26th December 2019

 

Not the wish alone

something more has to be done

yesterday has gone

today only something has to be done

 

if it was the world of dreamers

many areas may usher

where there won't be any reality

but only frustration and desirability

 

who will take the responsibility?

and restore the credibility

it has ...

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Also by Hasmukh Mehta:

Imagery world | Poetry is an art | Nature is our savior | Trade & territory | Find the heaven |

Jadia4708au

Signs of Christmas

We want so much for snow to fall

But through it all, nature predominates

Many signs though of festive proof

even though no snow appears on roof

 

Berries protuberant, and holly too

Ice forming amidst the water blue

of lake or pond and a stream or two

As the signs of winter transpire and ensue

 

Carpets of golden leaves still show

But alas no emergence of sleet or s...

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Also by Rick Varden:

At Christmas time with bells on | We Can’t Breath | 2051 A Space Oddity | Drive of my Life |

Looking at Life Through Stained Glass

Can we really see all that is before us,
or just a blurry image of possible lies?
Can we feel what we want?
or is our judgment too unclear?
Can we taste, hear, sense what is right there,
or is the devil's mark obscuring our view?
We allow others to hide our sight slightly
Not seeing what we want,
but what the world wants us to assume
Can we rid our self of these blind folds?
Can we as hu...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Dominique Lucas:

The Voices | My Red Chrysanthemum | Let me in | Dying Hope | No Escape | Lost Dreams | One Way Mirror | Released | New Spectrum |

Hunting The Clean Boot

A barbaric tradition soaked in blood.
As foxes flee for life in forest and wood.
Around lenient laws hunters find a way.
To get their cruel kicks on Boxing Day.
'Trail' and fox hunting are just the same.
They are illegal hunts, in all but name.
Why the Terrier Men, if no intent to kill?
Saddled Redmen, destroying life at will.
Unenforced Laws broken, blatant to see.
A blind eye turned by ...

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Finding Himself in Nature

Deep in the heart of the forest

He lingers a moment to rest

He knows well his destination

Two hours meander his estimation

Finding the oldest tree of all, he hesitates

Sat, leant against the trunk he meditates

 

High within the mountain peaks

Within himself answers he seeks

All the world below somewhere

Quietly he finds his spot up there

Sheltered by cairn, thought...

Read and leave comments (0)

meditationpersonal-freedomself-knowledge

Point of view

The river is mostly white 

Clouds of ice drifting

Left to right

The sky is pure blue

 

River and sky 

Have switched places 

 

Where does the river go 

At unhurried pace 

Whilst the island and 

I are standing still?

 

The river will always be 

There

I will disappear (so will you, reader)

 

River and I 

Have switched places

 

Both trying

...

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Also by Jeannot:

Self discovery | The dead of life | Winter in Florida |

INSIDE A CHRISTMAS CARD

INSIDE A CHRISTMAS CARD

Inside a Christmas card
From prisoners afraid,
In a factory in China
Where nothing much is paid,
A handwritten message
From poor souls enslaved,
In oppressive conditions
Where festive things are made.

Telł somebody beg the authors
The truth about this trade,
That those who make big money
Our wretched lives degrade
So in this season of goodwill
When joy sho...

Read and leave comments (1)

poetryWelsh Poets.David SubacchiDavid Subacchi

only poetry

only poetry

can explain my 

coarsened hands made so unsteady

muffled heart beat - louder, heavy

trusting eyes fallen too quickly 

flaring skin

an impish grin

 

only poetry

and you

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by Niharika Shah:

New York City | Write for me? | pink strawberry milk |

poetryeyessmilefreeverseshort poemimagery

Small Victories

Taking to the ocean
distance put between
my flippant will
and things to conquer
heart beasts
tugging at my sleeve

Turning, turning, turning
from that incessant chasing
the bay recedes, city lights 
swallowed by the horizon
heart beasts
circling overhead

Test me, am I strong enough?
I try not to be broken
daily trials so choking
can I survive them?

At night, rocking in the wav...

Read and leave comments (4)

Also by Tom:

There Will Be Birds In The Morning | The Truth Is Sadness | Leave Yourself Behind | Hyde Park Winter Rink | Ride Twice | Get A Room | House On The Edge of Town |

addictionaddictionshonestyliving right

Christmas Beat

Christmas Eve has finally arrived the celebrations have begun

The streets are full of joy gaiety and festive fun

Anticipation and joy on children’s smiling faces

As Santa loads up his sleigh for the Xmas run

A snowman smiles as he shivers in the garden

Are you happy excited are you ready to burst

Give me a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie 

To fill my peckish tummy and quen...

Read and leave comments (4)

The Bell

The bell is simple and historical.

It is used for praise and warning.

It is strong and resilent .

It has a gorgeous and reflective exterior.

The sound is like that of an angel echoing through the world.

It is a heirloom piece that can tell a story like nothing else can.

My bell is all of this, that is for sure.  

I can't say that I want to collect bells - I just want to admire...

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Also by Robert Williams:

The Things I have noticed |

Pioneers

Pioneer,
a person who is among the first to explore
or settle a new country or area.

Settler,
a person who moves with a group of others
to live in a new country or area.

The first pioneers to this land mass, arrived here
(it is estimated)
between 25,000 and 12,000 years ago.

They were the ancestors of the people,
because of geographical errors,
we have named American Indians.

T...

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Also by Fred Nicholson:

Kool Aid | mere illusions. | a New error | the Balance | 5 Bananas | Look back and see | Inside - Out | Let's talk . . . |

On My Way.

All black, on galleons, 
walk surf, breathing.
Maybe some cars, 
maybe phrases.

Read and leave comments (0)

shortpoem

Missing

What is this empty feeling again inside me? 

Ahh...it's you again. 

Yes, you come to mind from time to time. 

At that time in the past...I could swore I don't but...

now every new thought makes me doubt. 

Is it possible I really loved you? 

Naaaah but I knew this could never work.

The past me is more clever than present me. 

Or not. 

I wish I could skip these 10 years. 

...

Read and leave comments (0)

Also by FruFru:

A letter to Ex-friends ;) |

Show more entries …

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