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Hoopla

 

The hoopla over New Years day
always leaves me laughing,
what is the myth we're dealing with
that celebrates each passing,
Reflect on what we did this year
forgive us our trespassing,
acknowledge we are lucky just
to see more sins amassing.
 
 

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Who Nose

 
Suppose your nose
never had those two holes,
how would you sneeze
or blow your dang nose?
If your nose was closed
it would soon explode,
which brings you right back
to holes in your nose.
 
~PO WIT

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Butterflies

 
If doves are Peace
then Butterflies are Grace
their sighting lights
each happy face
 
Oh look we say
a Butterfly
announcing them
pleasantly surprised
 
Such distant flights
for their small size
their delicate strength
is optimized
 
Their charm embraced
when they arrive
we delight in the sight
of Butterflies.
 

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This & That

 

I once had IT
but then through the years
I lost IT.
 
IT lasted only briefly
then I got married and had kids
and IT slipped away.
 
but IT is not so important anymore
I really don't care if I have IT or not
IT was only a distraction.
 
In place of it
I have This.
 
But THIS requires some adjustment
THIS is not the same as IT
but THIS is bette...

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Sardine

 

Here I lie
next to my mates
 
Tucked tightly in
I await my fate
 
Soon I'll be consumed
on dinner plate
 
Some like my taste
some sooner wait.
 
 
 

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Straw-Colored Grasses

 

The straw-colored grass
paints the roadsides
in the pastures
following the fences
rolling over hills
such golden grass
the color of honey
silently moving as
the wind ripples through it
straw-colored meadows
flaxen waves
undulating in the wind
soft and flowing
it shadows the season
it whispers-
Winter.
 
 
 

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After

 
After all the greetings
the heartfelt hugs
the lights and music
the conversation
the food
the clink of wine glasses
the gifting of presents
the laughter of grand-kids
the gathering up of wrapping paper and bags
after the leftovers are put away
the dishes washed
the floor swept
then finally the leaving
the hugs and kisses
the poignant goodbyes
the tail lights disappearing
int...

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The Christmas Sampler

 

A small sample of words
a collection of morsels
given with love
and appreciation
take one
or some
there is no limit
savor their taste
let them roll off your tongue
sweet treats
to compliment ideas
some surprising
some for sharing
they are all different
yet delicious-
unwrap and enjoy-
a chocolate poem.
 
 
...

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Cedar Tree Christmas

 

CEDAR TREE CHRISTMAS
 
About two weeks before
grandpa would go out into the woods
and chop down a Cedar tree for Christmas
then he'd throw it on a sled
(not a fancy sled like you see on postcards now
but more like a wood pallet)
pulled with chain harness by old Charley
the swayback horse grandpa kept for sentimental reasons
and he'd ...

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Old Oak

 

An ancient oak
sits by the trail
its seen so much
yet it prevails

Through ice and snow
and winds that wailed
in strength survived
all its travails

The old oak is wide
as it is old
seen the march of time
history unfold

Through all it thrived
deep roots still hold
in its great girth
its story told.




 

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Snail

 

A lowly snail will
without fail
 
Make its mark
a slimy trail
 
As it plods along
like reading Braille
 
We know not which
is heads or tail.
 
 
 
 

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Arthritis

 

Moves around my body
like water in a bowl
fluid and becoming
worse as I'm growing old

So cruel it advances
when temperatures turn cold
the pain deep as ever
to the depths of my soul

Joints grow sore and painful
when to it exposed
up and down limbs it travels
it goes unopposed

Like the bite of a hornet
the thorn of a rose
its sting remains with us
we worry it grows.

 

...

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Afterthoughts

 

My ideas
pose no problem
they come to me
at random
at odd times
they are just little ideas
with little forethought
they don't get in the way
of other people's thoughts
they are usually
polite and courteous
most of my ideas
are not original
they are afterthoughts
they come
after a nap.
 
 
 

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Strange Relationship

 

Poet opens up about
his intimate relationship
with words
Twitter goes nuts
Facebook bans him
his wife is happy
he is not in her hair.
 
 
 

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Taking My Finals

 

 
I don't know much
but most of what I do know
I learned from experience
a good teacher but hard and demanding
she never let me slide
or cut me a break
I had to face my mistakes
and admit my failures
had to redo a lot of stuff
delete and continue
still I managed to get through the course
I guess you could give me a grade of C
so I can keep going
I've ...

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Dogs & Trees

 
When dogs meet trees
they get relieved
but give those dogs
some privacy,
it's frowned upon
but their tendency
is for dogs to do it
publicly!
 

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Purple Sage

 

The Purple Sage
has grayish leaves,
the Sage grows gray
kind of like me
 
Some say the Sage
grows dull with age
has not one leaf
with green displayed
 
Still it survives
on occasion may
show purple blooms
like little flames
 
Despite its gray
it still retains
a certain grace-
blooms...

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Bad Road

 

I wish I looked like
a handsome poet
but I don't
I look like an old white guy
 
I have considered surgery
but they said
with my face
it would be risky
 
not that my age has
anything to do with it
it's my face that would be
the drawback
 
it's hard to resurface
years of neglect
 
and miles of
bad road.
 
 
 

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Offensive Coordinator

 

Football teams have
Offensive Coordinators
who teach people
how to be offensive
 
using a chalk board
they outline the basics
hurling insults
offending people's sensibilities
making inappropriate noises
 
what fun it would be
to an Offensive Coordinator
to get paid for being Offensive
to me it comes naturally
 
so I applied for the position
b...

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The Protocol

 

In coffin beds
they let them lay
then ventilate
as families pray
 
Their protocol
is just one way
you must obey
do what they say
 

Move them around

they're in the way
free up a bed
a planned payday
 
The game goes on
only they can play
doctors simply look
the other way.
 

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A Land Without

 

 
After all the statues
have been torn down
where will our history lie?
 
In critical race?
in outer space?
our past since gone awry
 
So one day when
descendants ask 
where we came from and why
 
Our history will be
a mystery
and hence there's no reply.
 
...

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Christmas Tree

 

The Sumac is a scrawny tree
more a bush or shrub than a real tree
it grows along the fence-lines
on hard rock and little dirt
through the barbed wire fences
along the sides of roads
anyplace that is neglected or forgotten
it takes root in next to nothing and somehow thrives
a scrappy tree struggling to get to decent height
it is always in the shadows of larger trees
...

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Left Handed Compliment

 

 
My left hand
does not know what
the right hand is doing
or maybe doesn't care
the left hand has arthritis
the right hand doesn't
the left hand aches in cold weather
whether it is being used or not
still I have to hand it to that hand
it keeps going regardless
it does not work as well as the right hand
and sometimes hurts for no good reason
but when the...

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Like Trees

 

The seasons trees
don autumn leaves

With artist paint
each leaf aflame

But winds will blow
till none are left

Then we will mourn
the season passed

Like leaves we too
see time expire

Another year
a dying fire

Yet we go on
like trees will do

It's Spring that we
look forward to.
 

 

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Contented Cows (warning)

 

Contented cows
give lots of milk
 
Some gets in bucket
some gets spilt
 
Cows give milk
that's smooth as silk
 
But in behinds
are strongly smelt!
 
~Po Wit
 
 
 

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An Autumn Day

 

The wind whips up
the temperature drops
and all the trees
lose their leaves
the trees now naked and stark
against a dark gray sky
the leaves are now free
to go where they may
tossed by the wind
they run in hordes
down the street
like gangs of school kids
dodging cars
and playing chase
they twirl and swirl
caught in currents of the wind
wild and ...

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Mistakes

 

 
Stupidity takes practice
I practice it every day
I make some kind of
stupid mistake
that was avoidable and
easily preventable
 
I knew better but
I did it anyway
it's something
I should be ashamed of
that's why I'm telling you this
in secret
 
Do not tell anyone else
they will think
my condition is just old age
little do they know
I a...

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Mistakes

 

Stupidity takes practice
I practice it every day
I make some kind of
stupid mistake
that was avoidable and
easily preventable
 
I knew better but
I did it anyway
it's something
I should be ashamed of
that's why I'm telling you this
in secret
 
Do not tell anyone else
they will think
my condition is just old age
little do they know
I am nat...

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Proof In The Pudding

 

When men decline
it's obvious
any mirror will agree

The man that's in
the mirror is
not who he used to be

Yet men will lie
about their age
have something up their sleeve

But the truth
is in the pudding
they're the only ones deceived.

 

 

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The Sun Is A Thief

 

The sun comes up
too early now
I run out of time
before sunrise
while I am lost in thought
appreciating the quiet time
all of a sudden
light comes creeping in
through the slats of the blinds
day has arrived
before it was wanted
my quite time stolen
I am robbed of my time
by the brazen sun
so I beg the thief
please return my time
no questions ask...

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Handshakes

 

We used to always
shake hands
men
women
children
even dogs
but then came
the dreaded Covid
and separation became the rule
 
the handshake went away
we could no longer touch
no firm grip
nor limp fish
no closeness whatsoever
because we were afraid
 
now we have this weird
elbow thing
or we simply don't touch at all
we are afraid of ea...

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Opening Night

 
He sat through the whole thing
the middle-school play
even though his back was killing him
from sitting on that hard metal chair
 
it was like sitting on spikes for the old man
his back kept hurting
and no matter how he adjusted
he just could not get comfortable
but these are the things a grandfather does
when his grandson is center stage
giving a great perf...

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Small Town Bakery

 

 
The flavor of a town
lies in its bakery
there on Main Street
one door down
from the barber shop
a small business
it's not size that matters
but the skill of the work
artists in dough
creating warmth
creating goodness
with deserts as puffy as clouds
aromas that permeate the square
you have to go in
a little bit of heaven
right here on earth.
...

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