Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Poems

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Freedom


What happens when a man must do
The opposite of what he wants?
Sartre said this is the way to freedom.
Sartre wrote some fascinating
Stories and a novel.
Existentialism is a myth.
A man who goes the opposite
To what he wants goes mad.
Liberated he can be reclaimed.
And that is freedom.
Freedom is comparative to death.


7-10-13


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Shakespeare


No one on the earth is more unlike
Shakespeare. Though I only wanted men,
Celibate for almost 40 years.
My talent wanes, then waxes. Wanes again.


His vast vocabulary was colossal
And various. A star beneath the sun!
Vivid sounds and phrases I can just
Imagine, hardly understanding one.


Shakespeare wasn't crazy. He was clever,
Cleverness transcending simple wit.
Anxiety! I sit alone in Denny's
Writing. Death will be the end of it.


7-10-13

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Samantha


To live for making babies,
And living as she can,
Her husbands all in prison,
Black and white and tan.


A sneak, a thief, a liar,
Like a thing with scales,
Bovine dedication,
Someone does her nails.


Everybody wants her.
Samantha leads the dance.
While I'm here at Denny's,
You too have a chance.


7-10-13


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The Cripple


Disabled, bent and broken,
Dominating smile,
She unassisted hobbles
Down the Denny's aisle.


Sitting at a table
With two other refugees
From the local shelter,
Defenseless, but at ease.


An independent person
In pink and padded shoes,
She's wearing her credentials,
American tattoos.


7-10-13

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The Man


Crippled, bald and aging -
A busboy – no, a man -
Rushing around Denny's
The best he can -


A quarter until midnight -
He must sleep, but where?
The night is dark and humid -
Do I care?


Across the ether – no, he
Doesn't see me stare -
Diligently working
Everywhere -


I'll be 67
In a month or three.
That damned and futile cripple
Could be me.


7-10-13

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SSI


The men who fashioned SSI
Were hateful greedy bastards
Who didn't care for anyone
But Jesus and themselves!
A cat, a rat, a termite couldn't
Live on SSI!
You! The sick!
Go forth and function!
Sick! And live on air!
But god they've got the money
For a dozen different wars!
Patriots of every stripe
Come celebrate the lord!


7-9-13






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