Ideas & Thoughts

  • Uncertain

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    Uncertain Shall I compose a poem on serious issues in our lives Perhaps the illusory nature of time, the non-existence of the self. Or of love, always at the forefront of human concerns. Alas, there are so many odes and sonnets by poets more able That I search for some less crowded place at this…

  • My Julie

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    My Julie I have a vivid memory of her as she stood by my bedside In that hospital bed with only weeks or days before I died She was near midlife at that point, a woman of rare beauty Come after years apart to see me once more, to do her duty Then my body…

  • The Other Day Things Were Going So Well

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    The Other Day Things Were Going So Well The other day things were going so well But in a blink of an eye it all went to hell I’m glad if my poems have brightened your days And perhaps they help you in this life maze

  • We

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    Let’s try to describe us to a visitor from outer spaceJust how shall we characterize our race? We are a social animal, all science would agreeAnd that has been the case for all of history In general, we all repeat the things we do that workAnd avoid what makes us look luck a dummy or…

  • I’m Not a Poet

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    I’m Not a Poet Let’s be clear: I’m not a poet I look at the poems in some magazines I read, And no matter how friends and family might plead, I’m not a poet I wouldn’t mind being a poet I admire William Carlos Williams, for example Although of all his poems I’ve only read…

  • The Door

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    The Door Will some thoughtful person please show me the door I just don’t want to live around here any more The last thing I want is to tell you how to live It’s up to you to decide what to take or to give And I would now like to take myself away To…

  • Passing in the Night

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    We’ve been living together for many, many a yearSo communication between us should be very clear But today a comment made in innocent conversationTurned out to result in unexpected aggravation  That could have led to angry escalationAnd perhaps to mutual condemnation Suppose your wife spoke a different language than youYou were from New York City,…

  • Getting On

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    To look at aging on the bright side Not thinking of the friends who’ve died Or of the sources of pleasure and joy  That I once had long ago as a boy I admit that my freedom is thereby reduced No recent record of hot women seduced There’s an upside of aging I have detected…

  • Poetry Path

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    So you think of poetry as an easy road to takeI caution you, it’s not a piece of cake Don’t fret on what your poems will be aboutPoems are on everything from apple trees to gout It’s not what you write about, it’s how you do that writingTechnical issues to deal with that may not…

  • C’est la Vie

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    When I was a schoolgirl we lived out of town on a lake And I rode into school on a bus I woke up early one morning so I’d have time to bake I sat on the bus next to Gus It was for Gus that I’d got up to bake that nice cake It…