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POETRY


HE WAS A GAMBLING FOOL by Swampboodle

MY CHANCES ARE THIN by Swampboodle

ENDINGS by JAWS

THE REAPER by Kusanami

TO JULIANA by JAWS

MOON DANCING by JAWS

PARADISE LOST - THE SONG by JAWS

THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS by JAWS

DON'T ROCK THE KNOCKERS by SHREDDER

NORTH TO ALASKA by NAPALM

HE WAS A GAMBLING FOOL
by Swampboodle


HE WAS A GAMBLING FOOL.
DETERMINED TO PLAY.
AND DESTINED TO LOSE.
HE'D SIT IN THE SUN
SCIENTIFICALLY
SCOUTING SOME SPEEDY
STALLIONS AND STEEDS.

SOMETIMES SURVIVAL STEMMED
BY SIDESTEPPING
SOME LOAN SHARK
SERIOUSLY SEEKING
TO SETTLE SOME RECENT SCORE

WITH ALL THE UNPAID BILLS
AND TAIL SPINS
INTO TEMPORARY POVERTY
HE GOT A LOT OF FRICTION
FROM HIS FRUGAL FAMILY.

IT TOOK GUTS
TO GO AGAINST
THE GRAIN AND GAMBLE
A WORK WEEK'S
WORTH OF WAGES
WHILE, AT THE WINDOW
HIS WARM AND
WONDERFUL WIFE
WAITED,
WEPT,
AND WORRIED WHERE HE WAS
AND WHEN HE'D WIND HIS WAY HOME.
WHILE ALL THE WHILE
WISHING HIS WALLET
WOULD BE WIDER
WITH HIS WINNINGS.

WHEN SHE AWOKE
SHE WAS WEAK WITH WOUNDS
FROM HIS WARFARE
ON HER WELFARE.
HER WISDOM
WRESTLED WITH HER WRATH.
WITHOUT WARNING
SHE WOULD WEAVE A WEB
OF ONE WAY WARFARE.
SHE'D WALK AWAY WILLFULLY.
SHE'D WALLOW IN HER WOMANHOOD.
SHE'D WATCH HIM WHIMPER.
SHE'D WATCH HIM WHINE.
SHE'D WATCH HIM WILT AND WASTE AWAY.

WHILE ALL THE WHILE,
SHE WORE HER WEAPONS EVERYWHERE.

HER WALK,
HER WILD
WIDE
WILDFIRE EYES,
HER WAXEN
WINE-HUED HEAD OF WAVY HAIR,
WERE JUST A WHIFF
OF HER WICKED WEAPONRY.

SHE WOULDN'T WAIT
FOR THE WEALTH
WHICH WASN'T WON.
SHE WOULDN'T WAIT
FOR THE WIND TO
CHANGE THE WEATHER.
SHE WOULDN'T WAIT
FOR THE WORLD TO WEEP.

SHE WOKE UP,
SHE TALKS WELL
AND WALKS TALL.
SHE WALTZES WILDLY
IN HER LONG WANTED,
OVER WELCOME
WONDROUS WORTH.
SHE WON THE WAR
SHE'S OUT OF DANGER
SHE WON THE WORLD
SHE ALWAYS WANTED.
SHE WON THE WAR
WITHOUT ONE WAGER


MY CHANCES ARE THIN
by Swampboodle



ARE YOU A SUCKER?
DJEVER FALL FOR SOME OLD HOAX?
DO YOU READ THE SUNDAY FUNNIES
AND LAUGH AT ALL THE SUCKER JOKES?

MY CHANCES ARE THIN
BUT SHIT, I'LL STAY IN
MY STRAIGHT NEEDS ONLY THE QUEEN
C'MON, GIVE THAT BITCH TO ME.
I MATCHED THE BET
AND SAT UP STRAIGHT
I GOT MY CARD
BUT CAN'T CUT THE CAKE
BY NOW I'M DOWN A HELL OF A LOT
MORE THAN I CARE TO THINK ABOUT
TWO WEEKS PAY IS MUCH TOO MUCH
WHO CAN I FIND TO GET A TOUCH
THOUSAND DOLLAR NOSEDIVE INTO THE HOLE
DOWN THROUGH THE BOTTOM & RIGHT TO MY SOUL
HE WON AGAIN, I LOST THE DEAL
THE THINGS ON MY MIND WERE TONS OF STEEL
TAKIN' IT ALL, BLOW BY BLOW
I'VE TAKEN IT ALL, BUT NOW I KNOW.
NOW I KNOW JUST HOW IT FEELS
PLAYIN' CARDS AND MISSIN' MEALS
I'LL LICK MY WOUND AND HOPE IT HEALS
IN TIME FOR NEXT WEEKS GAME AT BILL'S

ARE YOU A SUCKER ?
DJEVER FALL FOR SOME OLD HOAX?
DO YOU READ THE SUNDAY FUNNIES
AND LAUGH AT ALL THE SUCKER JOKES?

ENDINGS
by JAWS


A glowing pearl dies with the dawn,
Silver lights cascade - then gone.
A Brilliant flame then arcs the sky.
Sadly this, at evening, dies.

Cast adrift in times beyond,
What will exist when I am gone?
What legacy to leave behind
What memory of me will survive?
What are the things I’ve wanted most?
What opened doors have I left closed?

Oh empty hollow Soul of mine,
Which yearns for peace it cannot find
I seek release from life’s travail
by doing more than sorting mail.

I want to traverse distant seas
To live my greatest fantasies
To cast off chains of life gone sour,
To “seize the day” and each new hour.
So many songs as yet unsung
A brand new second life’s begun!
New visions replace old regrets
And what was saved for last...
Is best.


THE REAPER


by Kusanami

Woke up this morning
With a troubled mind
Because I had seen a vision
Of lots of people dying
I called the doctor on the phone
And told him what I had seen
He told me not to worry
It all was just a dream

Woke up this morning
With a troubled mind
Because I had seen a vision
Of smoke and lead a flying
People running for the door
And dropping in their tracks
Because smoke and lead were flying
Now blood oozes from their backs

Woke up this morning
With a troubled mind
Because I had seen a vision
Of lots of people dying
The Reaper came to greet them
He met them at the door
Now all of their life essence
Lies in puddles on the floor

Woke up this morning
With a troubled mind
Because I had seen a vision
Of lots of people dying
The Reaper came a calling
He called me by my name
Because the image in the mirror
And the Reaper’s were the same



To Juliana
by JAWS


Her footprints grace
the sandy beach,
and waves rush up to meet
her steps, as if a million worlds
cascade beneath her feet.

Gentle winds glide elegant
and brush her hair to rhythms
from the ocean borne.
They whirl as blades
of sea grass pressed,
a forecast of the coming storm.

Oh the moon will fade a million times,
And the sun in imitation dies,
It is the grandeur of their journey
which lights the sadness in her eyes.
For it is here she stands in purgatory -
the beauty which began her muse
By that which she would rise above.
She is most tragically, consumed

This brief life seems a miracle
Rising / Falling
like the waves
Sad irony.
When she’s most alive
She sees but the dust
From which we’re made.

Moon Dancing
by JAWS


In between the quiet spaces
of whispered heartbeats
matched in time
A truth so simple, yet so strong
that must be subtly veiled in rhyme
Stars which shine in satin black
That look down deep upon Our Soul
Hands entwined in one another
Belong, both two parts of a whole
Come gaze on moonbeams gleaming down
That light our path, that shine so bright
breathing in sweet / earthy scents
Come with me, meet here tonight
Upon the cool, dew speckled grass
Across the mountains, beyond the sea
Rest and Dream of visions peaceful
Here in my arms safe / warm You'll be

PARADISE LOST - THE SONG
(With apologies to John Milton)
by JAWS

Snow in New England
Watch it falling
I got my book and my fireplace
An old friend calls
Just to see “How’s it going?”
I do alright till he mentions your name.

You…
Should be here beside me.
You…
That “Once in a lifetime love”
Should be here beside me.
You…
It’s “Paradise Lost” without
You…

I hear the sleighbells of
Distant coaches
The cold air warmed
By their gentle song.
The evening fades
As the twilight approaches.
The days are short
And the nights are to long without..

You…
To be here beside me.
You…
That “Once in a lifetime love”
Should be here beside me.
You…
It’s “Paradise Lost” without
You…

Snow in New England
Watch it falling
A picture postcard
From far away.
I’ve everything
That I thought that I wanted
The North Wind howls
And it’s calling your name.

You…
Should be here beside me.
You…
That “Once in a lifetime love”
Should be here beside me.
You…
It’s “Paradise Lost” without
You…

THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS
by JAWS

Twas the week before Christmas
And all through the Plant
“There’s no overtime – Period!”
Charlie’d rave and he’d rant.

All the bosses were stressed out
and wished they were dead
While visions of “Bonus Bucks”
Danced in Chuck’s head

Then at once on the platform
There arose such a clamor
It awoke the Dispatcher
Made him sputter and stammer

The headlights that shone
On the just arrived mail
Made the Platform Boss pass out
And the Mailhandlers wail

When what to Chuck’s
Wondering eyes did appear
But a convoy of mail trucks
And then… mail out his ears!

On twelve trucks of Emery,
On two dozen more
Filled to the brimming
with letters galore!

From the edge of the platform
To the swingroom and halls
Now gaylords, now cages,
Now hampers and all!

All at once I heard screaming
“Please help me! I’m stuck!”
And we knew in a minute
That the “screamer” was Chuck!

Lost way behind gaylords
He whimpered – how whiny!
His black suit was pinned there
All wrinkled and shiny.

His face was the color
Of new fallen snow
Cause it took three more hours
For the MERT team to show.

With a knot on his head
And a badly turned wrist
He said “My bonus is shot now!
I’ve had it! I quit!”

His one suit all tattered,
His black, coarse hair askew
Looking humbled and silly,
He knew he was through.

But we heard him exclaim,
just before he retired
“A bonus donut for all!
And by the way, you’re all fired!”


DON'T ROCK THE KNOCKERS
by Shredder

Approaching post time,
the clock rolls past "99".
A priority B-T for me!
Accepted by the clock,
The man says "Don't you rock...
Those knockers".

The walls are three deep
in cages and APC's.
Cuss out the guys on Tour 2
("Tour 2...Go Screw")
There's more out on the dock,
so you better not rock..
those knockers.

Got a lot of tie outs to do.
Sorting through the residue..
Stop dumping in my sack!
You're screwing up my rack.
You better not get caught.
You better not rock.....
the knockers.

Scheming at the PEDC,
Is that 9 or is it carrier 3?
Stop leaning on my case.
I'm going on a break.
This post card here is hot!
You better not rock...
the knockers.

First, second, third, fourth class,
Got air mail up the a-a-a-sss.
Special delivery...marked fragile.
Move me to the letter aisle.
Where you know I will not rock...
the knockers.

Got a lot of pouches to fill.
The supervisors standing there still.
The belt is overflowing,
Who cares?...Cause now I'm going.
Leave it for tour 1, my E-T time has come.
Remember as you walk out.
You better not rock the knockers!

NORTH TO ALASKA
by
NAPALM

Imagine a million images
Listen coolly and regard
Pictures on a postcard
Tranquil still-life like / crystal lake snapshots
Fallen icicle daggers stabbed in snow
navy-blue shades of utopia

Fades into powder-blue shadowed mountains
Valley of frozen ripples… cripples the stream
Mouth agape for grape
Tastes of wintergreen icy air I breathe / there I be
frozen / frigid / fragile / fingers / freeze

Ice-ice baby / Ice-ice baby / Vanilla Ice-ice baby
sugar / shaped / ice cream / glaciers / glisten / frost bitten
brittle pine tree needles stuck in Eskimo mittens
egg-white periwinkle drift winds / whistlin’
close eyes and listen
to wailing winds waltzing with winter

Whirling, curling, skiing over snow-coned Rockies
interrupted by polar bear paw prints… quiet now
do you hear the arctic breeze of frosted Zephyrus?
just imagine… goes a li’l somethin’ like this:
aqua-blue beats… blowing North to Alaska.

THE MONSTER WITHIN
by KUSANAMI

There is a monster lurking
Deep within my soul
It’s all that I can do
To keep him under control
He’s been asleep for many a year
But lately from deep in my soul
His roar do I hear
And I can feel his claws viciously
Tearing at my soul
Constantly trying to get out of control

His roar becomes so loud
That sometimes I lock myself in
To protect others from this monster
Called jealousy that rages from within
I do the best that I can
To keep him locked tightly away
Because I don’t think that others
Would care much to see
The person I become
When that monster called jealousy
Runs wild and free

He wasn’t always the monster
That I know today
It was the lies and deceit of an other
That made him this way
He used to lie sleeping with hardly a care
Until he learned of his woman’s tawdry affair
“It wasn’t the sex” or so she said
But if that were true
Why did she get naked
And climb into his bed.

The heart is a muscle that beats strong and true
But the lies and deceit easily break it
When they come from the one that says “I love you.”
And what is to become of the person in me
When this monster called jealousy runs so wild and free?