Tag Archives: Short Poems

POEM: A Lousy Take on Lao-Tse

A Lousy Take on Lao-Tse (Tao Te Ching 38) When Tao is lost There is virtue When virtue is lost There is morality When morality is lost There is propriety Yet oddly Even when Awe is lost Tao remains The … Continue reading

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POEM: Tasting God

Tasting God I almost tasted God In what turned out To be A fine guacamole A common mistake Well worth repeating I find eating guacamole a religious experience.  As family legend has it, when we lived in Haiti when I … Continue reading

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POEM: Navy Yard Killings

Navy Yard Killings In these crazy times Of senseless killings Nations seek a return To sensible killings There are many levels of crazy.  There are perhaps even more levels of crazy when it comes to killing.  I am not surprised … Continue reading

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POEM: Relationship Test

I like to be alone Especially when you and I are together I wrote this as a love poem.  Surprisingly, really surprisingly, I did not see the second way to read this poem. Herein lies the test.  If you read … Continue reading

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POEM: Unemployable

I am unemployable Partly because no one can afford what I’m worth Partly because I prefer to give it away This short poem harkens to a more organic way of relating to one another than contractual relationships.  What if people … Continue reading

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POEM: Walling Yourself In

I am reason Number 921 For building a wall Between you and me Overly ecstatic Seemingly erratic You think that you are keeping me out But you are just walling yourself in Weather a fence Or a prison Your own … Continue reading

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POEM: Love Tag

“I love you.” “I love you back, you’re it!” One of my more simple love poems, this playful back and forth is an invitation to continue exchanging loving acts and loving expressions.  Of course, “you’re it” is a pun, as … Continue reading

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POEM: Efficiency Expert

The efficiency expert asked me How many poems can I write Per hour Well, if I only Had but one hour I would guess a singular poem Western civilization seems obsessed with efficiency.  Of course, high efficiency is no guarantee … Continue reading

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POEM: My Ransom

I had drug All my holdings To the pinnacle of possessions And the depths of conceded Realizing Long the way It was My ransom Delivering me Oftentimes our possessions end up possessing us.  Like a drug addiction that has a … Continue reading

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POEM: Paying Attention

Are you too broke to pay attention? This one-line poem most directly seeks to de-link material wealth from perhaps the greatest tool available to humans: consciousness, or mindfulness.  Being able to access mindfulness, regardless of wealth, status, or “worldly” power, … Continue reading

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POEM: Taking Care

Take care Steal it if you must There may well be an epidemic of people not taking good care of themselves.  This is often times due to an undue focus on other things and other people.  Of course, caring for … Continue reading

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POEM: Unconvincing

In stillness I sometimes reach out To touch her back Trying to convince myself That she is not an angel And I find Her lack of wings holy Unconvincing On a recent vacation, I wrote this love poem one early morning … Continue reading

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POEM: Relationship Advice

My advice Treat her like the goddess she is Engenders an inevitable response What about this and that I say “Treat her like the goddess she is” NOT “Treat her like the goddess she isn’t” What more can I say? … Continue reading

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POEM: Lottery

I won the lottery Now I am able To outsource My neuroses Winning the lottery is probably one of the most common fantasies, particularly by the math-impaired.  Most people assume that getting a large windfall of money will make their life … Continue reading

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POEM: Escaping Hubris

Indigency is the quickest road Out of hubris Few of us can afford Its high price Hubris, or arrogance, is powerfully seductive in the human mind.  This excessive self-confidence seems to be an inescapable part of egocentricity.  Nonetheless, as humans … Continue reading

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POEM: Stage Coach

Stage Coach One day I lost my script And was taken back Only to have scene The other actors Guise Now In the audience Having won More stage Contracted This is a good example of one of my elegantly ambiguous … Continue reading

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POEM: Awkward Phase

I often find myself stuck in that awkward time between birth and death My Dad is fond of saying, “The only constant is change.”  Life is dynamic.  Buddhism teaches that no thing is permanent in itself; but rather that every … Continue reading

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POEM: Serendipity and Dippity Doo

On occasions I find it easy To believe In sarin gas And dippity doo Rather than serendipity These are not special occasions While many of my poems have an edge to them, my body of work is decidedly hopeful.  This … Continue reading

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POEM: Infectious Hope

Hope is a blood-borne pathogen The seed of martyrs Inflaming that allergy to injustice Present in us all Infected by a singular epiphany Of friend and foe Alike I see hope as an irreducible reality in human nature.  Just like … Continue reading

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POEM: Poetic License

One day I went to get my poetic license I drove them crazy with their test at the DMV Perhaps next time I’ll try NASA This poem reminds me of the scene in the movie, “Dead Poets Society,” where the … Continue reading

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