First day of spring poem My snowdrops are up, shivering, but visited by honeybees, and so I offer you my mother’s love poem to my dad, written in 1924, whiletheir May marriage was pending. Because of Youby Vera Wardner (not yet Dougan) This year, because I know you,Spring is lovelier than it ever was before:The […]
verse
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storypoem #16
nellie needham a spinster schoolteachermy grampa’s second cousin loaned himmoney in 1911 to build the round barn itwas paid back very slowly over the yearsduring the depression she lowered theinterest to match the federal land bankwouldn’t take no for an answer my dadinherited the debt told nellie he’d payinterest and some principle every duedate but […]
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thanksgiving poem #7
thanksgiving poem #7 one of the happiest events at our university has occurred yearly since ’77 the international festival last week was no exception colorful native dress and design tasty native foods familiar and unfamiliar tongues the variety of games music and oh the dancing cheered on by the appreciative crowd irish scottish with bagpipes […]
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from a great-grandkid poem #1
one hears family stories that arerevealed quite late sometimes onlyas conjecture for instance my friend’spaternal great-grandmother when themen in black pulled up in their blackhearse-like cars she shoved all herchildren under the dining room tableits cloth to the floor the men wentdown to her basement came up leftshe lifted her long skirt rolled a wadof […]
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irony poem I guess # 2
irony poem I guess # 2 with the world deteriorating in almost any area you think of consider farmland gobbled up oceans dying ditto the humanities I hesitate to mention that as a kid I found the crackerjack prize was worth ripping open the box to get at now they’re just paper bits maybe a […]
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north fifth street poem #17
every weekday morning I hear the pledge of allegiance it’s broadcast all over the neighborhood by the school next door, no I don’t stop what I’m doing composting the garbage or wiping up a spill to stand with my hand on my heart facing the flag the only flag here is a small one atop […]
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weedseed poem #1
weedseed poem #1 going through old farm stuff I finda folder called wis crop improvementass’n it holds a 1965 program for anarea meet that includes a workshop on weed seed identification and ends BE SURE TO BRING YOUR GLASSESSINCE WE WILL BE LOOKING ATWEED SEEDS there follows a list and descriptions starting with quackgrass: “about […]
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prayerpoem #4
today’s prayers were in lugandamukama tukwebaza, olwobulamubwafte era tukwebazza olwabantubonna abali wano embanjawuloabakazi abassajja aberu nabadugavulord we thank you for our lives andwe thank you for everyone who ishere whether man woman black whiteI heard about a school in ugandaand two orphanages one filled withchildren who have lost both parentsto the aids virus the other […]
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farmer letter poem #16
farmer letter poem #16 thursday we had the universitydown harvesting their corn yieldtest plots then yesterday we madesixty-five cows happy by tellingthem the extent of their pregnancy ©2013 Jacqueline Jackson
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bowdlerpoem #1
a pure minded pedant of yore(starts like a limerick don’t youthink? never fear) well this guypurged ancient literature of anyoffense he eliminated all suchtainted material but he was toomuch a scholar to get rid of ittotally so he put it in appendicesthat meant all us latin and greekstudents didn’t have to search forthe naughty bits […]
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suicide poem number what
suicide poem number what well it’s three years today sinceshe chose to leave us I shouldn’tfeel any different today since Ithink about her every day butsomehow your bones remind youmore strongly. I guess I have somethings to be thankful for that shedidn’t take a messy way out withshotgun or fatal jump an overdose anddrowning is […]
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foodie poem #4
those of us who live alone talk out loudto ourselves, come up with varied gamesone of mine when the larder is bare yet going to the store seems onerous is toplay freezer surprise select something long frozen unmarked undated of coursedefrost and see what leftover is for supperyesterday’s did not look promising a sortof grey […]
