Poems List

The Centipede
I objurgate the centipede,
A bug we do not really need.
At sleepy-time he beats a path
Straight to the bedroom or the bath.
You always wallop where he's not,
Or, if he is, he makes a spot.

First weigh the considerations, then take the risks.

Today I accidentally stepped on a snail on the sidewalk in front of our house. And I thought, I too am like that snail. I build a defensive wall around myself, a 'shell' if you will. But my shell isn't made out of a hard, protective substance. Mine is made out of tinfoil and paper bags.

The Cantaloupe
One cantaloupe is ripe and lush,
Another's green, another's mush.
I'd buy a lot more cantaloupe
If I possessed a fluoroscope.

Samson Agonistes
I test my bath before I sit,
And I'm always moved to wonderment
That what chills the finger not a bit
Is so frigid upon the fundament.

If an eye never falls asleep, All dreams will by themselves cease If the mind retains its absoluteness, The ten thousand things are of one suchness.

Kipling's Vermont
The summer like a rajah dies,
And every widowed tree
Kindles for Congregationalist eyes
An alien suttee.

Heaven is not the wide blue sky but the place where corporeality is begotten in the house of the Creative.

Say not, when I have leisure I will study you may not have leisure.

Grandpa Is Ashamed
A child need not be very clever
To learn that "Later, dear" means "Never."

I think a cute movie idea would be about a parrot who is raised by eagles. It would be cute because the parrot can't seem to act like an eagle. After a while, though, to keep the movie from getting boring, maybe put in some pornography. Later, we see the happy parrot flying along, acting like an eagle. He see two parrots below and starts to attack, but it's his parents. Then, some more pornography.

Family Court
One would be in less danger
From the wiles of a stranger
If one's own kin and kith
Were more fun to be with.

Looking back on my life, I wish I'd stepped forward and made a fool of myself more often when I was younger -- because when you do, you find out you can do it.

Biological Reflection
A girl whose cheeks are covered with paint
Has an advantage with me over one whose ain't.

The secret of the magic of life consists in using action in order to attain non-action. One must not wish to leap over everything and penetrate directly.

What fish feel
What fish feel,
birds feel, I don't know--
the year ending.
Translated by Robert Hass

I enjoy being a highly overpaid actor.

The dragonfly
The dragonfly
can't quite land
on that blade of grass.
Translated by Robert Hass

If you're a circus clown, and you have a dog that you use in your act, I don't think it's a good idea to also dress the dog up like a clown, because people see that and they think, 'Forgive me, but that's just too much.'

Don't imitate me
Don't imitate me;
it's as boring
as the two halves of a melon.
Translated by Robert Hass

Militia Women Inscription on a Photograph

How bright and brave they look, shouldering five-foot rifles
On the parade ground lit up by the first gleams of day.
China's daughters have high-aspiring minds,
They love their battle array, not silks and satins.

There must be more to life than having everything.

Was she so loved because her eyes were so beautiful, or were her eyes so beautiful because she was so loved

Pain XVI
Hi There! I see you're enjoying the site, and just wanted to extend an invitiation to
register for our free site. The members of oldpoetry strive to make this a fun place to
learn and share - hope you join us! - Kevin