Ten brief poems “Ten Again” Oops only left in seven because three seemed too weird and could have me beaten and tortured by police.
1) “Don’t” by yours truly
Don’t kill your sister Mr. Bill.
It would be against her will.
And she might kill you too, MacGoo.
Just gaze from the window sill
And be still.
2) “Particles” by yours truly
In my eyes, nose, and ears upon waking.
And nerves are shaking.
My Mom just called the particles “sleep”
And said it was healthy for a child.
But I am an old man now,
And it still happens.
3) “Coughing” by yours truly
Coughing in the morning.
Oh, the yearning.
Coughing, tears, and snot. Whatnot.
In the mourning:
So many years,
So many years.
4) “Let” by yours truly
“Let me into the warm blue water,
My lover, my daughter.”
She is floating, but you caught her
In the water.
5) “Taiwanese” by yours truly
Tie one on with ease.
Yes please pay for your new tie in Taipei.
The tie will make you more handsome.
And you don’t need to pay ransom, just a small fee.
I am not speaking of your ex-girlfriend from Tie-land.
She is gone now anyway.
6) “Wrong Place” by yours truly
The Uber driver left me in the wrong place.
A big apartment complex and a bit confusing; I don’t think he meant wrong.
It was the building a row down from my apartment.
She, way back when, decided what apart meant.
T.S. Eliot said something like time is only time,
And place is always and only place in a poem.
When I was a college rhetoric teacher,
I read one definition of ethos,
Which Aristotle considered the most important virtue,
Was to know your place.
7) “Endure” by yours truly
Endure it all,
Adore it all.
Pain ends.
We can still be friends.
Make amends.
You can still be in touch in a way.
(Note: poem four is not about incest. The word “daughter” is only meant as a term of affection in a normal romantic/adult relationship, like calling someone you like “baby.”)
