People who are at higher risk

are poets

especially old poets

who have serious emotional

relationships to their poems

Poets so wrapped up

in their work

they have no idea

what is going on

in the outside world

poets who live

secluded in their words

and seldom come out of their shells

except for praise

a good round of applause.

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Boys and grandpas

have much in common

neither of us plays close attention

to what we're doing

and so while we're eating

we drip food off our plates

and onto our clothes

then the mother or wife always comes to the rescue

with a brush and stain remover and a lot of elbow grease

and with a warning to be more careful

and pay attention to what we're doing

but ...

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The silhouettes of trees

inspires a poem in me

the fiery sky highlights

the dark gracefulness of trees

No matter where we see

sunsets are always free

This poem will obviously

ne'er compare to trees like these.

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The stain of Cheetos

on my fingers

and my hands

that yellow glow

that marks every place

I've been

everything I've touched

even the screen of my I-Pad

where it looks like

the swirls of fingerprints

or the path of a hurricane

the stain that remains

on my lips

my fingertips

on the fridge

the table and chairs

the door knob clues

of my travels

...

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I measure my life in trash days

Monday is the day

the trash men always come

to pick up my trash

trash day sets me free

of all the debris of my modern life

the scraps of meals

the discarded detritus

of my being

all put away in a plastic bin

to be whisked away

to the town dump

rain or shine

there are 52 trash days in my life

52 weeks in a year...

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I can't remember

Yesterday

but I know it happened

the computer confirms

my suspicion

the date changes automatically

and it's never been wrong before

I am not sure what I did yesterday

but now it's today

and today is what

I look forward to

it would be great if

I could recall yesterday

but I will just let it go

I'll write myself a no...

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I love places where

the trees hang over the road
and make a canopy

a tunnel of mystery

of darkness

like entering a cave
where light is filtered
through leaves and limbs
a graceful decoration

to the blandness of the pavement

the hardness of asphalt

but then the road crews come along

and in their menacing march

whack and saw

and cut away the canopy

and turn ...

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There is still life in

this old tree

no matter what

they say

A rotted log

upon the ground

my bark is

turning gray

Once I was strong

withstood the wind

until there came

a day

When I became

too old to stand

now on the ground

I lay

Inside my trunk

are rings that show

my growth

my ripe old age

While I am down

...

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We are caged animals. 

behind these bars

we pace back and forth

frustrated in our cages

we feel tension

we are stressed

we remember the forest

where we roamed free

where there were trees

and green grass

and we came and went

as we pleased

now we have meat

handed out to us everyday

still we yearn for the hunt

for our freedom

for how life used to b...

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We want to hug

but can only shrug

the virus leaves us

without love

Remain in place

watch old re-runs

stare at the walls

devoid of fun

All hunkered down

our senses numbed

how vile the Virus

on us sprung

When one on one

all touch is shunned

how distant now

we have become.

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I went to the grocery storet at 6am, but found out other people had the same idea.

There was a line out in front of the building with people waiting to get in.

The store now opens at 7am, because of the Virus.

People in line maintained the 3 foot rule, keeping their appropriate distance.

We waited and waited.  More people came.  One by one, they joined the line.

The line now st...

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Boys on bikes

learning to ride

gaining confidence

with each push of the pedal

the bike is a boy's

first taste of freedom

his first sense of growing up

he becomes strong and confidant

ready to explore

ready to take on challenges

racing down a hill

or riding with no hands

a bike takes him places

he has not been before

experiences multiply

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I keep my social distance

I am social distancing right now

as I write this poem

which works out fine

since I know my place

is in this space

still I don't know why

I have to remain in one place

there are so many places I'd like to be

other than this place

but I guess

everybody has to be someplace

as a kid I was told to

stay in my place

but no one ever ...

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Communicable is a hard word to say

the tongue stumbles in the middle

like hitting a speed bump

you have to slow down

to get over the middle

but being communicable is serious

and this poem is serious

you can share this poem

but don't share the virus

stay inside and

worry about it

you may be a carrier

or you may be a victim

you could have Corona

or you ...

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Some rave

some rant

some can

some can't

some give

some get

some live

some sit

Some may

some might

some loud

some quiet

some love

some resist

some make

this list.

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It was so much nicer then

when the folks were alive

and the family was large

and growing

there were children among us

the promise of youth

so many dreams to dream

we went to weddings

and reunions and

baptisms and funerals

all occasions to acknowledge family

our closeness to aunts and uncles

all our cousins and kin

gathered together in support

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Winter is cruel

a mean menace

that turns beautiful green

into dismal black

making ugly corpses

out of living things

trees lose their leaves

become drab skeletons

flowers wilt and die

stalks become brittle and

all that is left is

the bleakness of winter

but Spring

brings new life

inching out from hardened ground

sprouts of life return

t...

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The Chinese now

say that the deadly Wuhan Virus

is not their fault

but ours

even though

it started in China

and spread from China

somehow it OUR fault

that it became an epidemic

they do not worry

about their own citizens

who are silenced

and told to march in step

as in all Communist countries

it's better to be

Red than Dead

t...

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(Warning:  Offensive to half the population).

God had no wife

for a good reason

He must have known

there'd be no pleasin'

And even though

He was all-wise

a wife would

automatically criticize

She would not like

the things he made

all creation she

would want to change

God had no wife

and we're just guessing

no second thoughts

a...

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Masks used to be only for bad guys

desperadoes wearing bandannas

pulled across their faces

bank robbers and train robbers

or thieves in the night

then of course there was

the Lone Ranger

the only good guy with a mask

but now we have

the face mask fad

for those trying to evade infection

and it's honest people wearing them

trying to protect themselves

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Red pin cushion

dart board of despair

Corona

the virus

not the beer

sweeping across Oceans

continents

countries

one after another fall prey

flown in by passengers

who give it to others

spreading the fever

spreading the misery

we cannot escape it

everything we touch

everyone we meet

may hold it in the

palm of their hand

wear a cheap mask

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I went to the gym

to do the routine

on the stationary bike

pedal pedal pedal

pedal to the metal

check the screen

calorie count

102 rpms

2 miles down

1 mile left

heart pumps

blood flows

faster faster

until finally I hit 3 miles

a potential heart attack

in the making

is this healthy?

yet after all that pedaling

all those miles

when I'm do...

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ever get those days

when doin' nuttin'

feels better than

doin' somethin'

i get em

more and more often now

when it comes to doin' stuff

parts of me protest

legs and back suggest

alternatives

like rockin' chairs

or hammocks

restin' for a spell

is what i tell people I'm doin'

most of em just smile

they dont believe me

they say i...

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My backyard tree

gets the best of me

fast as I rake

more leaves it leaves

An endless battle

I believe

when one is raked

another leaves

When one bag is full

to another leads

I can't succeed

too many leaves

The tree it seems

makes a fool of me

and with that said

I take my Leave.

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allthesewordsruntogether

andyoumaythinkthatyouwontbeabletoread

butthatisnotthecaseatall

ourmindsnaturallyseparatethewords

intounderstandingwhattheymean

sowedonotneedpunctuationafterall

andwecansavespaceandpaper

andmostofalltime

aswewillnothavetofigureout

wheretoputthecommaorthesemicolon.

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5 years old

and on a pallet in a dark room

but the sound of voices

in the kitchen

keeps him up

listening to them

laughing, talking

having such a good time

such a comforting sound

the sound of people enjoying

each others kinship

each others company

his eyes get heavy

sleep comes over him

like a soft blanket

he knows he is safe

secure in the ...

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Poets preface every day

with trying to find an easy way

to work as little as can be

and devote their time to poetry

We can with candor make the claim

that poet's go against the grain

to give them cover to access

their sympathies toward laziness

God and poets must have rest

yet some overdo the rest they get

they fall into temptation's grasp

embrace th...

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For whatever I did

I am sorry

it was not my best moment

I now grovel at your knee

begging for forgiveness

it does not matter

what it was I did

no need to get into specifics

whatever I did was horrible

and I promise

it will not happen again

men are not too perceptive

and just do not pick up on

the subtleties of a woman's personality

we have no feelings

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The huge hall

the wood floor

the wide windows

open to the summer breeze

all the women brought

a covered dish to share

all the men brought

was themselves

there was talk

and plenty of it

the family trait

on proud display

so many talking at once

the hall hummed and

walls vibrated with

their chorus of conversation

the men grouped up 

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