week twenty two

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spacegames

a band of robots holding hands,
a band of aliens holding hands.
red rover, red rover,
send robot right over.

lady mystique 69

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unconnected triple-rhyme poems that i wrote in class and audibly giggled each time i thought of a new one cuz isn't there something intrinsically funny about sentences with three rhymes in them? the answer is yes, there is.

whatthehell?
sells well

city lights make a
bright night

you can cope with:
hope, dope.

a bit of mold on
old gold

new york city's
pretty gritty

she's a mean but
clean machine

modern romance is a
trance dance

if you're free come
see me

after cutting my bet back,
blackjack

you won't win with
thin skin

she left me here
near tears

no alcohol here, it's
near-beer

after violence and gore we're
war torn

the vegan cheats and
eats meat


haikus about the man who boarded my bus on the pacific coast highway last may when i was in california with a girl who invited me to the beach and didn't tell me about her boyfriend but i got a few poems out of the trip anyways

a homeless man
with fifteen DVDs
and no TV

unlit cigarette --
he sees me notice,
says gotta make it last

one boot, one sandal --
halfway comfortable
on the beach or a hike

"hafta read somethin'
if you wanna stay sharp."
bus schedules work.

austinrory hackett

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lewd sunset

sunset is lewd
wrapping the undercoat exchange
with shadows
from the bridge above

cap-less
worth-less
welfare child
speaks the first words
of a five-minute friendship

the only sight
for twenty miles
clothed in the threads
from a coal miner's
dead daughter

every time
the bus passes
that way
each passenger
continues his sole business
turning pages on a paper
or whispering an argument
while innocent hanging children
watch out of smudged windows
detached from all the voices

lincoln wilder

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my dad asked me to come over today.

sara, why can't i make the tv turn on?

what am i doing wrong?

you have to come and help me.

it happened just like that.

when you suddenly realize your parents are in the twilight of their lives

you think three things to yourself:

maybe i could have been better about making my bed

at this moment, i really do know better than you.
it feels less triumphant than i imagined and more terrifying.

why didn't you get me a pony?

sara thomas

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untitled

the fall promises such luch
but the snow whispers
"i love you"
and i can't just ignore that

now the snow drifts softly downward
falling
falling
but winter can be so fickle
i still keep love on my dashboard
effervescence in its embrace

kb

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i am a hustler baby-
i just wanted you to know.

it is not about where i have been,
but where i am about to go [top of the world]

now I just want to love you,
but be the person who I am.

and with all this cash [via more money, hella more problems]
you will forget your man.
now give it to me.

[gimme that funk, that sweet, that nasty, that gushi stuff]

jay-z (adapted by alex shahan)

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joseph lombardo

i've been waiting a really long time

i was born in 1882

and then i died in 1965

since that time I've been sitting here

in 2007 there was a spark of hope

my great great granddaughter made a choice

i watched her grow stronger

and prayed she find me

in 2009 she finally caught on

she researched and asked questions

eventually she figured it all out

but there was one little problem

there is more work to be done

but she can't do it alone

she asks several people

but very few ever pull through

she's getting discouraged

and a little overwhelmed

if only people understood the urgency

maybe they'd be more willing to help

she knows most are busy

and don't have much time

but she hates broken promises

and thats all they seem to give her

i don't mean to complain

but i'm getting quite anxious

it's been almost 45 years

i'm getting tired of waiting!

my wife is complete and just waiting for me

i'm coming honey, really i promise

someday soon, but i've been saying that for years

please help my girl, she's our only hope

liese rodger

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cool cowboy

he has a wide collection of belt buckles

(collected from hollister)

he says y'all and howdy

(when he remembers to)

his cowboy hat is real-

(-really from walmart)

he'll say he prefers to sleep on the ground

(once. in cub scouts. in his backyard.)

he's a crackshot with a gun

(no, he's not)

his dream is to buy a ranch

and make large cattle drives across the country

(cattle drives died with the continental railroad 100 years ago, idiot)

he would have been in the rodeo circuit

except for all the politics

(politics? seriously?)

he has a natural way with horses

(horseshit)

and its been difficult to adjust to city life

after living in the country for so long

(its difficult for me not to punch him in the face every time i see him)

trav clark

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i like gymnastics because i like ninjas
but why do i like ninjas?

carter nelson

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