Jeff
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Why Shoes?
Why shoes? Left-right memorials, black even Before the soot from the ovens. Why shoes? Where are the shirts, dresses, pants, Stockings, skirts, watches, socks, Sweaters, rings, neckties, pins, Eyeglasses, underwear? Who claimed them after? Why shoes? They wait to walk… Continue reading
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My Cousin’s Hand
Thirty thousand years ago, give or take a few, Leaving handprints on the wall was quite the thing to do. (Nowadays of course, like so much else, it’s just taboo.) We don’t know why and never will, but sometimes when… Continue reading
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What Fables We’d Forge
Erase from your thoughts molten lava and chalk, The crusting and cooling and cracking. Step back a while before Hutton and Lyell, Let tall tales supply what is lacking. Because we like legends and love to pretend, A causeway the… Continue reading
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No More and Nothing Less
Why face the wall when food and danger lie the other way? It’s not that we’re shy or can’t abide the skies of steely gray. Why build our nests on window frames when cliffs and rocks abound? It’s not that… Continue reading
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Feathered Data Points
Feathered data points on an avian graph, We gather and gabble and brood and breed And slumber and squabble and chatter and chill, Warming our futures in the midnight sun As gulls have always done. [Photo taken in Nusfjord, Lofoten… Continue reading
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I Stand in Silence/Did You Know?
I stand in silence Shuddering with sounds from the past. Shouts and mortars, shots and curses, Screams. When you woke for the last time, did you know? I stand in silence Sagging under sounds of the present. Sighs and… Continue reading
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Acacia Were Wondering
Acacia were wondeing, I’m standing right here, Dappled coat marrying sunlight and leaves. Tourists jolt by craving A/C and beer, Reading all ‘bout me in their Rick Steves. Surprised to hear puns coming from a giraffe? Humor suits me as… Continue reading
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I Cherish Both
Inside, puttering toward Porto, I’m having breakfast with an old friend. On our table, black coffee, yellow eggs, orange juice, brown toast, gray oatmeal. In our ears, silverware, dishes, and laughter. On our lips, easy conversation. In our hearts, Gladness.… Continue reading
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A Flamingo Trialogue
Being a flamingo has pluses and minuses, Eating like this can play hell with your sinuses! Oh, stop your squawking, these petty frustrations Mean nothing when you’ve got your fill of crustaceans. Eating like this is a joy and a… Continue reading
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Shackleton and Me
When Shackleton’s ancestors still dwelt in caves, Mine floated and furled through the air. When his fur-clad forebears fought bears for their turf, Mine settled here clothing the earth. When he and his men were still dust in the sky,… Continue reading
It Could Be Verse 