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Title of book: Poetry for the Common Man
Author: Harry E. Gilleland Jr.
ISBN: 1-4116-0064-9
Year released: 2003
Publisher: Lulu
Book size: 8.5 x 11 (workbook size)
Binding: Perfect binding
Pages: 197
Price: $12.60
Shipping: 3$
Title of book: Gilleland Poetry
Author: Harry E. Gilleland Jr.
ISBN: 1-4116-2927-2
Year released: 2005
Publisher: Lulu
Book size: 8.5 x 11
Binding: Perfect binding
Pages:195
Price: $13.00
Title of book: Bob, the Dragon Slayer
Author: Harry E. Gilleland Jr.
ISBN: 1-4116-3315-6
Year released: 2005
Publisher: Lulu
Book size: 6x 9
Binding: Perfect binding
Pages: 99
Price: $8.95
Shark Attack!
by Harry E. Gilleland Jr.
Source: Poetry for the Common Man,
p. 179
At the welcoming sea,
upon the sugary white sand,
under the summer sun,
in the chest-high surf,
the young child laughs and frolics,
jumping, diving, splashing all about.
Like some injured fish,
signals the child is sending out
Far away, an unknown menace
detects this turmoil and responds,
Like a torpedo
homing in on a target,
his dark shadow speeds
hidden beneath the surface
swiftly approaching the unsuspecting child,
bringing death and mayhem
in rows of triangular teeth
in powerful jaws
in a wide, gaping mouth
in a sleek, muscular body
totally devoid of a drop of mercy.
A smiling face freezes
with surprise and confusion.
As under the water
the child is now dragged,
there appears a circle of red
staining the azure blue canvas.
The child burst through the suface
screaming, with a face filled
with pain and untold terror.
Panicky onlookers now rush
into the suddenly inhospitable sea
where this perfect killing machine
may lurk amongst them still,
unknowing if possibly they
his next victim will be.
Carrying the child ashore
all bloody and torn,
the parents don't realize it,
but the child was lucky,
and they will get their wish,
because this shark wasn't trying
to kill a child....
only a fish.
by Harry E. Gilleland Jr.
Source: Poetry for the Common Man
p. 28
A heavy frost
covered the lawn
with a crystalline blanket
this November morn.
Against the fence
in my back yard,
a single pink rose
remained upon its bush,
glistening and sparkling
in the early sunlight,
holding onto its fragile petals,
refusing to fragment and fall
to join its peers
dead upon the ground
now so wet and cold.
A solitary soldier,
stubbornly holding its post,
resisting the onslaught
of cold weather,
remaining the last
bastion of summer,
heroically fighting
the unwinnable battle,
not yet ready to
submit to winter's sleep,
determined to prolong
the beauty and pleasure
of summer's vestige
a few more days,
a few more hours.....
by Harry E. Gilleland Jr.
Source: Gilleland Poetry, p. 7
Tsunami.....dreadful tsunami...
waves of destruction from the sea...
Untold energy has been set in motion
by an earthquake down on the ocean floor.
Sunbathers on faraway beaches apply lotion,
oblivious to danger arriving in a few hours more.
In deep waters the tsunami waves are long
and shallow, traveling both far and fast.
On the surface nothing appears wrong,
but deep, deep below, the die has been cast.
As the deep waves near the shallows of the shore,
they slow down and rise higher and higher.
Now a monstrous wave taller than ever before,
the tsunami crashes ashore...crashes ashore.
The power of the water wantonly washes away
structures and lives as it surges, then recedes,
only to return, its waves now even deadlier,
Debris-laden, it pounds away...pounds away.
As it withdraws, the tsunami fully succeeds
in humbling Man, for it's truly amazing to see
the death and devastation wrought by the tsunami
delivering the awesome power of the deep blue sea.
Tsunami... dreadful tsunami...
waves of destruction from the sea...
Note: This poem is nominated "Best Poem of Year 2005" by Muses Review.
by Harry E. Gilleland Jr.
Source: Gilleland Poetry, p. 101
The zoo lion, a majestic beast,
born and raised in a zoo,
living out his life in a zoo,
in safety and comfort,
well fed and tended,
without a care in the world
and yet, he paces. He paces
relentlessly without purpose,
back and forth, back and forth
searching for something...
For deep within his magnificent heart
he instinctively feels a gnawing,
as though he knows
there should be more.
For aeons past his ancestors
lorded over the African plain,
fighting and killing,
surviving by cunning and strength,
living a shorter, more brutal existence,
but reigning as king!
He carries the genes from centuries past
to make him a true champion,
the lord and master of his domain,
but this potential goes untested,
unfulfilled, wasted, locked in confinement,
due to mere accident of birth.
And so, he paces, paces,
seeking a portal in time
that might transport him back,
back to past glory,
back to the life he was bred to live,
back to find his lost heritage,
back to the chance to prove he is a lion.
Note: This poem is nominated "Best Poem of Year 2005" by Muses Review.
by Harry E. Gilleland Jr.
Source: Gilleland Poetry, p. 18.
Angry words....
Caustic words spewed forth
from a churning cauldron of emotion
words that burn the ears
and sear themselves deep
into the recipient's memory.
Loud, mean words
that explode like streaming lava
upon their victim.
Words of excess
that fill the air
without thought or control;
volatile, impetuous utterances
that can never be erased,
even if soon regretted.
Angry words....
words best never spoken.
by Harry E. Gilleland Jr.
Source: Gilleland Poetry, p. 19
Sugar, our love affair must finally end.
It is painful, I know. Nightly I still hear
you calling out to me...but I don't intend
to weaken this time and let you near.
Yes, yes, I'll truly miss your sweetness
in my life, but continuing on wouldn't be
fair to me...or to my wife. The foolishness
must end; I now see the harm you cause me.
This time I am committed to giving you up
I've said this before, but I'm ready to try it.
I've consumed your goodness by the cup,
but now it's not candy, cakes, pies in my diet.
I must live sugar-fee, even tho' I'll regret it.
But, if I don't, my doctor says I'll be diabetic.
Note: This poem is nominated "Best Poem of Year 2005" by Muses Review.