Gavroche's Poetry
Below are selected poems from all three of my chapbooks.
The works below are all copyrighted by the author. All Rights Reserved.
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- Poems (1994)
- Spiced Wine (1995)
- Friends of the ABC (1998)
Poems
The Separation
[Genesis 22:19 / 23:2]
"Abraham dwelt at Beersheba."
Beersheba is where Abraham dwelt
After coming down
Coming down from the mountain
The mountain where he had almost sacrificed Isaac
Isaac, Abraham's Son.
"Sarah died in Kiriatharba," also known as Hebron.
Sarah, Abraham's wife
Sarah, who gave birth to Isaac at age 90
Sarah who was childless until age 90
When she gave birth to her only son, Isaac
Isaac, who Abraham almost sacrificed.
Sarah died at Hebron
Abraham dwelt at Beersheba
Had to come to Hebron to mourn for Sarah
Sarah his wife who died in Hebron
While Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
I have but one question
One question the text does not answer:
Who got custody?
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Tantalus
Tantalus stole nectar and ambrosia
From the table of the gods.
Tantalus chopped his son into pieces
And tried to trick the gods
Into eating him.
Tantalus was punished,
Thrown into the pits of Hades,
Neck deep in water,
Water that recedes
When he stoops to drink.
Around Tantalus grows trees,
Trees bearing luscious fruit
Fruit just beyond his grasp.
The gods tantalize Tantalus
As punishment for his sins,
I understand this.
Tantalus got what he deserved.
But what did I do?
What did I do to deserve
Being thrown
Into the same pits of Hades
Being chained
To the same damned lake.
What did I do?
In my sixteen years of life,
What sin had I committed?
I lie there chained
To a hospital bed
Unable to move
Unable to satisfy my hunger
Unable to quench my thirst
WIth absolutely no idea
What I did
To deserve it.
The doctors talk to me about viruses
But I've had viruses before
And they've never done this to me.
The doctors reel off some fancy French names
Guillain Landry Barre
Fancy French names that mean nothing to me.
The doctors tell me I'll get better
But why should I believe them?
A couple days ago I was able to run
Jump
Dance to a beat
Today I am paralyzed
And doctors talk to me
About invisible viruses
And dead French Scientists.
I want to ask Zeus,
King of the gods,
Pluto,
King of the underworld,
What I'm doing
In the pits of Hades
And when I'll be released.
Them I will trust.
Them I will believe.
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Spiced Wine
Untitled Poem #3.14
They say the universe is expanding
and that's why the value of Pi
has increased slightly
(not due to inflation as the economists have claimed).
The scientists who discovered this strange phenomena
were under the pay of the computer companies
which are offering upgrades for a very small fee.
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Sol's Wisdom
King Solomon had seven hundred wives
Three hundred mistresses (concubines)
I decided one Saturday evening
At a local bar
To learn from his wisdom
So I started quoting from his Song of Songs.
I approached a brunette
"Your navel is a rounded goblet that ne'er shall want for spiced wine
Your belly is a heap of wheat fenced in by lillies."
"Pervert," she said, as she slapped me on the cheek.
I next tried a redhead
"Your two breasts are like two fawns, twin fawns of a gazelle."
"Creep," was her response, as my other cheek got turned.
"Your nose is like towering..." were the only words I could utter
Before a cute chick at the bar got up off her stool and left.
I approached a blonde
Sitting at a table by herself
"You are as stately as a palm tree."
She smiled, so did I, King Solomon was finally coming through
"And your breasts are the clusters of dates
I will climb into the palm to grasp its fronds."
"No you will NOT!" she screamed as she kneed me in the groin.
Once I recovered from the blow, I made one last desperate attempt
I decided to adapt a line I knew was a bit outdated
I approached a woman with pink, green and blue hair
Spiked in several directions and an earring
On her tongue and I said, "May I compare you my dearest
To the Brewery Clydesdales." (The Pharoah's chariot horses.)
I woke up in the infirmary
Realizing that perhaps
Solomon's success
Had something to do
With his being King.
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Friends of the ABC
Loyal
In history class I was taught
In order to be good Americans
We must seek to address our grievances
By working within the system.
If there are problems with the system...
The system, too, could be changed
from within.
I have ancestors who agreed completely
With this philosophy;
however, in this same history class
I was taught my ancestors
were wrong. They were loyalists
And sought to address their grievances
Within the system. The British system.
Their neighbors believed in Revolution.
It wasn't Marxist,
but still it was a revolution,
and today our teachers tell us
Revolutions aren't necessary.
That's what my ancestors tried to tell their neighbors.
Their neighbors didn't listen.
Should we?
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I want to let my grandfather know
When Gavroche walked out on stage,
My grandfather instantly noted a resemblance
Between Gavroche and his youngest grandchild.
(not me, a cousin)
If any of us had read the novel beforehand
We might have had the foresight to warn him--
Let my grandfather know
What Victor Hugo had in store for Gavroche.
Excuses are easy to come up with.
The play was not entitled, "The Happy."
Children do die--Especially in times of war and revolution.
But while my Grandfather was able to understand,
I'm not sure he ever quite forgave Hugo
For murdering his grandson.
I want to let my grandfather know
Gavroche never truly died.
I finally read the novel and
Hugo's words were so vivid
His characters, including Gavroche,
Still live in my mind.
I want to let him know, because
My grandfather passed away a few years ago.
I see him sometimes when I'm asleep.
He's uncharacteristically silent in my dreams
As if he's watching God's play unfold
Wary of what the author might do next.
I want to let my grandfather know
What the author does is irrelevant.
We are all granted eternal life.
All we need is character.
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