your daughters
birthday I mean?
overtime at the office
because promotion hinges on
this present project.
first animal doctor
for you to audit.
not only
for IRS, but also
for vets association.
they have him up on the
carpet for sub... – by Doug Blair | 12 Views added 1 month ago
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She risked her all, they told me, bravely sinking
The pinched economies of thirty years;
And there the little shop was, meek and shrinking,
The sum of all her dreams and hopes and fears.
Ere it was opened I would see them in it,
The gray-haired... – by Doug Blair | 17 Views added 8 months ago
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Chinese Family Just Arrived. Met them in Restaurant. Friend Mary was already offering help.
Imagine
Here from Hong Kong
Only three days
Young thirties couple
And sweet young daughter.
I’m saying around six.
They were game for
Whatever... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 8 months ago
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THE WEE SHOP
She risked her all, they told me, bravely sinking
The pinched economies of thirty years;
And there the little shop was, meek and shrinking,
The sum of all her dreams and hopes and fears.
Ere it was opened I would see them in... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 8 months ago
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I have been wanting discussion
With somebody
Anybody.
But we have been muzzled
by the system
Of containment, confinement
Better leave alone agendas.
For so long we hurried back home.
Shop a little
Talk only when... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 8 months ago
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He's full of bombast
Big Mother
Hardly ever engages
Full on.
Just has to huff and puff.
Opposition are wetting
Themselves.
Just look at his size.
Weapons don't often get
Drawn into sunlight.
But this time Baby... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 8 months ago
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I remember the shiftless
I remember the bound
I remember the weekend highs
The devil’s bloodhound.
And where might I wake up?
A stairwell or lawn.
And lusty nights offered
As Slewfoot’s sick pawn.
So full of excuses
But... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 8 months ago
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Two of them side by each.
Elongated white curved necks
Hard to distinguish
Which was which.
Like ships of state. Parallel.
A cool variation of July Saturday.
Picnic people otherwise occupied
Spreading cloths on lawn
... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 8 months ago
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Much like other holidays
Sun and surf and sand
This one awesomely features
Strange exotic land.
Lions come here often
Chores domestic spared
Male and female, little ones
Languish open-aired.
Left the jungle’s darkness
All that... – by Doug Blair | 10 Views added 8 months ago
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Pachyderms
on July 27, 2023
They walked them right past us
The parking lot and the swing sets
Schedule said 12:15
Down to the Lake
Bath Time.
Lion Safari special feature.
Old Lady named Gladys had
Chatted with us... – by Doug Blair | 44 Views added 8 months ago
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The overcast is frequent
The chills are ever felt
The glen is rich with history
Would make a cold heart melt.
McDonalds held at Glencoe
With rival tribes around.
And now there was this King’s oath
Give pledge or rage be found.
The storm... – by Doug Blair. | 4 Views added 8 months ago
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The prop boat is wonderful.
Reeds, branches, mangroves
No problem, Wanderer.
You just skim over.
Easy to get lost in here.
Better have your compass
Dear Dumb Ass.
Portable radio giving out
John Lee Hooker and B.B. King.
Bonnie... – by Doug Blair | 1 View added 8 months ago
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She’s out of storage
Beautifully refurbished
Re-equipped for this summer.
New marina helps much.
And available island cottage.
Bertram has trim, length, power
Just right for Bay waves
And winds.
Fishing assistant extraordinaire.
And oh... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 8 months ago
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Fully retired.
Topsy-turvy day.
Sleep in the afternoon.
Now 8 PM seems like morning.
Poetry pinkies tapping away.
Inspiration rolling in.
Stuff on the meditating table
Last couple of days.
Burden to have released
For the blessing of dear... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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Sunday morning
He washed up nicely
Left those coveralls
And farm dust
For the day.
Took the Ford 500
Into Town a might early
Saw old friends at Ethel’s
Good grub and coffee
Before time to pray.
Called to mind Barbara
... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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Again you have
Shut down other signals
This is good
As I have a word or two:
I delight in you
No this is not impossible
I delight in you
Not because of do-gooder stuff
Many others go that route
And are duplicitous.
You are my child
Plain... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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The dollhouse was
Mostly intact in
Bedroom with side blown away.
Two sweet images
Of Babar friends
Beautifying the standing wall.
Cupboard there with
Shelf boasting teddies.
Puzzle boxes.
Hangers of pastel dresses
Blue jeans.
Three pair... – by Doug Blair | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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The woman told us to do it.
Pleasant obliging face
Enjoying the Feast.
Her Son over in the corner
By the indoor fig tree.
whatever He tells us to do.
However odd we must
Be about it.
Celebration Steward is
In a tizzy, for sure.
Wine is... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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This Jesus You Mentioned
oh I gave the Book a whirl
night-times read it to my girl
stories telling how that rabbi
taught so well and healed.
quite a chap, no doubt of that.
his example got down pat
but his Lordship?
that's the part that... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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The Girl listened to him.
Smooth and subtle.
Serpentine. Slithery.
His sales pitch, a humdinger.
I saw it all
Beside her.
You Guys can be gods
Yourselves.
Don't suck up to Elohim.
Be his puppets, no way.
You should have... – by Doug Blair | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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Imagine winter, lecture hall, Boston.
Male gazing at female.
Closely desked.
Moving away from old chestnuts
Like John Donne.
Considering rather a wife
In primordial lands.
Baby strapped on.
Bringing provision to
Sturdy lumberman Husband
At... – by Doug Blair | 22 Views added 1 year ago
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So I come to you with verses
gleaned from Book of books
sublime.
and you think I do so smugly
with no straining slopes to climb.
but I'm a Beggar.
all of God must come that way.
there must be plentiful breaking
then I have some stuff to say
... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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Movie starring Adam Driver
Minnie’s brother.
William Carlos Williams, his favourite
limner
Of the everyday.
WCW in fact a paediatrician
Loving kids, mothers, happy strolls.
Encounters with loyal dogs, mailmen
Milk truck drivers. Plumbers in... – by Doug Blair | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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He was an adopted boy
That fact seemed to fade
In significance.
In the love of a mother Edith.
Who nursed his hurts.
Gave him her love of books
Gave him the piano lessons
To master to a child’s degree
Finlandia by Sibelius.
The forest, the... – by Doug Blair | 17 Views added 1 year ago
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This woman pulled a convenient cart
Little white dog inside
With a bad leg. Cold wintery.
Woman sort of talk-shy.
Taking garbage bag to
Apartment dumpster.
Then a little roundabout.
Dressed warmly.
she got bold and blurted.
Doggy came just... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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By then she was widowed some years.
Still full of beans.
Youthful face and skin.
Depths of Love within.
Had a place on Hwy. 3
Few miles from Blenheim.
Orchards all around.
Lakeside ground.
Secondary building had been
... – by Doug Blair | 2 Views added 1 year ago
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Pastor is in his upper years
Sundays now coming by rote
By tradition without
Honest power
Honest loving action.
Holy Spirit just a name
At the end of prayers
Or christenings.
Yeah, who is He anyways?
But then attention on the TV
Is drawn... – by Doug Blair | 15 Views added 1 year ago
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Oh I never saw you coming
You are self effacing oft
And you spotlight valiant Jesus
With your whispers sweet and soft.
You are there for pained and hurting.
Those who doubt the creeds of men.
Yes, your focus is Four Gospels.
Breaking walls... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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I MUST go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn... – by Dioug Blair | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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The Rainy Day” (1842)
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.
My life is cold, and... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Am I a stone, and not a sheep,
That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy cross,
To number drop by drop Thy blood’s slow loss,
And yet not weep?
Not so those women loved
Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;
Not so fallen Peter, weeping... – by Doug Blair | 20 Views added 1 year ago
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I present this link. Enjoy.
https://pastursgreen3.blogspot.com/2023/02/billy-collins-is-far-up-front.html
He has this eyes sideways
Knack for irony, beauty in
Ordinary things.
Tone of voice never giving away
A surprise.
Only offering... – by Doug Blair | 13 Views added 1 year ago
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They called him terse
With his words.
Knowing not to go on
After finished.
Economical, acrobatic
Using atmosphere, heroes.
Not needing elaboration.
Red Cross Corps in War.
Bohemian Paris.
(Gertrude Stein, Scott Fitzgerald,... – by Doug Blair | 58 Views added 1 year ago
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I said I was done
With the verses.
An interlude now
For a rest.
Creator has many who listen.
Has many who yearn
For His best.
In nature the scenes
All provoking.
In history some character plays.
My Mother wrote poems before me.
My... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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If I only say one word
That by hearts is truly heard.
Let it be to conjure duty
Birthed in Love
And showing beauty.
Let it be…AFFIRM.
Bye... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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OK Father
Trying to pay attention here
Put the dog outside
Barb is out with girlfriends
For a while for coffee.
And I need to talk
We need to talk.
There are anger issues
Arising at my work
Among other places.
Get four things done
And... – by Doug Blair | 16 Views added 1 year ago
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To seek a sort of legacy
A vain thing to be sure.
We hear good stuff
And write it down
And hope it will endure.
Perhaps a keen adventure
Or Love set forth and won.
The forest’s great menagerie
Or God’s most valiant Son.
Not quite of our... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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“Don’t you worry tonight
I will hold you
In the middle
In the middle of it.”
True Gospel stated.
Don’t you worry.
I will.
In the middle of it.
Repeated numerous times
For the dull or addled.
Or pained.
Father loves above all else.
We... – by Doug Blair | 16 Views added 1 year ago
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I have something of
Real value to say.
Been shut up for months.
By power of that Angel.
Imagine. Talking to an Angel.
Then spouting unbelief.
But he said, speech would
Return at the baby’s birth.
And what a Babe.
Supposed to be named John.
... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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God, I’m not very good at this.
I wakened early to the sound of one lark. Imagine…singing in this ghastly place.
Sergeant said that this morning we would move out.
Comes as a relief after three weeks in this muck and rain and monotony. Some... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Delightful breakfast spot.
Saturday.
Lots of families.
He came in with shuffling
Bent over stick posture.
Leaning into the walker.
Large head, chest
And shoulders spoke of
Significant athletic ventures.
Quietly followed Son,... – by Doug Blair | 50 Views added 1 year ago
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Spring cleaning
Throughout the semi
Of course it falls
To Deborah.
Trundle the one year old
Into the spare bedroom.
Playpen and a bunch
Of bright plastic things.
All super big so
As not to choke.
Bill is away at
A sales convention.
Three... – by Doug Blair | 2 Views added 1 year ago
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https://sites.google.com/d/1BJW4wLIyhtk5W6BRgFpvdAsY-9PanrDr/p/1wzRPYhrpC0lVAcYDKrrCqV9UIJpTQ-qM/edit
Many are the paths
To contentment.
Singular the route
To dump sin.
Looks to the full work of Jesus
His the God-way to enter in.
His the... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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Is it that He stands
Upon that high place.
Captivating crowds
Who sat there long.
Simple Life to sermonize
So sweetly.
Making faith, forgiveness
Quite a song.
Giving, trusting daily
For provision.
Going extra miles
Should someone ask.
... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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The heart says yes
The mind says no
To you a greater likeness grows.
And chosen yes
And told your tale
And made to hear the bruised one wail
It cannot be
A futile quest
I hunger to dispense your best
In prayer so close
In Word so true
... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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He is coming
Heard that promise
For the Day
Oppressions cease.
Gone the thievery
And the cruel lies.
And the Guilt
In sin’s release.
But the centuries
Have elapsed some
And the verses of Holy Writ
Now are tested
By the Front Page.
Can... – by Doug Blair | 12 Views added 1 year ago
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Cape Breton was his second home
Town Baddeck specifically
Alongside Bras D’Or Lake.
It does shine sun-up, like
A Golden Arm!
And our man walked it all.
Thought over problems, providences
Ideas, inventions.
Saw the Kitty Hawk fly there.
... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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An overcast dayIn the summer.A pleasant reliefFrom the heat.
And rising quite Early this morning,I’ve taken a
Cool backyard seat.
The birds are
Surprisingly quiet.
Are they as slow-
Moving as I?
The leaves on the
Maple turn over,
Requesting... – by Doug Blair | 12 Views added 1 year ago
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I see the little boy
Is looking straight at me
His Mother prices items
At the Grocery.
A Saturday job of years
And I some people meet.
The Oldsters want a talking-to.
So dismissive on the Street.
And now this Boy with Mom
An action figure... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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The Everlasting Mercy (1911), telling the story of a poaching, wenching and pugnacious drunk who discovered Christ. The following is its conclusion:
Slow up the hill the plough team plod,
Old Callow at the task of God,
Helped by man's wit,... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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Among the Hogs
Came to myself
And the sight was not pretty
Came to myself
In a mud-spattered mess.
Father had rendered
My share in the family
Knowing full well
That it scarcely could bless.
Friends had been fast
As I opened the... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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I want you soon to do this
I really do you know
You seem enthused
Checked all the stops
It’s right that you should go.
I won’t apply the damp cloth
To stifle force of zeal
With overmuch precaution
And rob the commonweal.
The other Lords... – by Doug Blair | 16 Views added 1 year ago
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Covered basket on the porch.
Sheltered from the drizzle.
Whose porch?
Alice F. the jam jars lady
At local Farmers’ Market.
Twice weekly.
Very obliging. Lots of energy and smiles.
A Baby in the Basket.
You guessed it.
What comes next?
Warm... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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He comes out to a big rock.
Warming the cold bloods.
Eighteen footer.
Gator.
Scar slashes mar
The sides just
Before hind legs.
Trap? propellor?
Off to right side of
Fifteenth hole.
Ball retrievers must be careful.
Heard of... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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Must it be that
Wisdom comes the hard way?
Knocks and shocks to
Moderate the view.
One laid flat and
Looking up near bankrupt.
Where the Help to
See the challenge through.
God is there but
Too much panic to
Behold Him.
Never strayed nor
... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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The woman had come to the
Big Tent in this meeting for people
Of the sub-continent.
Land of tigers and monsoon rain.
She held in her lap
A drooping two year old girl.
Very sick hardly registering.
Mother stroked the hot brow.
Tried to be... – by Doug Blair | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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Sick and tired you tell me
Of my religious talk.
I couldn’t, wouldn’t
Tone it down
And now you plan to walk.
A safe secure upbringing
With nature scoring big.
And family warmth and singing
Yet I, religious prig.
Perhaps I used the language
... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Takes you to a mangrove swamp.
Gators, coons, egrets.
And popup catfish bubbles.
Motor launch wakes.
Smell of fish bream..
Fish bait shack of
Detective Dave Robichaud
Kicked out of New Orleans PD
For indiscretions together with
His best... – by Doug Blair | 16 Views added 1 year ago
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So I made the bust
Heavy dose of coke in the van.
Named a middle man.
Couldn’t get near importers.
Tried though.
Pretty good haul anyway.
Got to file the stash
With Evidence lockup.
But hey listen.
Keeping one quarter of it.
Would keep us... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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“My Lord God, is that you,This strange thing must I do;In taking my dear son unto Moriah,
To have him harshly boundAnd flung upon the ground,A sacrifice consumed with holy fire?”
“Yes friend, that was my voice.I’m giving you the choiceTo... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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Seniors’ Rec. Centre, Kitchener.
Fred with the heavy
German accent.
As much as invited me
To show up.
Make sure to bring
Keys of C and G harps
Yah?
And so I did.
About 8 or 9 in a circle.
Fran on piano setting tempo
And intro tune... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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PoetryDispatch No. 346 | May 2, 2011
BILLY COLLINS
Poetry Workshop Held in a
Former Cigar Factory in Key West
After our final class, when we disbanded
as the cigar rollers here had disbanded decades ago,
getting up from their benches for... – by Doug Blair | 17 Views added 1 year ago
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Egret
The bird was just searching
for food not metaphors –
or taking rest from a day’s flight
It was dusk after all and its ancestors
who might have crossed the Middle
Passage, crossed the Kala Pani on flotsam
or a ship’s mast long... – by Doug Blair | 16 Views added 1 year ago
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My, how you have unloaded!
A bundle of troubles that
Gobble up your Day,
your waking thoughts.
Can’t imagine your dreams.
And then you pause
Look to the Ground.
Shuffle your one foot
In the gravel.
I pause as well.
What is to be said... – by Doug Blair | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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Do only the nihilists have content?
Is doubt the best use of the pen?
A jilted love, life full of pipe-dreams.
Is the good dog dying again?
We laughed at the country tune’s losses,
The cheating heart, booze drowns the tears.
The runaway... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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She was going to Aunt Zella’s
Mom was away at the Lawyer’s
Dad on business in South Korea.
Import-export.
Zella was loaded, sent a Chauffeur.
Inherited husband’s largesse.
Big name Art Dealer.
Debra had a lot to process.
... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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A mystical
A magical
A moody haunting tune
That seized the world
In reverie
And worship finely tuned.
To grasp the skies
As David did.
A Jewish boy with sheep.
The Meadows worked
To bring God close.
With words... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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When we love a pursuit in Art that love creates frequency; and frequency boldness and capability;
and then venturesome growth and delightful repertoire; and then the Greatest Creator looks down, smiles, and contributes anointing.
Progress... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Red Skelton had a sense of humour that was never rude, harmful, profane or lewd.
Two seagulls flying over Atlantic
Some distance offshore
From Massachusetts.
One spots down below
An immense cruise ship.
Look, down there
It’s the Ship of... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Winter time
February skate rink.
Scraping noises, your first clue.
Music by Nat King Cole.
Couple of hockey keeners
Skipping around more
Vulnerable ones.
Showing off backwards.
Song took Centre Stage.
“You Always Hurt
The One You Love.”
... – by Doug Blair | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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Monique was trying to process what had just happened.
She was also collecting her thoughts for the one permitted phone call to the lawyer.
Early this afternoon. Finished a bunch of baking. Doorbell rang. Men in black flashing badges.... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Just beyond the flower garden at the end of the lawn
the curvature of the earth begins,
sloping down from there
over the length of the country
and the smooth surface of the Pacific
before it continues across the convex rice fields of... – by Doug Blair | 21 Views added 1 year ago
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Guy goes into a bar.
Extremely pissed.
And novice bartender
Knows that he shall not
Serve a drunk.
Discussion ensues.
Civil, thankfully.
Drunk says
Don’t wanna drink.
Wanna shoot your darts.
Hey Buddy, that’s too sharp
You shouldn’t.
... – by Doug Blair | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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Read Psalm 131.
One of the shortest.
There is weaning, waiting
Wanting only closeness
To the God of angel armies.
He has the Agenda
The aroma
The authority and Affirming.
The weaning has some tears
Through my years.
But Spirit food does me... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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|
She’s sick and tired.
Lots of bunk time.
Reading.
Listening to music.
Aching shoulders, lower back.
Fibromyalgia?
Doctors say
It’s just a head game.
Nothing to prescribe.
Nothing to give
Except sneering looks.
Wife commits to rest and... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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|
Poetry? Dinky messages.
Japanese.
Value seems more in the
Words left unsaid
Inferences drawn.
Curtain only partially
Pulled back for
Something beautiful.
But remember Fella.
Little people.
Little land space.
Little tenuous tightrope
For... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
| Rating
|
Last week he lost his Dad.
Great guy Dad was.
Knew something was coming.
Knew he must submit
And move on. Next chapter…
What can I do?
But Friend is grieving.
Testy and questioning
Hard to approach right now.
Do I have words, or some
... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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(A contribution from Jordan Blair)
One tender leaf upon a branch
One perfect flake of snow
One grain of sand upon the tide
Wherever it may go
One bird who sings atop the pines
One lonely wolf who calls
One drop of rain aloft in clouds
... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Matthew 20:22
“Can you drink the cup?”
The challenge from the Master
Given Sons of Thunder
His Passion close at hand.
Quickly they said “yes”
With no real sense of wonder
At the mix of living
To later understand.
They had known real joy
... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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|
Somewhere in the teachings of Oswald Chambers, deliverance from sin or sickness was attributed to "the expulsive power of an over-riding affection".The man with the vile tongue wishes that he could stop cursing. Time and again he has embarrassed... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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There’s a song in every Christian
And it speaks of rough sea crossed
And of dark nights of desertion
When the former hopes were lost
And the world would brand it weakness
And would silence the refrain
And would drum their battle marches
That... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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|
days into mountain drive
from Banff
Athabasca river at low level.
no autumn reds.
maple, sumac…nada.
ridges of uplands now
bringing on yawns.
our south western ontario
just a blip for altutude.
ahead appears a mountain.
criss-cross... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
| Rating
|
Rick of harmonicas
Said I should
Go, spend an evening
Talents pass by
Mostly guitar, vocal
And keys.
Most in their seniors and
Wanting to please.
Audience respectful
Stick to night's list
Songs speaking heartache
... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
| Rating
|
He frequented cesspools.
Wenching and duels
Drinking and cursing
The stuff of crass fools.
Commissioned by rich folk
To better each face
Or show off some cleavage
Those times, sad disgrace.
But then tried religion.
And Jesus so kind.
The... – by Doug Blair | 12 Views added 1 year ago
| Rating
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It’s there, and you know it
Will wind up your clock
A tendency tactic
That spices your talk.
You can’t be disparaged
You can’t be put down.
By inference or face-slap.
The Victory must own.
You try first by logic
Let’s re-create this.
You... – by Doug Blair | 13 Views added 1 year ago
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|
In our apartment
Met many days
Widow with attitude
Capable ways.
Born as a Slovak
Married to French
(New Brunswick)
Single apartment
Will never quench.
Seen grocery buggy.
Market nearby.
Takes constitutional
Traffic speeds by.
She... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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Needed petrol.
Dad always called it petrol.
From his time in Britain/Scotland.
WW2.
On a slight and dirty backroad.
Where’s a pump?
Driving.
We see it
Texaco.
White and red sign
Painted brick station.
One guy, black man.
Feet up seated
... – by Doug Blair | 33 Views added 1 year ago
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Part Two…the most satisfying
For me. A period in India.
Mystical, quiet place of
Retreat.
Richard takes her on
Smart ass that he is.
Names her Groceries.
All that food
Partying, singing in Italy.
Sticks to her.
But then a wedding
One of... – by DougbBlair | 18 Views added 1 year ago
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Head up, adventuresome
From Belleville and
Prince Edward County.
Bird sanctuaries, cottage folk.
Old wartime airstrip.
Wave at Ivanhoe, the cheese place.
Gaze from marina docks
In Hastings.
Noting reforestation
Trees... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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Red Fox on Highway 500 (near midnight)”
All I saw was the tail of him
the dream fox ahead of me
his rump a red light flashing
in a thousand movie still shots
(callipygous screenland special)
forty feet ahead of me
feet red hammers... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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You have always been there
Showing good paths
Good motives.
You have trumped
My enemies, detractors
In their foolish self assuraces.
Godless they are.
And doomed.
So WHAT NOW?
I have lost power, tightness
Of grip, wrenching,
Sawing or... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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She had heard the noise
Down village street
News had come of Jesus
His assurances
Deeds of compassion.
Affirmation.
This was He.
She stood at roadside
Craning her neck
For hope.
hope for her Gramma
Suffering a ferocious
Goitre.... – by Doug Blair | 12 Views added 1 year ago
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The footsteps - Paul Valery
Your footsteps, children of my silence,
Saintly, slowly placed
Towards the bed of my watchfulness,
Approach, muted and frozen.
Pure one, divine shadow,
How gentle, your cautious steps are!
Gods! …all the gifts that... – by Doug Blair | 15 Views added 1 year ago
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A little lessened here.
The times and seasons shared
The walks together
Minding weather
Words of wisdom heard.
She slowly drifted far
But distant memories held
The limbs would fail
The eyes would dull.
Still inner joys had... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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I’ve seen some slight,
Flattish and mid- brown
Blanketed by two tissue
Grabbings, smallish.
Inadequate.
Left unflushed. Forlorn.
Hurriedly
As if the point of
Origin could not
Get rid of same, without
Indignity, embarrassments
Anal... – by Doug Blair | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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Go to your Room boy
Do not collect two hundred dollars
(Monopoly term)
Give birth to thought
Sleeplessness brought
Tablet in hand
See what follers.
See some delight.
Hardship’s brief night.
Nature, a feast every time.
... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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He is numbered among eight
Approaching fleet
Of Japanese.
West Coast USA
Hangs in the balance.
Intel had been incredible.
But still the biggest game
Of poker.
Gave his group the
HEAD DOWN order.
Good luck gents.
Training for the dive bomb... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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He got us into same place.
Social coordinator.
Never happier, the little Doxy.
Went into his
Circle the pillow
Ritual.
Plumped down and smiling.
(Thoroughly convinced
Dogs smile. Didn’t Lassie
Littlest Hobo?)
Fireplace crackling.
Most... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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It’s a river we search for
Yes a stream lined with trees
For the healing of nations
In the Spirit’s fresh breeze.
And the saints there are gathered
All the broken made whole
And the glorious creatures
And apostles twelve-fold.
Not a... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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It’s a river we search for
Yes a stream lined with trees
For the healing of nations
In the Spirit’s fresh breeze.
And the saints there are gathered
All the broken made whole
And the glorious creatures
And apostles twelve-fold.
Not a... – by Doug Blair | 1 View added 1 year ago
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Farm Wife Sadly Alone, Troubled
She will hang the laundry shortly
Just right amount of wind.
Kids have departed on the yellow bus.
A day in May when
All seems glowing and clean.
Vegetable garden
Just put in.
Albert is at a meeting... – by Doug Blair | 58 Views added 1 year ago
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Go to your Room boy
Do not collect two hundred dollars
(Monopoly term)
Give birth to thought
Sleeplessness brought
Tablet in hand
See what follers.
See some delight.
Hardship’s brief night.
Nature, a feast every time.
... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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Jews must address this
Their sainted prophet
Close to one of
Their Kings.
The righteous ones.
Saw that King die.
Devastated he was.
Til came the visions.
Wars, starvation, siege, exile.
Shame from many bad choices.
Imitating wicked... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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Icy deck
I went down
Broken left wrist
Rib, hip, ankle
Pride.
Mindless ride.
Much time is
Now flat.
Fancy that, not
Like me to be prone
Contemplation to own.
Answerless, when you
Have known me
Fixing each ill.
Strong macho will.
But... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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What I have lost
And what I have suffered.
Still God is bright shining
Supreme in my heart.
Devil has tried
And Devil has tested
Have I been bested?
By lust and cruel art?
Friends sit beside me
They offer their “wisdom”.
But wisdom so... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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don’t really go
for the saints.
but this guy launched
something noble
endearing
notes to a lady
of goodwill
sunny days
if not full blooded
Love.
leave push and shove.
So get up
Reflect, smile,...
– by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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Have you heard me?
Give up on seeing that Man.
Five strange jobs in
The last two years.
Nothing but tears in store.
And there’s more.
Two previous women
In Common Law.
A Son he never sees.
Think again Girl, please.
You go out on desperate... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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MUSIC IN THE BUSH by Robert Service (1907 Dodd, Mead and Company)
O'er the dark pines she sees the silver moon,And in the west, all tremulous, a star;
And soothing sweet she hears the mellow tuneOf cow-bells jangled in the fields afar.
Quite... – by Doug Blair | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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These little ones
Have known my name
They're oh so quick to call
At point of need
When darkness comes
When threatened with a fall.
Not big on self
Supremely poor
In spirit, they confess.
And that's their strength
They run to me
That all... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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I don’t know his lifespan
Stretched in the sunshine
Card table top
By the window.
Cottage is ours
For ten days.
Lyn is off teaching for the summer.
I have the same from the store.
Except a meeting next Tuesday
In Town.
... – by Doug Blair | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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Hebrew writes
From right to left
With God-expecting eyes.
The rest of us from
Left to right.
First sightings, then surmise.
The Romans we’ll just
Build the the thing
The Greeks use ethics, theatres
To sing.
And heathens from Missouri say
... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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So easy to enter
Not far CQE
And a venture
For young-uns
And a delight for me.
There’s the entrance Madonna
Cache
And the high cliffs for sport
The fresh air and the best
Of sleeps.
And the beaver’s report.
Night... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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As he took the stage
In his spotted shirt
Blue jeans faded so
And Nikes that worked.
He had confidence
Of materials brought.
Traffic such a mess
A wife over-wrought.
Just how kids act up
Parenting a chore
Political correctness
And much... – by Doug Blair | 12 Views added 1 year ago
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How suddenly the private
is revealed in a bombed-out city,
how the blue and white striped wallpaper
of a second-storey bedroom is now
exposed to the lightly falling snow
as if the room had answered the explosion
wearing only its striped... – by Doug Blair | 20 Views added 1 year ago
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Hold on now
Shut down the flutters
And wringing hands.
Didn’t you tunnel through
With others.
Seemingly beyond you.
Get hooked up with God better.
Acquire audacity, currency.
Stash away wisdom
Of a Heavenly sort
To help others.
The very... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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She partnered wrong
Swept off her feet
By a Romantic
Who treated beautiful images
Cheaply, leeringly.
But spoke all the contrived
Words to win a woman’s heart
And then others. Percy did.
He couldn’t handle money
Couldn’t handle decency.
... – by Doug Blair | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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I hit like Vesuvius.Greater emotional impactThan one's first love.
Irrepressible as incoming tide.Washing over sand castles.
I elicit self-doubt,Self-pity,Self-centredness.I bring on red anger,
Social awkwardness,
Loner spirit.
I... – by Doug Blair | 2 Views added 1 year ago
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"Not too far"
And this should give you courage
Feel the pull
Of Jesus at your heart
You have come
Right to the brink of blessing
Timeless truth
He readies to impart.
May be late
But time is not the issue
Do not rue
The sand passed... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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We lept to the shore
From our strange craft
Large Rapids before us
We knew.
The days of dull drifting
A memory.
And numbers had failed
Coming through.
No time for the burials
Respectful.
Just time to divide
All their... – by Doug Blair | 2 Views added 1 year ago
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Putting in remembrance
Or just dull repeat
Repeat and repeat
With those verses so sweet.
They have heard it before.
Some affirm; some just snore.
And seventy minutes pass
To the mark.
COVID smashed the whole thing.
no... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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It was Summer and
We were taking traditional
Trip to Danforth Farm.
Mom’s best friend
Had a Brother raising hogs
Huron County.
Three boys and Nadine.
The picnic Wizard.
So much food would
Stuff nine truckers.
Big smiles... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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It was Summer and
We were taking traditional
Trip to Danforth Farm.
Mom’s best friend
Had a Brother raising hogs
Huron County.
Three boys and Nadine.
The picnic Wizard.
So much food would
Stuff nine truckers.
Big smiles... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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There is such a clamour
A chaos. And contumely.
As we smash idols
Sweep up prostitutes
And their accumulation of filth.
Tear down beastly banners.
But what’s this, a messenger
Seeks audience with a document
Huge scroll that he thinks
... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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Film in the now
For Hollywood.
Intense.
Too much dialogue?
Or just the right amount?
All women
Amish and hurting.
A religion that deadens?
All freedom of expression gone.
All delightful exchange
Between Adams and Eves.
Or a religion... – by Doug Blair | 12 Views added 1 year ago
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ETHIOPIA
cradle of the Black Madonna, oh
dark Maria-
hunger falls on you
like a gardener’s rake falls
on rich, black soil,
for growing crops, but instead of harvests,
you weep for rain, hunger, and you birth death.
your children are
... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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An auditorium mostly used
For Seniors, cribbage, bumper pool
Guitar lessons, book club, yoga.
Well sort of.
But Thursday nights at eight.
Talent, readings of all sorts.
Song.
Even a dodgy female ventriloquist.
And a terrier who does tricks
... – by Doug Blair | 17 Views added 1 year ago
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Black woman poet, born 1940 Chicago
Morning Glory
Sometimes,
When they say this to the child,
when they murmur this to
the retreaters, when they chide
the innocents, when they mouth this
to the God-fearing, God-loving,
... – by Doug Blair | 21 Views added 1 year ago
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We are out all morning
Watching, waiting.
Leviathan is out here
Whining, dining deep down.
But a sighting
Ours to own?
Sea birds frequent a spot.
Plummeting
Small fish for Lunch.
But what brought them up high?
Needn’t wonder why
... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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Is it possible
A theme just pops up
As I tap the tablet
Right now?
…A plow and two best
Of friends
Clearing land.
Reins in hand
Eyes set straight
For field’s end
And the Gate.
But there’s still snow?
April comes, just you wait.
Crows... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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Had a dream where
Wesley and Whitefield
Duked it out
Holiness or Reformed
Choosing versus Chosen
Cautious versus Care-free.
They went toe to toe
Blow for blow.
Looked as if Referee
Was Jordan Peterson.
They had been... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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They march in
Down the aisles
The whole orchestra
People clapping
To a beat
Beauty happening
In Maastricht.
Andre* is back home. (*Rieu)
And the night
Is magic.
Want to laugh?
Want to listen?
Want to dream?
... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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She hangs her laundry
From wrought iron balcony.
Bullet strafings mark
The white-washed brick.
Alongside.
Neighbour down the hall.
Almost curtains yesterday.
As he hiked empty streets.
To the bakery.
Open... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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I believe, suspect
That for sake of volume
Tedium and expedience
Contest judges, admins
And visitors, contestants.
Choose say, at random
Two dozen pieces
For closer study
Or maybe the label Rhymed
And divide by four
The entries.
Or... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Ice covers it now.
Sometimes so grey
Other times sun sparkling.
Willows droop over.
Despondent at the
Hiatus in relationship.
In frogs peeping.
Mallards courting
Or leading a string of tiny ones.
Monarchs enrapt in their
Pre migration... – by Doug Blair | 12 Views added 1 year ago
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Yes I watched it all at seat’s edge
And couldn’t
Budge at all.
No sandwich or pee break.
Insistent cellphone call.
A Guy falls into road rage
In midst of awful day.
A woman gave him rudeness.
The chase was on, OK.
What followed, most on... – by Doug Blair | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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Blinded from birth
He would give all he’s worth
To rehearse on a keyboard
Sublime.
There were two orbits missed
Other senses all kissed
With resourcefulness
Hitting Big Time.
Think of Cherie Amore,
Superstition, lots more
I just... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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We met over
Sandwiches and ice water.
Did this often on Tuesdays.
He the Realtor
And I the Lawyer.
Peter.
Italian background.
Lots of funny stories
Or quips.
Wife Cathy was Food Economist
With the Province.
We had helped
Each other.
... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Round the Horn
(Here is a wonderful ballad of commotion and courage at sea written by my son Jordan Blair)
She rides upon the rolling tide
Her mastheads gently sway
With seagulls her companions
In the fading light of day
And down... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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Til the Branch (Isaiah 11)
No great Leader
Impartial and compassionate
Rescuing the poor
Uniting all men’s hearts
Setting down weapons
Of avarice and bigotry
Giving words of holiness
And Heav’n the focal part.
No great Standard
To... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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The coffee led to talking
And the talking led to smiles
Fellow travelers stopping
For a new thing, just a while.
I'd seen you with your puzzles
Crossword, Sudoku and such.
You'd seen me with my IPad
Writing down with rapid... – by Doug Blair | 2 Views added 1 year ago
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You see him, Lord?
You see him?
For years this awful mess.
He scarcely can express himself
Can’t even wash or dress.
His antics get folks going
They fear what might come next.
He roars in hot frustration
Sore lonely and sore vexed.
The... – by Doug Blair | 54 Views added 1 year ago
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Art thieves, copyists.
They set up bogus gallery
Bring in lots of junky prints
And a few masterful copied
Pieces from the greats.
Almost indistinguishable.
Would take a Lab
And special lighting, chemicals
To spot the bluff.
Then comes hasty... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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So I come to you with verses
gleaned from Book of books
sublime.
and you think I do so smugly
with no straining slopes to climb.
but I'm a Beggar.
all of God must come that way.
there must be plentiful breaking
then I have some stuff to say
... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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This night the snows
Will cover the crop.
Gentle like Bethlehem
Worries all dropped
Comes in the silence
Yes.
Wee precious Child
Mother, Protector
The three undefiled.
Snows hide
A coming yield
Promise from God.
... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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Has it been a
Gobbling up of needful
Time?
Others playing ball
Outside.
While I must climb
To some height of revelation
Given me.
How to find the words
To make first-baseman see.
And words are short, truncated.
Sometimes odd.
But it’s... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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Such a memorable dayIn the pastures of May,
And the brook sparklesJust past the green.
And the flock is at restWhere the grazing is best.
And the gambolling
Young can be seen.
On a prominent rise
Where the plover oft’ flies
Seated, handsome... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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You see him, Lord?
You see him?
For years this awful mess.
He scarcely can express himself
Can’t even wash or dress.
His antics get folks going
They fear what might come next.
He roars in hot frustration
Sore lonely and sore vexed.
The... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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He caps it off saying
There will be a New Heaven
New Earth.
Righteous mirth
Beautiful bounty
Shall replace the
Long string of error
Rebellion
Messing with neighbours’
Idols and lechery.
Family treachery that
Will soon be gone.
Capture,... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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You’re doing it again
Smiling when in fact
You disagree strongly
Gathering forces
For the counter-attack.
Getting me back
When fully brewed.
Never rude or dismissive.
I love the smile
Feeling at home
All the while.
With the Precious One
... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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Again you have
Shut down other signals
This is good
As I have a word or two:
I delight in you
No this is not impossible
I delight in you
Not because of do-gooder stuff
Many others go that route
And are duplicitous.
You are my child
Plain... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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Another P. I. thriller handy
Yeah, I got the DVD.
And his life is so messed up.
How he helps?
Well that beats me.
But a death has
Sparked his contract.
Sweet young girl
Got led astray.
By some fancy Dancy Drinker
Now it’s time for him
To... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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If I had about five minutes
And your thoughts would stay with me
I would paint a grizzly picture
Of a Hill and shameful Tree.
Of a Man who did no wrong
But was punished just the same.
Holding court in righteous posture
While His judges were... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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It seemed like an option.
Gumption.
Correction.
Connection.
To get off the stuff.
Tried hard enough
Cold turkey was rough
And short-lived
Dammittall.
In this Hall
Folks get up and
Spill their beans.
What it means
To them to be wasted
... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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So, bought me a squeeze box.
Some friends I heard say
You’ve played lots harmonicas
Now squeeze this today.
Some pumping the bellows.
Some buttons to trip.
And you’ll entertain us
So Doug let her rip.
Like Matey belowdecks
Like cowboy’s... – by Doug Blair | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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Now have a squeeze box.
Concertina the name
And Hohner the makers
Of worldwide harp fame.
The keys C and G
I have used oft before
And friends say
Transition is just a
Small chore.
I see me belowdecks
With winds raging high.
I see me at... – by Doug Blair | 1 View added 1 year ago
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Everyone speaks of your words
Some rain, Rainer
And some gleam with the
Hope of the sunny afternoon.
There is balance with you Sir.
I have only scratched your surface.
Responding mainly to the good spin
Of enthusiasts.
Used to see bits and... – by Doug Blair | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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To be deep
Is not always
Discouraged
Nor beaten with
Blasting harsh word.
Nor thumb smacked
With errant steel hammer
So dead down, deluded, absurd.
Take a look at the
Day’s balanced journey
First the night
When the threatenings creep.
... – by Doug Blair | 12 Views added 1 year ago
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One hundred fifty
Stepping stones to joy
A walk in the woods
A hate to employ.
A faith that takes wings
A sweet Robin sings
A bullfrog barooms
His marsh concert tunes
A baby en ventre sa mere.
So much could be right.
But many just fight,
... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
| Rating
|
https://sites.google.com/site/conversationabove/conversation-pair?authuser=0
Conversation: Pair
There is a look or two here
At Jesus come alongside
Yoked team-mate.
Nothing to hide.
And power, love
To break forth, True North.
going where... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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Does it help
If I just simply sit a while
Here beside
You as you reel in recent pain?
Naught to say
No thoughts to re-invent your smile.
Hurts too much.
Will you hold up ‘neath all this strain?
Sun will rise
But it will surely take a... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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It’s late night
And creative waters
Storm the break wall .
Rise or fall?
Which style this
Session.
Depression? Someone tossing?
Needs crossing with Hope
In verse.
Don’t rehearse Man.
Just write, accelerate
With something you know
Left... – by Doug Blair | 2 Views added 1 year ago
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|
The storm’s approach
The eagle sees.
He waits for it
Atop the trees.
The meadow runs.
Retreats in fear.
The wily fox,
The white-tail deer.
And skies grow black.
And crack with light.
And wind careens,
As day turns night.
The smell of... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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|
You come to me limping
Bur never no mind
You’ve come to know Jesus
In service so kind
You weep with folks hurting
Have been there in spades
But now you have comfort
To show what Christ made.
Quite humble, a listener
A shoulder to lean
... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
| Rating
|
So what’s to talk about?
Got your coffee?
Hockey, school teacher Trudeau
Your backroom reno coming along.
Next June’s trip to Temagami.
But that sour face of yours?
What gives, Alex.
Oh, not so much
Don’t want to put the
Damper on things.
... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
| Rating
|
Picked him up
In a Destroyer.
The Brits did.
Greece was in chaos.
Down with the Crown
Father had no hold upon
Leadership with
Integrity, equity
Frugality, popularity
Or any other plus.
Mother, poor dear, was
On her way to
Unsoundness of... – by Doug Blair | 18 Views added 1 year ago
| Rating
|
In the midst of brilliant peppers
And a sausage link or two
And some crimson lilies potted
And some line-ups to get through,
I have paused and felt
The throat-lump,
And a slight bit teary-eyed.
It was these, the carefree shoppers,
It was... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
| Rating
|
Yesterday I cut down a vine that had completely overgrown a swinging chain-link gate at our factory.
I was amazed at its extent of growth.
There was one main darkened tap stalk and branches everywhere that ended in tiny tendrils wrapping... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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|
Pursuing Amalekites
With the image of their
Scorched village
Still fresh in their minds.
And angry, so angry
With the leader
Who had bade them depart from Ziklag.
Families left vulnerable.
Forgotten the times
Of his mastery,
His music,
... – by Doug Blair | 115 Views added 1 year ago
| Rating
|
Morning is up!
Whate’er the weather,
Night yields to praise,
Singing in feather.
Chorus of joy
Starting the day’s chores.
Still heard at dusk
Thanking for day’s stores.
Might all our ways
Copy the wee bird,
Filled with God’s praise,
Ever... – by Doug Blair | 2 Views added 1 year ago
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|
He has prayed for me,
And how I know his nights
Were given much to prayer.
On struggling priestly heights,
He sought my blessing there.
He has prayed for me,
And often while with us,
Upheld me by his power;
Though I would storm and fuss
And... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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So little time,
So much to paint
Of lasting worth.
The years mis-spent.
The social rave.
The treats of earth.
Those cities gay
Where I would play
With earl and wench.
My shame today.
Take them away.
Their swirl, their stench!
For I... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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They whirl and gallop as they please
On golden plain bereft of trees
Their coming hoof beats rouse up dread
The blood and tales of many dead
Who dared to raise a hope so bold
As seize their precious plain of gold.
The charge, the dance so much... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Holster way too big.
But no matter. He was the Lone Ranger.
Shiny pistol
With roll through caps, bright red.
To explode, maybe take out
An eye.
But this was 1961.
Health and Safety only
Vaguely considered by hospitals.
By Grandmothers.
And... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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It was that Sabbath.
Last one inside the Kirk.
Preacher Peden shook hands
Smiling with that slight hint of courage…
Brethren, women this is it.
Thanks for showing
In spite of drizzle.
So what is drizzle
In face of our trusty Covenant
And... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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He’s at the big window.
Tail twitching.
Four footed and
Shoulders rigid.
Sees the two cardinals
At the feeder.
Sparrows and chickadees
Beneath.
Squirrel at tree trunk.
Chucking, scolding.
Sure glad that I
Locked up the kitty door
To... – by Doug Blair | 15 Views added 1 year ago
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The ultra light makes for good time.
Jungle below, so green for a while.
Fifteen minutes back
The elephants in line
Took the evident path through
Luxuriating on the new foliage.
From above, it was spectacular.
Camera clicking like crazy
For... – by Doug Blair | 12 Views added 1 year ago
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Thanks for the flag, saints.
You ran once with Him.
Touched His clothes.
Placed hands of camaraderie
Upon those shoulders.
Saw the lame walk,The outcast relieved,
The fretful calmed,
The dead raised,
The deaf ears opened.
To His message of... – by Doug Blair | 118 Views added 1 year ago
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We were stationed
West part before
The sad division.
Krauts were relieved
Bombing had stopped
Adolph checked out
With Eva B.
At the bunker.
(We were told in
The rush for acreage.)
Anyways his parades had
Stopped and the excruciating... – by Doug Blair | 14 Views added 1 year ago
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Year and more gone by now.
City of tent shelters
At plot of land beside
VIA TRAIN STATION.
weber and Victoria streets.
And so cold.
They are heroic.
NOT lazy or shiftless.
Some are ill, mental issues.
Cascading from exposure, shame
... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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Imagine getting face to face with a huge Siberian tiger. He manages to get your entire face in his gaping mouth. You punch frantically.
He coughs in response, and you pull yourself free.Then some half-hearted wrestling. He isn’t really hungry... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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We know this field
Back of the Campus.
Our kids have named it
Gopher Field.
Summer climes.
Time on their hands.
Mom and the two would venture.
From the rise at the south
Their creation could be launched.
With little running.
Coaxing.
... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Just hanging like a spectacle
And lonely beyond words
And seeing false religion strut
With all their venom heard
And He a Teacher full of hope
With gentle hands to heal
Not judging every trip and fall
But offering comfort real.
He prayed as... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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He comes out to a big rock.
Warming the cold bloods.
Eighteen footer.
Gator.
Scar slashes mar
The sides just
Before hind legs.
Trap? propellor?
Off to right side of
Fifteenth hole.
Ball retrievers must be careful.
Heard of three in
The... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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The beef are all
Pretty sturdy.
Vet gave the shots.
All but one submitted.
She kicked, bellowed
And double-crossed
The backfield.
Weight gain seems promising.
Bought em six weeks back.
Keep for four more.
Watching market prices
Hawk-like.... – by Doug Blair | 12 Views added 1 year ago
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You come to me limping
Bur never no mind
You’ve come to know Jesus
In service so kind
You weep with folks hurting
Have been there in spades
But now you have comfort
To show what Christ made.
Quite humble, a listener
A shoulder to lean
... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Could i ever repay
This moment
Lakeside and
Nearing the close
Of Cottage week
Near Goderich.
Rained for three days
And chilly for August.
Monopoly gave us an excuse.
Battleships and crosswords.
TV reception not too bad
From across the... – by Doug Blair | 10 Views added 1 year ago
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Jewish people own comedy
Yeshudeva.
An Indian war chief
Full headdress
Speaks to the
Wagon train.
Oy, you got it rough.
Or toastmaster at a Roman
Orgy thirty seven, seated.
If you please.
Sated. Beautiful Girls.
Chests always Mel’s eye... – by Doug Blair | 20 Views added 1 year ago
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What you said was wrong
Just wrong
And four workmates heard you
Looked at me sideways.
All through our shift
I’ve been messed up.
Concocting snappy, bitter answers
For next time.
Next time?
Do I even want one?
Cocky sonovabitch.
I helped... – by Doug Blair | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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They have the walk.
Usually Fridays.
Luis and the burro.
Sarape brought if
Winds pick up.
Driving sands
Can be a killer.
Especially on eyes.
And throat.
Luis has packed his book
Needs to finish
And return to Library.
The Old Man and the... – by Doug Blair | 9 Views added 1 year ago
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I can’t believe, I won’t believe,
That this is how it goes.
The King of Kings and Lord of Lords,
A victim of his foes!
The man who won the crowds with food,
With talks of realms of peace,
A fool, who should have used such power
To gain the... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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I will cook tonight Honey.
Bad day for you at the Day Care.
Jimmy still tossing things
Spitting out his Dad’s profanity.
Darlene with the wet pants.
Your buddy Charles stifle his smirks?
Could you?
Friday evening.
Having braved the roads.
... – by Doug Blair | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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I hear the Bell
Hauntingly.
And it tells of duty
Compressed effort.
The Man points his finger
To that list impossible
For Me.
I will do it.
Give up the reading
The jogging
The talks with dear old Gram.
The Gospel readings
All four and... – by Doug Blair | 51 Views added 1 year ago
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Down from the Mountain
You see him, Lord?
You see him?
For years this awful mess.
He scarcely can express himself
Can’t even wash or dress.
His antics get folks going
They fear what might come next.
He roars in hot frustration
... – by Doug Blair | 8 Views added 1 year ago
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This born againA phrase of menThat sits not well with me.
And all the bloodA cleansing floodThat flows from Calvary?Must each addressHis sinful messAs if to start anew?
Will not the priest
And Easter's feast
Suffice to see us through?"
... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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Gang awa frae tha Glen
Tae a fearsome place;
Where tha darkened souls
Hae na gleemps o’grace.
Where tha work must fit
A new tongue and race.
Gang awa frae tha Glen for a wheel.
“Tis for certs He has ca’d
Ye, and ye must roon;
Tae a land o’... – by Doug Blair | 48 Views added 1 year ago
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I like that poet
Douglas Blair
He’s over there
With oodles of poems
Put forth.
Speaking to hopes
True North.
But folks, that guy is me.
Yeah Doug the same you see.
Bamboozled when I signed off
Password? Gorsh.
I will keep up my quest
To... – by Doug Blair | 7 Views added 1 year ago
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I am out to play again
Icy sidewalk, but no rain.
Bringing tunes one might
Think ill fitting for my harps.
But the children get it first
Play with music every verse
And the brief touch of
Community
Must start.
Yes I sang that one at... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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At nightfall the man stumbles off the cliff side and manages to grab some tree roots on the way down.
Holding on for dear life. Sound of booming surf behind and below. Looks like a helpless situation and a fatal fall.
Suddenly he hears a... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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An urge bubbling
An insistence
To expend those missives
Earned through tears
And delight
Pouring over the
Truffles of Holy Writ.
(I did not say trifles; far from it.)
We go on after
We are finished.
It is zeal of
A... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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Staying still in the shadows
The grasses, his coat.
The eyes all-attending
His breathing remote.
He learned same, quite eager.
He catches most times
The hunt a fun measure.
In deathly hot... – by Doug Blair | 11 Views added 1 year ago
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The broken vesselStrewn across the floor.Fragments scattered far.The pattern of originalGone forever.
The shape, the symmetryThings of the past.One asks:"What the mishap?What the sudden,Shocking drop?"As if somehow
Reversing the loss
Of... – by Doug Blair | 6 Views added 1 year ago
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Things are not as they ought
I am weary
I am vexed by the evil I see
And much pained by those selfish agendas
That would batter
And ridicule me
That would say I am sick
Without rescue
And abandoned by friends of the past
“For this faith... – by Doug Blair | 2 Views added 1 year ago
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I matter, I matter
Yes I matter.
In this sordid mess
That never should have come.
I matter
And I grumble
At misfortune.
And I question God,
Allowing in this mix
A dreadful sum.
I wonder, I wonder
Yes I wonder,
Could the One Who moved
... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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He looks into your brokenness
Your heartache and your trials
He changes this or whispers that
And soon brings on the smiles.
We hear that real contrition
Is the bedrock of our gain.
But do we know He seeks
Our joy and victory... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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We have found Him
And know that He is truth
Distilled and pure.
A Certain Spring,
'Though damp and slush
Delay the budding.
A Prince with yarns
Of fields and flowers
And feathered trust.
Unspoiled by gold
Or other trappings
Of convention.... – by Doug Blair | 5 Views added 1 year ago
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Am I getting through?
You must hear this
Or so I think.
Take a long drink
Of the Good Stuff
Have not heard enough
About Him.
The One I like to call
My valiant Elder Brother.
Big Guy, and wise.
Hardened to the elements.
Always picture Him... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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Look to the top
Of the poplar.
Lifeless, and
Armoured with glaze.
Monochrome sky
For a back-drop.
Monochrome mood
Now, for days.
Caught in the
Doldrums of winter,
Dampened and
Chilled to the core.
Hear him, the pure
Note of promise.
... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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They come here
With vestiges of the old.
A red dot or yellow.
Tremendous meaning
In old country.
Access
Employment
Legal standing
Admixture, or not.
Rules binding generations.
Binding Mom and Dad.
Do they breathe... – by Doug Blair | 4 Views added 1 year ago
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Do you dare measure
The limits of Jerusalem
Scope of her reaching
Or gleaming of her light?
You with the rod
Of heartless feet
And inches
Tallies and tokens
To gauge her worth aright?
Pointless this plan
To weigh the... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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Comes along a traveler
In this common track
Steeped in simple kindness
Bringing goodwill back.
Just a little simple
Does he seem at first.
But he's real, compassionate.
Yes for same I thirst.
Oh the flaws are found there
... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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I couldn’t leave you stranded
I couldn’t close my ears
When you were down there praying
With supplicating tears
I promised yes to raise you
I saw the Saviour’s blood
The time had come to change you
My love just like a flood.
And I have... – by Doug Blair | 3 Views added 1 year ago
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He takes the podium
Or wanders the aisles.
Whatever.
The folks know
Tis not a lecture
Though Billy well read in
The Old Chestnuts.
Their, slant, sins
And splashing. He might
Start out
Describing a quiet afternoon
Retreat in the den.
... – by Doug Blair | 12 Views added 1 year ago
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