Category Archives: Poems

Austin, Ides of March, 2020

Laurence Musgrove, an English professor at Angelo State University and the author of The Bluebonnet Sutras, has started Tejascovido, a Web journal for Texans (now gone) writing about the COVID-19 crisis. He is publishing several pieces a day, both poetry and prose. … Continue reading

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Hey Squirrel

Hey, squirrel You’re putting on weight Winter’s coming. First published at Once Upon a Crocodile. This is my first published haiku. I love the illustration they chose, an unexpected pleasure.

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Poem in Two Voices

We have built a bridge dear. (You are in my heart.) We dance in a circle, (round our secret that knows). No one sees the shared center we turn about. (We see what is not visible to others.) We saw … Continue reading

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Desperately Made Boats

“How could they go to sea in such flimsy craft?” Ruptured pontoon replaced by one of reeds. Motor with enough gas to carry them beyond small arms fire, trailing the smell of war. Joseph fleeing in the night with wife … Continue reading

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The Water Connects

Metal bowl connects by flowing water to its support of rocks, a fountain of metal and stone. Pump drives the connection, connects to the power grid, connects to wind generators out west, driven by air river off the Pacific Ocean. … Continue reading

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Settlers

The red oaks are still robed in their green and red glory as we approach Christmas. The hackberry stands quiet in its winter bareness. I do not know the tree with tiny leaves that remain green all winter. Here on … Continue reading

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Immigrants

The fish and chips on the table are an idea imported from England. The English had to wait for potatoes to emigrate from Peru, put down roots, acclimatize, settle in, assimilate. Tikka masala arrived later, a bank shot emigré from … Continue reading

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How Long & How

I can be compassionate for someone without wanting them to be president. I can want them gone from that position without pulling the trigger myself. I can want them gone and want the path to that end be right. There … Continue reading

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Dare Devil

He bungee jumped the tallest bridge, the one in China. It required a lot of lies to authoritarian authorities. The thrill was shorter than he expected. Elsewhere in China, someone built a higher one. The authorities are on to him. … Continue reading

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Burden

Down by the dying park, on the bench, sits a man with a story. It’s heavy. He tells the story to anyone who comes within earshot, even the pigeons. At first, he had bread to toss. They came and he … Continue reading

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