CRIMEAN PUNISHMENT Apparently,once the gods had fumed Atgrowing decadence, they were doomed. Nolonger culture pre-eminent, Atlantisunder the sea was sent. Competingtheories have been put forth Ofancient civilization north Ofwhere the Black Sea has always lain Ononce quite fertile Crimean plain. Onefaction claims Plato had it right – Atlantisvanished in just one night Whenearthquake cracked geologic flaw Releasingdeluge […]
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HOTAND COLD Perhaps 100million years To rise from naught, then disappear Above the Hot Spot in the Earth That to Hawaiian Chain gave birth. The oldest now perhaps just stumps, Once mountains proud, now merely bumps Long passed from magma cauldron where They first broke through the surface there. The youngest rise majestically For miles above […]
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AT A DISTANCE Gently rolling, runneled hills, Colored like a daffodil. Rivulets to ocean spill Under cloudy skies. Atmosphere of shrouding haze Rising from the surface waves, Where beneath lie ancient caves Never brought to light. Yet this sky’s a different hue From what we’re accustomed to B Yellow, not a trace of blue, Dares to […]
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NEVER KNOWING WHAT HIT (Based on the painting [above] by Danell Millsap of the Scotch Cap Tsunami at Unimak Island, Alaska, on the night of April 1, 1946, where all five Coast Guardsmen manning the lighthouse were killed [see www.semparpac.org/tsunami.jpg]) I ponder the Scotch Cap Tsunami And wonder just how it felt When impact dismembered your body From […]
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TRICK OR TREAT? “Good Christians” warn that Halloween’s A festival of Satan, When nothing’s standing in between Your soul and its damnation. For centuries, they witches burned With little provocation. Eternal fire claimed they’d earned. For mercy — strangulation! The Inquisition paid you well For friend’s denunciation, Provided friend was rich as hell For Church’s confiscation. […]
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WHO AM I? WHY AM I HERE? If we’ve a purpose to be on earth, Then I must wonder: Why such a dearth Of time elapsed during which we’ve been Around supposedly since “The Sin?” If we’re the reason the world exists, Explain the many misguided twists From one-celled creatures till we evolved. Why took the puzzle […]
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PHANTOM-CIZING (A poetic tribute to the original story by Gaston Leroux, prompted by seeing Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Phantom of the Opera) His name is Erik, Though few who know This name by which Opera Phantom goes. Not burned by acid Or scorched by flame, His face cadaverous Born in shame. For years he traveled, A circus freak […]
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ROMAN RUMINATION I went to visit ancient Rome, But found it never fell. Its buildings may seem crumbled stone, But it’s alive and well. Its mighty temples still exist Though in an altered form. Its rings of gold and amethyst Still fingers rich adorn. For in the City Vatican The emperor still reigns, Descended from Octavian, […]
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HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN (PART I) A shame to imagine how moon is just A memory distant we’ve almost lost. Appears that we only pursued in jest To travel in space — 50 years have passed. Today’s generation cannot conceive Of passionate fervor with which we strove To land first on moon — such a matter […]
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“FOUR” CAST The earth’s been here four billion years, But humans mere four million. How often has the atmosphere Received a “global killing?” Have comets many seared the skies, Volcanoes oft erupted? What oceans parched till desert-dry And climates left disrupted? How many times has planet warmed, Engorged with greenhouse gasses, While glaciers melted and reformed […]
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