An Early Merry Christmas by Dennis Allen Lange

—

One year, a present Sherman gave
…To Lincoln for the Yule
To cheer the dour president
…In his long arduous rule.

It was the perfect offering,
…And not from ease or thrift,
For William gave to Abraham
…Atlanta as a gift.

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© Dennis Allen Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2017.

 

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So Near by Emily Dickinson

Except the Heaven had come so near –
So seemed to choose My Door –
The Distance would not haunt me so –
I had not hoped – before –

But just to hear the Grace depart –
I never thought to see –
Afflicts me with a Double loss –
‘Tis lost – And lost to me –

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Texas Cities – haiku by Dennis Allen Lange

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Luckenbach

Lucky guess?
No, not Luck-in-back.
Luke-in-bock.

—

Palacios

Puh-lash-us
Almost palatial
And precious.

—

Dime Box

Say it right –
You won’t even earn
A nickel.

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* The haiku I write are lines of 3-5-3 syllables instead of 5-7-5.

See Haiku article here for explanation, if needed: https://thebardonthehill.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/haiku/
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© Dennis Allen Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2017.

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Last Lines by Emily Bronte

No coward soul is mine,
No trembler in the world’s storm-troubled sphere:
I see Heaven’s glories shine,
And faith shines equal, arming me from fear. 

O God, within my breast,
Almighty, ever-present Deity!
Life – that in me has rest,
As I -undying Life – have power in Thee! 

Vain are the thousand creeds
That move men’s hearts: unutterably vain;
Worthless as withered weeds,
Or idlest froth amid the boundless main, 

To waken doubt in one
Holding so fast by thine infinity;
So surely anchored on
The steadfast rock of immortality,

With wide-embracing love
Thy Spirit animates eternal years,
Pervades and broods above,
Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears. 

Though earth and man were gone,
And suns and universes ceased to be,
And Thou were left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.

There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that his might could render void:
Thou – Thou art Being and Breath,
And what Thou art may never be destroyed.

 

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Wealth by Dennis Allen Lange

—

This paper before me is worth more than gold,
Than all of the stocks that are bought and are sold.
It is not a map where an X marks the treasure
Nor is it a ticket to life’s greatest pleasure.
It is not a sketch by Picasso, van Gogh,
Nor numbers that won the world’s richest Lotto.
I have that which gives me more than the world’s wealth:
My doctor just gave me a clean bill of health.

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photo by Marcelo Mokrejs at
http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/misbtmE/Money+series+4

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© Dennis Allen Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2017.

 

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The Tempest by James T. Fields

We were crowded in the cabin,
…Not a soul would dare to sleep, –
It was midnight on the waters
…And a storm was on the deep. 

‘Tis a fearful thing in winter
…To be shattered by the blast,
And to hear the rattling trumpet
…Thunder, “Cut away the mast!” 

So we shuddered there in silence, –
…For the stoutest held his breath,
While the hungry sea was roaring,
…And the breakers talked with Death. 

As thus we sat in darkness,
…Each one busy in his prayers,
“We are lost!” the captain shouted
…As he staggered down the stairs.

But his little daughter whispered,
…As she took his icy hand,
“Isn’t God upon the ocean
…Just the same as on the land?” 

Then we kissed the little maiden,
…And we spoke in better cheer,
And we anchored safe in harbor
…When the morn was shining clear.

 

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Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off – haiku by Dennis Allen Lange

—
You, I say:
One po-tay-toe. Two,
Po-tah-tah.

—

You, I say:
One to-may-toe. Two,
To-mah-tah.

—

Ordering,
You say steak; I say
Hamburger.

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photo by scolpix (Sophie) at
http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/dKKakg/Cherry+tomato+1

* The haiku I write are lines of 3-5-3 syllables instead of 5-7-5.

See Haiku article here for explanation, if needed: https://thebardonthehill.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/haiku/

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© Dennis Allen Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2017.

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Sonnet 9 (IX) by William Shakespeare

Is it for fear to wet a widow’s eye
That thou consum’st thyself in single life?
Ah! if thou issueless shalt hap to die,
The world will wail thee like a makeless wife;
The world will be thy widow, and still weep
That thou no form of thee hast left behind
When every private widow well may keep,
By children’s eyes, her husband’s shape in mind.
Look, what an unthrift in the world doth spend
Shifts but his place, for still the world enjoys it;
But beauty’s waste hath in the world an end,
And kept unus’d, the user so destroys it.
…No love toward others in that bosom sits
…That on himself such murd’rous shame commits.

 

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Happy Birthday To Me! by Dennis Allen Lange

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My body tells me that I am,
…With ev’ry ache and pain.
It wants to tell me to be bound
…To bed, by Time’s long chain. 

But all the signals are denied
…By the essential me,
Which says it simply isn’t true
…That I am seventy.

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photo by Prawny at
http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/oRxvtji/Happy+Birthday

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© Dennis Allen Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2017.

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A Golden Day by Dennis Allen Lange

I walked the narrow mountain trail
…At first both up and down
Until I reached what seemed to be
…The Smoky mountain’s crown.

And there, I paused upon the path
…And looked out through the trees
To see the low slopes stretching out
…In Autumn’s careless ease.

And then the hike was not as dear;
…I ambled down the slope,
Pulled by the mountain’s own descent,
…By gravity’s veiled rope.

I walked upon a rug of leaves
…That, plastered by a rain,
Was Autumn’s decoupage of tints
…Upon my traveled vein.

A tree had fallen ‘cross the way,
…A trunk too big to climb.
On hands and knees I scuttled ‘neath,
…Like snails slide through the slime.

I’d gone so far without a sign
…I started to despair
Of ever finding what I sought –
…The treasure that was rare.

More than a few times, turning back
…Seemed what might be the best
And sacrifice what I had spent
…In failing Smoky’s test.

I made a vow – a few more yards
…Down and around the trail.
And there! – a place that matched my map!
…I’d found my holy grail!

I clambered down the trail of rocks,
…At times on hands and knees,
And at the bottom of the path –
…The spot of pleasantries

That I had bought with energy –
…A lonely waterfall,
A modest one that hid itself
…Away from almost all.

I marveled at its majesty,
…And mumbled to myself
As threads of silver water silk
…Fell tumbling from a shelf.

Then, pictures taken in my mind
…And in my camera, too,
I packed my gear and took my leave
…For I had work to do.

That long descent, that downward glide
…That ate away at time
Was now a mountain up above
…That I would have to climb.

With weariness, I took my steps.
…No longer did I stride.
And in the silence of the slope,
…My age was amplified.

I warmed and shed my early coat,
…Like trees had shed their leaves,
Like workers start their laboring
…By rolling up their sleeves.

And toil I did, with trudging steps
…That were both short and slow,
With frequent stops to catch my breath
…For I had far to go.

I guessed two thousand steps would take
…Me to the rest I sought.
I counted each so that my mind
…With pain was not distraught.

I knew that predators would oft
…Stalk, following the weak.
And if a bear was trolling me
…I would surrender, meek.

I was the old man, and my sea
…Rose o’er me as a slope
That I must conquer or be lost
…Alone, and without hope.

I took two thousand steps and more;
…Came to a mind-marked place.
Adrenalin seeped to my flesh,
…And I, as snail, could race

The thousand steps it took to end
…My private odyssey,
Where I could sit in weariness
…While basking blissfully.

The precious jewel that I had found
…Would never make me rich.
And present satisfaction would
…Not stop a future itch.

But such things filed within the heart
…When man’s done something fine,
Are treasured nuggets in one’s life
…Like gold within a mine.

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The photos are mine: one is the trail I took with its obstacle.
The second is that secluded waterfall.

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© Dennis Allen Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2017.

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