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Best Poems From
LAURENCE OVERMIRE
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9.
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One September Morning
Suddenly
Life wasn’t trivial anymore
People began to mean what they say
In dark subways, on dirty street corners
Strangers clasped hands
Day and night, black or white
The middle match of gray
Made safe in the blaze of truth:
The dollar dropping through the market
Numbers just ash, confetti to the wind
The smile at last come current with the sigh
The hug of a stranger more tender than gold.
Parents found their children in the rubble
And children afraid, were reassured
Death, always mysterious
Took his time and place at the table
The napkin folded neatly in his lap
But we, with hands enjoined
In prayer, this breath
Give our need to one another
The taste of bread and water enough
To keep this dream
Alive.
(First electronically published in This Hard Wind, by EWGPresents, Oct 2002; The Other Voices International Project, Apr 2006)
Laurence Overmire
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10.
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Scotland Away (haiku)
Highland lass awake
your bonnie prince is waiting
secrets and the loch
(Previously published in Poems Md, Apr 2008)
Laurence Overmire
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11.
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Thoughtful Gift
His wife bought him a pair of
Golf balls
In a velveteen sack
To replace the ones
He lacked in their relationship.
(Previously published in The Short North Gazette, Dec 2001)
Laurence Overmire
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12.
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Winners and Losers
As an outsider, looking in
You might wonder why
No glory, no golden global Oscar
Is bestowed on those
Who survive—quietly behind closed curtains
Rejected and defiled in
Swamps of Hollywood slime
Egos sucking blood out of
Dead turnips
The two, three, four, five, six-faced
Fiends fingering foul figures of
Obscene wealth
O why not those others
Those true believers be
Applauded
Their honor and dignity yet intact
Motives still pure
Unsullied by political machination
Why not these in any walk of life?
We might well ask the question.
Where are those survivors?
Can any pass through inner sanctums
Narrow corridors of gust and glitter
Without offering
In rites of filial obligation
Sacred sacrifice
Of heart and soul?
(Previously published in Kookamonga Square, Feb 2003; The Hold, Feb 2004)
Laurence Overmire
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