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Best Poems From
LAURENCE OVERMIRE
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249.
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Hello. My Name is Paul.
Im a Parentsaholic.
Im addicted to dysfunction.
But Ive been sober now for six months.
Yes, thank you.
Thats how long its been since I last saw them.
Since the last perfectly horrible Christmas we spent together.
Dad went into a terrible vitriolic binge because the tree fell down
And the water seeped all over his stamp collection.
Mom burned the britches off the Gingerbread Men
And viciously ripped into my sister Sally for the next three days
For not properly setting the timer.
Me, well
I was having so much fun I started beating myself with a candy cane.
If we could have gotten the train to work, I probably would have tried electrocution.
But alas, that was not meant to be.
Anyway, Im glad Im here
And taking my first step with PA.
And I want to thank you right off the bat
For giving me
(something I never got at home)
Your support.
(Previously published in Stark Raving Sanity, May 2000, Issue 7; Sonata, Nov-Dec,2000)
Laurence Overmire
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250.
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Hereafter
How could heaven be
More spectacular than a sunset
Draping its scarlet mantle over a ridge of snow-crested mountains
More beautiful than a waterfall
Plunging through the branch of lush green forest
More serene than a glassy lake
Reflecting the first golden embers of the morning sky?
We need not die
To apprehend the bounds of heaven.
This miracle Earth:
All we need do is open our eyes.
(Previously published in The Gentle Survivalist, Sept.1999; Irish Stew, Summer Issue 2007)
Laurence Overmire
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251.
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He's in Jail Now
So cute as a baby
If you could have seen him
So innocent and pure
But mother wasnt there
Too young, too
Well, you know how it goes
Father none, not even sure who
And foster homes, several
Bounced around he, cant really
Take the place of, why I dont know
By ten, you could see
His eyes were, how can I say
Already dead, and grandma thinks
That somehow shes to blame
But then, her mama was never
There, no not really, not for her
Either, not in any, that is
Not in any important way.
Do you know what I mean?
(Previously published in Circle Magazine, Vol.4, Issue 3, Summer 2000)
Laurence Overmire
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252.
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Hewhay
The corporation, nameless name
So sacred we dare not say it
Calls us into being
In reverence we bow to its
Will
Knowing it knows that which is
Best for our little human lives
We would sacrifice our first-born
Sons to honor the holiness
Of its bidding
Whether it be taking away our
Insurance plan
Requiring us to work double overtime
Or laying us off
Penniless in the street, for food to beg
We understand
It is the way of the Omnipotent
And must perforce be
Good for all mankind.
(Previously published in Infinite Race, Aug 2000)
Laurence Overmire
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