Unnecessary
Unnecessary,
Auntie said,
when you asked
about taking the mutt
for a walk;
he can take himself
for a walk,
in fact,
she continued
straining the cabbage,
the green water
pushing through
the stainless steel colander,
he runs,
he loves to run
all over the fields.
You knew he did,
you used to run with him,
and being that kind of mutt
he’d let you run beside him,
you being a small boy,
you being the one
who shared his bacon rinds,
you the one who filled
his water bowl
when Auntie forgot.
Sit down now,
Auntie said,
dinner is about
to be served,
and I hope
you have washed
your hands,
and she’d dish you
a large serving
of cabbage
with your meal
and she didn’t see
how that was so
unnecessary.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Auntie and Hand Washing
You made your way from the john
to the dining table
and Auntie said
have you washed your hands?
yes
you said
are you sure?
Auntie asked
looking at you
with her fixed stare
and the black mutt
under the table
gazed at you too
I washed them this morning
you said
let me see your hands
Auntie said
and so you held out your hands
and she turned them over and up
and held them looking at them
you're meant to wash them
after going to the toilet each time
she said
not just
when you get up
in the morning
she released your hands
and you looked at them
as if they were suddenly there
before you for the first time
so you had best wash them
Auntie said
before I dish up your dinner
and so you went back
to the wash room
and turned on the tap
and taking soap
between your hands
you washed and rinsed
and dried them
on the white towel
on the rail and went back
to the dining room
and showed your aunt
that's better
she said
now go sit down
and wait for your dinner
and the black mutt
put its chin on your lap
waiting in anticipation
for titbits from your plate
and Auntie called out
from the kitchen
remember to say your prayer
before meals
and you said ok
and muttered
thank you for what I'm about to eat
may there be few vegetables
and lots of meat
and the mutt's dribble
wet your thigh
its jaw lingering there
giving you
its dark eyed stare.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Auntie and Mutt.
Auntie cut the rind
off the bacon
and offered it
to the dog
but before the dog
could put his lips to it
you made off with it
down the cast iron stairs
beside the barrack block
and the dog followed you
barking as it did so
and once you reached the ground
you went off
onto the grass
and the dog
chased you
and jumped up at you
trying to reach
the bacon rind
you held between fingers
and Auntie called over
the metal rail
let the mutt have it
don't tease him
and so you bit
the rind in half
and gave the mutt one half
and ate the other yourself
but sometimes after Auntie
put the bacon rind
in the dog's bowl
you picked it up
and tossed it
over the balcony rail
onto the ground below
and the dog raced down
the stairs after it
but now and then
you pretended
to toss it over
and after the dog
raced off
you would hold it
over the side of the rail
and called to the mutt
and said
I still got it mutt
and the dog raced back
up the stairs
and you sat there
on the metal landing
and the dog came
and licked and nuzzled you
and you gave the dog
the bacon rind
and he licked you
and wagged its tail
and Auntie called out
what are you up to?
what are you doing now?
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Just Beyond
And Auntie saying Don’t
Go too far so I can’t see you
And off you’d go off down
The iron stairs with the dog
In pursuit and the wind in the
Sails of your coat and the sky
Beckoning above and Auntie’s
Voice trailing away on the wind’s
Wings and you happy as the sun
In the morning sky making your
Feet rush across grass and the dog
Overtaking looking back tongue
Out of the side of its mouth and
You saying Go on you mutt run
Run and your young legs taking
You far from Auntie’s sight and
Yet looking back you know she’ll
Be there hands in the clothes
Wash scrubbing away her elbows
Wet from the plunge and you
Throwing hands to the sky and
Saying Lift me up wind take me
To the great place beyond the clouds
Of white and sky of blue with just
The mutt and five year old you.
poem by Terry Collett
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Auntie's Mutt
Auntie’d cut off
the bacon rind
and throw it
for the dog
and you’d grab it
and run down
the stairs with it
and the dog’d
run down after you
and the bacon rind
yapping at your heels
and you’d hold
the bacon rind up
and the mutt’d jump up
at it and you’d move it
higher and higher
and the mutt’d jump
higher and higher
until at last
he’d grab the bacon rind
between his teeth
and pull it
from your fingers
and run off
with his prize
and you’d stand there
clapping your hands
ready for the next
thrown out
bacon rind
from Auntie’s hand
up on the balcony.
poem by Terry Collett
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Your Auntie Grizelda
By diane hilderbrand and jack keller
She knows her mind all right, your auntie grizelda,
She says she knows my kind, she might, maybe so.
Oh, yeah, shes raised you right, your auntie grizelda,
You only know the things she wants you to know.
I know shes having a fit,
She doesnt like me a bit,
No bird of grace ever lit on auntie grizelda.
You cant begrudge her style, your auntie grizelda,
She couldnt budge a smile and do it for free.
So righteous making fudge, your auntie grizelda,
So proper judging others over her tea.
You look just like her you do,
I know by looking at you,
That youve been listening to your auntie grizelda.
[ad lib]
Oh, no, dont look at me like auntie grizelda
It takes much more to be someone of your own.
Youve got to make it free from auntie grizelda
Or just like her youll have to make it alone.
I know shes having a fit,
She doesnt like me a bit,
No bird of grace ever lit on auntie grizelda.
Auntie grizelda, auntie grizelda
song performed by by Monkees
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Too Far From Auntie's Gaze
Auntie said
don't go
too far away
with the mutt
I need to know
where you are
and so you
and the mutt
went down
the metal stairway
and off
into the barrack grounds
at Aldershot
keeping close
to the places
that your aunt
could see you from
and you could hear
soldiers marching
on the parade ground
and the sergeants
bellowing their orders
to the marching troops
and you sensed
the cold air
and frost
on the ground
as you walked
and the mutt sniffed
the earth
and you said
come on mutt
let's go for a run
and off you went
and the mutt followed
and overtook you
its tail wagging
its eyes large
and brown
like pools of chocolate
and lucid like mud
and you raced him
as far as you could
then you had to stop
for breath
and the mutt
stopped too
and looked back at you
its tongue hanging
from the corner
of its mouth
and you looked over
to where your aunt lived
and realised
she wouldn't
be able to see you
from where you were
and the dog didn't care
and the air
was chilling
your lungs
and your tongue hung
in the corner
of your little boy mouth
and the soldiers marched
and marched
and you stood watching
bent over
with your hands
on your knees
and big black birds
called out from the trees.
poem by Terry Collett
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Spied
How was it for you?
Uncle asked, lying
Slumped across Auntie,
Some small-beached
Whale, his voice escaping
His lungs as would air
From a punctured tyre.
Fine, it was fine, Auntie
Sighed, her soprano
Voice easing beneath
His sweaty soft bulk,
Unaware their young
Niece was standing silent
By the half open door,
Capturing them in the
Semi light, waiting small
And innocent to ask for
Water, dithering, unsure
Whether to ask and stay
Or simply to close the
Door and walk away.
poem by Terry Collett
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Song of the Little White Girl
Cabbage tree, cabbage tree, what is the matter?
Why are you shaking so? Why do you chatter?
Because it is just a white baby you see,
And it's the black ones you like, cabbage tree?
Cabbage tree, cabbage tree, you're a strange fellow
With your green hair and your legs browny-yellow.
Wouldn't you like to have curls, dear, like me?
What! No one to make them? O poor cabbage tree!
Never mind, cabbage tree, when I am taller,
And if you grow, please, a little bit smaller,
I shall be able by that time, bay be,
To make you the loveliest curls, cabbage tree.
poem by Katherine Mansfield
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Nothing To Say.
Auntie took you to the hut
where the wives of the soldiers
met up to chat and drink tea
and eat cakes and you sat in
the chair looking at each of
them in turn wishing time
would go and you could go
back home to your few toys
and play but no Auntie carried
on the talking and the long
conversations were way over
your head and now and then
they’d break into laughter and
some woman’s kid would cry
and she’d say I think she needs
changing and off she’d go wheeling
the pram to another room and
Auntie’d talk to another woman
and you’d lift your eyes ceiling
wards and wonder where Uncle
was fighting and how he would
cope stuck in the hut with women
yakking all the time and one woman
smiled a big goofy smile at you and
offered you a cake and orange juice
but you shook your head and looked
away in silence sulking with no good
thoughts in your mind and nothing to say.
poem by Terry Collett
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Hope
they put the man
in front of the water
on a wheel chair
he could not walk
six men
with his invalid chair
may be they were next of kin
may be close friends
may be blood-friends
nearly six men
carried the man
that was not able to walk
in front of the water
in the middle of the greenery
thanks GOD
I can walk
in the pool
there wre ducks..pigeons
and under the small bridge
white rabbits
moon was budding
in spite of the shining sun
under the clouds secretly
ı t was almost evening
the last days of summer
hot and very hot
the moon was budding
hidden under the clouds
I asked everybody
to ask a wish
, ı do not know if theybut ı know you asked
from your eyes
sun was setting crimson
when serenity of the evening approached
the ducks dived into the water
I wanted to dive with them
in this cool water
the weather was hot...very hot
the man wore the greenery
in front of the water
the man who could not walk
but he was still filled with hope
smiling
even he cannot walk
he could see the others
who can walk
he wore the greenery
in front of the water
he was still smiling with hope
may be someday
he hoped he could walk
on our table
the flowers were blooming and greening
I as if being guilty
was looking at your blue..green eyes
hopeless
the distance between us
was elongating as the days passed
and our hopes
were looking for new mornings
as the setting sun
to rise up again
even the man who cannot walk
was hopeful than us
poem by Metin Sahin
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My Auntie Zousy
auntie zousy works
as caregiver for years in chicago
to raise her grandchildren
she sent her children
to the university and they got married
and got separated from their husbands
messy, the life of auntie zousy had
always been messy but she survives
somehow
always on the go
finding work as caregiver in the
united states of america
she's 75 now and on her birthday
a party is tendered
surrounded by her 30 grandchildren or so
and inside the grand old house
of her ancestors
the laughters redound
reverberating the happy sounds
of a big family
i look at her
she is short, and emaciated and
her cheekbones show that she is not at all well
sickly, that is what auntie zousy is now
bent and misshapen
and yet in her silence
she has not surrendered
to the sacrifices of
love for the family
her grandchildren now sing
her a happy birthday
and she blows her 75 candles
in one swift breath
suddenly the room is dark
and smoke rises in the air
and she makes her
silent wish and then the lights
are turned on and laughter
follows as it will always will
happy, so happy, that is what
my auntie zousy is all about
a life of sacrifice
a lifetime of service
a life full of family laughter
a life full of love
age has not stolen
what she has treasured
now she waits for something
more exciting
perhaps, a happy death
a funeral surrounded by all
the grandchildren she always loved
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Savior
if the saviour came again today,
Would you like him or turn him away,
would he have a girlfriend with a thong,
Or a boy group singing dumbass songs.
Would he be a rapper with a gun,
Or a bugger building steel buns.
If the saviour was crucified to lose
What's the difference ?
get me outta here
get me outta here
get me outta here
get me outta here
watch me walk on water
watch me walk on water
watch me walk on water
before they...
put me in a box
We should have never
Gotten another break,
Praying is an art for it's own sake,
Would he have a pair of Gucci shoes...
With a pitbull
get me outta here
get me outta here
get me outta here
get me outta here
watch me walk on water
watch me walk away on water
watch me walk on water
get me outta here
get me outta here
get me outta here
get me outta here
get me outta here
get me outta here
get me outta here
watch me walk on water
watch me walk away on water
watch me walk on water
song performed by by Iggy Pop
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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aaa1 Especially the Donkeys
I remember thinking it’s all happening in the sky
Above the clouds
I remember thinking how did we get to know about it
6yrs old
With innocence of a child I never thought to question
Never asked mum or dad
Never asked anyone
Others believed so why not me
Anyway the stories were great
Grandad in his uniform, he believed
Auntie Rose believed
The whole side of dad’s family believed
They played in the band,
Sold the papers
Rattled the tins
Story was dad was thrown out for drinking
Off ill the doctor said Bill have some stout, it will do you good
When the officer saw it on a home visit dad was thrown out
But he still believed
So did I, with the innocence of a child
Auntie Gladys believed but they had no band
Just an organ, and the songs weren’t as good
No joy
Just belief
Uncle Fred repaired the roof, did odd jobs
He believed
Anyway it was worth believing for the Whit walks
People threw money
You kept it
After the walks the bus
The annual trip to Southport
Sandwiches and songs on the beach
Yet I still see myself, in the classroom
Dreaming of this land in the sky
Wondering why all these people didn’t fall out of it
Especially the Donkeys
poem by Bill Smith
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A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.
quote by William Strunk, Jr.
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.
quote by William Strunk, Jr.
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Walk On Water
(ian hunter/mcnasty)
(transcribed by justin purington)
Little flame tormented soul
Tried to get lost in all that rock and roll
Came crashing through here like some hurricane
Too much too soon for you little flame
[chorus]
You cant walk on water
You cant walk on water, dont try
Like a lamb to the slaughter
Oh! but for the grace of God go i
Little flame caught that savage sound
He liked to turn it upside down
Well I think I know what you were talking about
Im just so sorry that your flame went out
Fun with no conscience, tracks with no tears
The rich get richer and the devils got no fears
Sounds his call, political lies
There aint no virtue without sacrifice
You cant walk on water
You cant walk on water
You cant walk on water
You cant walk on water
You cant walk on water
You cant walk on water
You cant walk on
[repeat and fade]
song performed by by Ian Hunter
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Penny Candies
Let's search for money!
Couch cushions...
laundry room...
junk drawers...
LOOK EVERYWHERE!
Between the five of us kids
we found about 12 cents.
No food in the house.
Buy dinner with 12 cents?
We have to.
Aha! Penny Candy!
Yeah, we can buy 12
and split them.
GENIUS!
Back then the fruit flavored tootsie rolls
were only a penny (thank God) .
We bundled up, since it was wintertime
in Michigan
and walked to the candy store.
We didn't eat them until we were back home.
That way we could just sit and savor our meal.
That was the most delicious candy
I had ever tasted.
I didn't chew them as they're meant to be eaten.
I just placed it in my mouth
and let it melt
as slowly as possible.
No talking...
I didn't want to waste a second of
this pleasure.
When SHE returns from the bar
she'll wonder (or maybe she won't)
if we ate.
I'm not telling her we ate candy for dinner.
25 years later, I went to visit HER.
Trying to move on
forget the past (it's for the best) .
As soon as I walk into her house...
sitting on the dining room table
is a punchbowl filled
with fruit flavored tootsie rolls.
I didn't mention our ''meal''
25 years earlier.
I wondered if she knew
and this was some cruel joke
to have such a huge bowl
filled with just the thing that would trigger
so many emotions.
“Fredericksburg, Texas” (Summer 2006)
a warm July afternoon
a German biergarten
open café
a simple beer
Spaten
in a glass
you had water.
(beer makes you sleepy in the warm afternoon) .
there was red and white
cabbage, kraut, and kale.
the meat
bratwurst, kalburwurst, and rostbratburst.
served on a plate with cold cooked, sliced potatoes
I didn’t eat.
You had a Reuben with the same cold potatoes.
It didn’t matter.
We shared as we always do.
The music
on the stage
was one guitar
one musician
skillfully playing the blues.
(you know I love the blues)
and you smile
but
this is an afternoon with you
looking deeply in my eyes.
in the heart of Texas.
the hills of Texas.
and you sit there
thinking about us
the places we’ve been
together
in this small world
and
the places we’ll go.
poem by Keith Sutton
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Walk On Water
I met a magic man,
who had a daughter
She learned her lessons well,
but still i taught her
She followed willingly,
as lambs to slaughter
We shared forbiden fruits,
and things i brought her
You may say i'm a miracle mannequin,
Here i come with my mystical plan again,
Although you think i can, i'm just a man
And I don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
I followed willingly,
a sweet temptation
She had me hypnotized,
and still i'm waiting
My dromedary dreams
as wet as oceans
With sand dunes bearing seeds
she set in motion
You may say i'm a cynical charlatan
There i go with my whimsical ways again
Although you think i can, i'm just a man
And i don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
Kaliedoscopial eyes
as you look in the mirror
And the long is getting
shorter as the far is now nearer
Are you just a mirror
standing in front of me?
Am i blind,
can my eyes really see?
You may say i'm a miracle mannequin,
Here i come with my mystical plan again,
Although you think i can, i'm just a man
And i don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
My dromedary dreams
as wet as oceans
With sand dunes bearing seeds
she set in motion
My dromedary dreams
My dromedary dreams
My dromedary dreams
song performed by by Ozzy Osbourne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Silly Dog
Upon the hills of Valley Drive
Lived Auntie Lil and Uncle Clive
There dog was aged, as much as five
It was still, staying alive
The grass was cut
And the clouds were blue
But the daft 'ald dog
Didn't have a clue.
At last the dog
Laid down to sleep
Until the next morning
Of dogs and sheep.
poem by Tom Ashman
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