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 Oct 2013
Barton D Smock
there is no light in the darkness
that is not a worried man.

I can tell you nothing you know.

my sons are two.  my sons play faith.

under my wife I am a shadow of joy.

-  

(over which I smuggle the thoughts of my acquaintances)

one-way bridge.

-

my hands are weak or would not be called hands.

when mother collapsed
god had a plan.  it included
the double life
of my father’s

ankles.

-

some I sanction, some I don’t.
some are **** creative.

suicides leftward of the unlit life.

-

I put my fist in your purse and leave it there and you let me.
we mass produce

eye contact.

we are both small, about love, about to bang
our heads
on the poor.
 Sep 2013
Nat Lipstadt
Past the green copper bell-ed,
Thru the the single trees, un-felled.

Do you see that solitary-sentinel chair,
Empty? No, not.
Can you not see the sweep,
The vista, the poems hanging about,
Ripe for the plucking from the quiet,
Nestled in the soil, on the wings of gulls,
Who do not fly, but let the wind keep them
And their cargo, standing-still, in place,
Awaiting my attention, my need.

You read less and less,
The more and more I write.
It's ok, I understand that.
Blessed to have found the spot,
Where the poems make a crowd,
And the giving is good and healing, easy.

A long as there be ten righteous,
The Lord acceded to Abraham's plea,
***** would not be destroyed.
I am less demanding,
For I am just human.

As long as but five,
Acknowledge the caring,
Lick my wounded words like vanilla,
Is that too much to ask?

If but one finger points and marks it
Read, is that not sufficient to let this
Battle be ended, tween ego and truth,
Pride of craft, and, weak craving for attention-no-deficit?

If it be, that only the sea grasses, rooted deep, sway,
On the beach, a few feet from where, the chair spends its days,
Clap their hands silently to
Acknowledging the harvesting of the words,
That too will be noise enough to satisfy
The Lord who tendered them, all this, to me
For safe keeping, and giving me no choice but to write,
If but to honor all words, and their creators,
Each and every one.
See my photo, to better understand....The photo now changed, but if you would  like to see it, message me and I shall return it to its place of honor...
 Sep 2013
Nat Lipstadt
How much do I love you?

When you are asleep in our bed,
Takes ten minutes for me to
Slide inside, you to undisturb, you would,
Laugh at my pantomime, my Charlie Chaplin ballet,
If you were to accidentally awake.

When your dreams disturbing,
Groans and shrieks, moans and mumbles,
I greet you when your eyes final-fix upon me,
With no questions, only kisses for both,
And a new poem for you on top of our coverlet.

I love you resting me, when you, beside me do rest,
Then, together, we are always at our best.
I, your soldier, woodpeckers, deer, sent on their way,
Today, five geese invaders, ahonking, dispatched,
Lest my woman's dreams become enmeshed.

How many compositions have I written,
Rhythm and rhymed to your contented breathing?

Amazing grace that every day when we are on
Our island redoubt, there is no doubt.

There is us, always us, and for each restful breath,
Encased is a new and different way,
To answer this question that I pose to myself.

Tho first of many interrogatories that will pass from my heart,
Yet, when mine eyes open to see the sun of your blonde hair.
I have only answers, no questions, no doubts.

September 1st, 2013
 Sep 2013
Nat Lipstadt
The Art of Bed Making*

Write they say, about what you know best,
Surely in the diurnal motions,
The arc of daily commotion,
Do we not all excel?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First lets establish the fact
That
I hate making beds just as much as any man.
As chores go, it is the bottom of the
Totem Pole.

But having, unasked, once done the deed,
To surprise. And. To.  Please.
(What fools men are...)
The pleasure seen upon her face,
For my pillow^ skills and arrangements,
simply extraordinaire,
I have been incredibly guilted,
Without the opposing party saying but two words
(Oh my)
into
doing my share.

With pride of craft,
Then herein I reveal the methodology
For its art, it's poetry,
Line and stanza, meter and rhyme,
The Art of Bed Making,
If properly conducted.

First remove all signs of history,
Single socks, and itinerant underwear,
If you get queasy, get the hell out of here,
It takes a real man to make a quality bed.

With hands two, brush all and any crumbs
Onto the floor
Where they belong
And for which cleaning up ain't my job.

Then straighten the sheets,
After checking for fond memories,
i.e. wet spots, stains of glory, some old n' hoary,
And using the natometer,
Ascertain if they can make it one more day.
(Strange how they almost always can!)*

Next, the coverlet.
Different schools of thought have discoursed,
Whether t'is best from the bottom or the top
To commence.

Me, I am, a top man,
As in most things,
I like to work my way down,
Nice and slow.

Extend one arm fully,
With broad, gracious strokes,
De-wrinkle the top,
Sending the waves and bumps over the side,
To their special hell.

This step most crucial,
For if the prior steps done in manner superficial,
This will mask you "inner" laziness well.

Pillows.

First sniff.
Determine which is yours, and which is hers, then
Render unto Caesar
The right pillow or accept the consequences dire.

Trust me,
She says she loves
Your manly odors,
But give her the wrong pillow,
And you may be a victim of a Pearl Harbor
Sneaky Pillow Attack...

Just as you are falling asleep.
And you are at your most defenseless...
"Hers" yanked from under your head.

If your woman is genuine,
She can't have enough decorative touches,
Like 6 or 8 pillows in a la carte shapes,
Which must be presented,
Ach Zo!

But here I rebel, my artistic manly resistances
Flare,
Makes me find new combos,
To which she says, delightedly,
Oh my!

Many details I have skipped,
For your safety's sake,
For if you master bed making,
Do not be surprised,
If many wet spots and stains will follow,
Making fresh sheets,
A daily necessity.

****.
^ see
Nat Lipstadt · Jun 29
just like a woman

True story: about three hours after returning,
She comes up behind me on the couch and says,
"I have something to tell you."

I reply, without turning around, in a haphazard, almost bored manner say:
"You love the way I make the bed."

She just walks away shaking her head in quiet stupefaction and amazement.

Women, so easy to read...
 Sep 2013
Nat Lipstadt
Made the bed backwards

Just to hear your laugh,
I'm in the shower pretending not to hear,
Your return, your reaction,
But my grin stretching to the bedroom.

Afterglow, After-all,
All of us need a new perspective,
From time to this time.

But our life straightforward.
Got my eyeballs ******* to the
Solid white line
That we drive along side, behind,
Safe and sound.

Even when I park my poetry illegally,
Even when the pillows face an empty white wall,
We lie beside each other,
Straight on.

Where do I get these crazy ideas?

Remember when you picked me up on the internet when
You knew me by my anonymous moniker,
Still Crazy After All These Years?

Never changed, never will cause

I be who I be...

Stop that kissing, feed me, please!


10:21am
August 24th 2013
Postscript: came home,  I came out of the shower, we chatted, casually remarked, I made the bed,, she replied, yes I know, then she  looked and then hee haw hee haw hee haw nonstop 3 minutes.
The Art of Bed Making

Write they say, about what you know best,
Surely in the diurnal motions,
The arc of daily commotion,
Do we not all excel?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First lets establish the fact
That
I hate making beds just as much as any man.
As chores go, it is the bottom of the
Totem Pole.

But having, unasked, once done the deed,
To surprise. And. To.  Please.
(What fools men are...)
The pleasure seen upon her face,
For my pillow^ skills and arrangements,
simply extraordinaire,
I have been incredibly guilted,
Without the opposing party saying but two words
(Oh my)
into
doing my share.

With pride of craft,
Then herein I reveal the methodology
For its art, it's poetry,
Line and stanza, meter and rhyme,
The Art of Bed Making,
If properly conducted.

First remove all signs of history,
Single socks, and itinerant underwear,
If you get queasy, get the hell out of here,
It takes a real man to make a quality bed.

With hands two, brush all and any crumbs
Onto the floor
Where they belong
And for which cleaning up ain't my job.

Then straighten the sheets,
After checking for fond memories,
i.e. wet spots, stains of glory, some old n' hoary,
And using the natometer,
Ascertain if they can make it one more day.
(Strange how they almost always can!)

Next, the coverlet.
Different schools of thought have discoursed,
Whether t'is best from the bottom or the top
To commence.

Me, I am, a top man,
As in most things,
I like to work my way down,
Nice and slow.

Extend one arm fully,
With broad, gracious strokes,
De-wrinkle the top,
Sending the waves and bumps over the side,
To their special hell.

This step most crucial,
For if the prior steps done in manner superficial,
This will mask you "inner" laziness well.

Pillows.

First sniff.
Determine which is yours, and which is hers, then
Render unto Caesar
The right pillow or accept the consequences dire.

Trust me,
She says she loves
Your manly odors,
But give her the wrong pillow,
And you may be a victim of a Pearl Harbor
Sneaky Pillow Attack...

Just as you are falling asleep.
And you are at your most defenseless...
"Hers" yanked from under your head.

If your woman is genuine,
She can't have enough decorative touches,
Like 6 or 8 pillows in a la carte shapes,
Which must be presented,
Ach Zo!

But here I rebel, my artistic manly resistances
Flare,
Makes me find new combos,
To which she says, delightedly,
Oh my!

Many details I have skipped,
For your safety's sake,
For if you master bed making,
Do not be surprised,
If many wet spots and stains will follow,
Making fresh sheets,
A daily necessity.

****.

August 10th 2013
 Sep 2013
Nat Lipstadt
Made Half a Bed
(Third in the bed-making series)


In the interest of efficiency,
Made but half a bed,
From the male perspective, brilliant,
Why do, what must always be undone.
Come evening tide, I will to bed,
My kingdom come, just a bit faster
Than my beloved's.

Advantage poet in the tie-breaker,
Because while you still must undo
Your girly-stuff, my side prepped and ready,
So I am ahead 30 - Love,
In the last match of the day at
The Open of US.
Nat Lipstadt · Aug 24
Made the bed backwards
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nat Lipstadt · Aug 10
The Art of Bed Making

— The End —