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"A YEAR OF SUNDAYS" - SUBMISSIONS - December 2023
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Michael Pendragon
Dec 3, 2023, 11:16:29 AM12/3/23
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Start posting!
Michael Pendragon
Dec 4, 2023, 12:53:13 AM12/4/23
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On Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 11:16:29 AM UTC-5, Michael Pendragon wrote:
> Start posting!
>
> Start posting!
>
Coco DeSockmonkey
Dec 4, 2023, 1:01:33 PM12/4/23
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Michael Pendragon
Dec 4, 2023, 4:26:04 PM12/4/23
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JDS
Dec 4, 2023, 8:55:02 PM12/4/23
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On Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 11:16:29 AM UTC-5, Michael Pendragon wrote:
> Start posting!
---------------------------------------------------
> Start posting!
i poured another
until a full moon turned half
my brother still dead
JDS
NancyGene
Dec 5, 2023, 7:51:21 AM12/5/23
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Two Christmases
by NancyGene
There isn’t a bright star or even a search light.
The trampled-down ground is dirty, not white.
A Gabriel didn’t tell me of a King of a baby,
So what other outcome could this Christmas Day be
But a long breech-style birth and a frozen, hard truth,
A swollen, stretched mark on my holy-day’d youth.
I had hoped that Angels walked beside me this year,
And Devils were men who had left with a sneer.
As I struggle with Child who could not be Divine,
The lodgers look down and drink their cheap wine.
Wine reminds me of blood and Fathers above
And brief lives for Sons the Bible talks of.
My Son will be born in a humble car park,
No tributes or gold, just a mongrel’s soft bark
To announce His birth to save all of Mankind.
Will He raise the dead and give sight to the blind?
No, He’ll be seen as a castoff the World can ignore.
One more push and I’ll crawl to the closed Good Will store.
by NancyGene
There isn’t a bright star or even a search light.
The trampled-down ground is dirty, not white.
A Gabriel didn’t tell me of a King of a baby,
So what other outcome could this Christmas Day be
But a long breech-style birth and a frozen, hard truth,
A swollen, stretched mark on my holy-day’d youth.
I had hoped that Angels walked beside me this year,
And Devils were men who had left with a sneer.
As I struggle with Child who could not be Divine,
The lodgers look down and drink their cheap wine.
Wine reminds me of blood and Fathers above
And brief lives for Sons the Bible talks of.
My Son will be born in a humble car park,
No tributes or gold, just a mongrel’s soft bark
To announce His birth to save all of Mankind.
Will He raise the dead and give sight to the blind?
No, He’ll be seen as a castoff the World can ignore.
One more push and I’ll crawl to the closed Good Will store.
Michael Pendragon
Dec 5, 2023, 8:07:49 PM12/5/23
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Michael Pendragon
Dec 6, 2023, 4:19:39 PM12/6/23
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JDS
Dec 6, 2023, 9:28:53 PM12/6/23
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Lunchbox
Her eyes were fixed
on the quartered apple
that tumbled out --
her lunch, her smile
stilled as a madman
reloaded.
JDS
JDS
Dec 6, 2023, 10:32:19 PM12/6/23
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On Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 11:16:29 AM UTC-5, Michael Pendragon wrote:
> Start posting!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Start posting!
Once Again
It was a walk down Second Ave.
that chilled the bones, no matter the layers of clothing,
no matter the whispers of Christmas
coming from the storefronts.
It was back, once again, that cry for good will,
those plush reindeer pulling a plump, jolly man
as it had for all my years and years before that.
Something has changed, I said to the moon,
hatred now seems to hold the reigns as I shivered
with memories, not of eggnog, but of past smiles and good cheer.
A car drove by, a Christmas tree lashed to its roof --
it lingers still, I thought, despite the headlines of mayhem,
that never ending desire for the magic to slide
down the chimney with care.
Home at last, the warmth felt good --
I had small plastic tree, placed it on the end table
and looked out at the moon --
It seemed to smile with hope.
JDS
Michael Pendragon
Dec 7, 2023, 11:39:33 PM12/7/23
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SNOWFLAKES
Snowflakes fall like petals from Death's glove,
They swirl about the grey December sky
Then gently lie in stately splendor on the ground;
The ghosts of kisses blown by Summer flowers,
They graze my cheek then hurry on their way
To chase what shreds of color from the day
Have held on through the frozen morning hours
As snowdrifts move like shrouds across the ground.
I raise my hand as one about to die
And mouth "Goodbye" to those I've dared to love
While snowflakes flutter down from snow white skies
To shine like springtime memories in my eyes.
-- Michael Pendragon
*****
Snowflakes fall like petals from Death's glove,
They swirl about the grey December sky
Then gently lie in stately splendor on the ground;
The ghosts of kisses blown by Summer flowers,
They graze my cheek then hurry on their way
To chase what shreds of color from the day
Have held on through the frozen morning hours
As snowdrifts move like shrouds across the ground.
I raise my hand as one about to die
And mouth "Goodbye" to those I've dared to love
While snowflakes flutter down from snow white skies
To shine like springtime memories in my eyes.
-- Michael Pendragon
*****
JDS
Dec 8, 2023, 8:44:02 AM12/8/23
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On Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 11:16:29 AM UTC-5, Michael Pendragon wrote:
> Start posting!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Start posting!
Page Turner
Winter seems filled with death,
beyond the headlines, but knowing
trees will soon dress and grass
will wait for a Sunday trim, brings
thoughts of longevity,
though winter's hibernation
is only afforded a certain few.
I await the first blooms
with cautious optimism.
JDS
Coco DeSockmonkey
Dec 8, 2023, 8:49:46 PM12/8/23
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JDS
Dec 9, 2023, 9:08:11 PM12/9/23
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On Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 11:16:29 AM UTC-5, Michael Pendragon wrote:
> Start posting!
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winter your breath smells
> Start posting!
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split wood and deer chest roasted
the white flag dismissed
JDS
Michael Pendragon
Dec 10, 2023, 11:59:26 AM12/10/23
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THE SNOW QUEEN
There is no going back.
No going on.
Past days have come and gone
And come no more.
I have no dreams.
No hopes. No plans. No fears.
And as death nears
I watch without a care.
And every day the Winter snow
Piles high and higher in my yard.
And with each day, the hours grow
As snowflakes scatter through the air
Like frozen lunar beams.
From somewhere in the night
The Snow Queen comes.
Her horse-drawn carriage drums
In three-four time to match her lash's crack.
She comes in arctic blasts
That chill the stars,
To thrill this world of ours
With Christmas dreams of yore…
But nothing ever lasts.
Past years have come and gone
And come no more.
-- Michael Pendragon
*****
There is no going back.
No going on.
Past days have come and gone
And come no more.
I have no dreams.
No hopes. No plans. No fears.
And as death nears
I watch without a care.
And every day the Winter snow
Piles high and higher in my yard.
And with each day, the hours grow
As snowflakes scatter through the air
Like frozen lunar beams.
From somewhere in the night
The Snow Queen comes.
Her horse-drawn carriage drums
In three-four time to match her lash's crack.
She comes in arctic blasts
That chill the stars,
To thrill this world of ours
With Christmas dreams of yore…
But nothing ever lasts.
Past years have come and gone
And come no more.
-- Michael Pendragon
*****
Ash Wurthing
Dec 10, 2023, 6:04:04 PM12/10/23
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Fragile
I don't cry much anymore
until I saw my granddaughter
and I'm pretty sure next Thanksgiving
there will be an empty seat
where she once sat.
I was told not to say anything
but was stunned –
at twenty she might be all of sixty pounds –
her thin lines, more an ink sketch,
but I remained quiet.
I'm sure I'll be allowed to say
goodbye.
~~Reverie
** Posted with author's permission. Ash posts for Ecthrois Grimm, Last Dance, Reverie and soon to be, another, on AAPC, in AYoS only, since they don't wish to come here under the current conditions, but want their work posted to AYoS.
I don't cry much anymore
until I saw my granddaughter
and I'm pretty sure next Thanksgiving
there will be an empty seat
where she once sat.
I was told not to say anything
but was stunned –
at twenty she might be all of sixty pounds –
her thin lines, more an ink sketch,
but I remained quiet.
I'm sure I'll be allowed to say
goodbye.
~~Reverie
** Posted with author's permission. Ash posts for Ecthrois Grimm, Last Dance, Reverie and soon to be, another, on AAPC, in AYoS only, since they don't wish to come here under the current conditions, but want their work posted to AYoS.
Michael Pendragon
Dec 11, 2023, 1:41:32 PM12/11/23
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Michael Pendragon
Dec 12, 2023, 8:21:44 AM12/12/23
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Michael Pendragon
Dec 12, 2023, 1:57:55 PM12/12/23
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MEDUSA'S KISS
Restless eyes writhe deep inside my skull
Reptilian venom rages through my veins,
The fury of a thousand rivers roll
Within my soul where snake-haired madness reigns --
A madness even Death cannot restrain.
It calls my names in dreams with Gorgon wings
Whispers love words with icy serpent hiss,
Stitches my heart with adamantine strings
Then seals my fate with one Medusa kiss --
Entombs me in a labyrinth of pain.
And all the while, her serpent bangs
Lash at my cheek with crimson fangs,
While marble eyes burst into flame --
Each spark a hiss to curse God's name.
-- Michael Pendragon
*****
Restless eyes writhe deep inside my skull
Reptilian venom rages through my veins,
The fury of a thousand rivers roll
Within my soul where snake-haired madness reigns --
A madness even Death cannot restrain.
It calls my names in dreams with Gorgon wings
Whispers love words with icy serpent hiss,
Stitches my heart with adamantine strings
Then seals my fate with one Medusa kiss --
Entombs me in a labyrinth of pain.
And all the while, her serpent bangs
Lash at my cheek with crimson fangs,
While marble eyes burst into flame --
Each spark a hiss to curse God's name.
-- Michael Pendragon
*****
NancyGene
Dec 12, 2023, 4:55:40 PM12/12/23
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JDS
Dec 12, 2023, 7:15:28 PM12/12/23
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On Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 11:16:29 AM UTC-5, Michael Pendragon wrote:
> Start posting!
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Sailing
> Start posting!
-------------------------------------------
There once was a time I'd watch ships set sail
high above Bleecker and Macdougal --
into a summer blue sky, they would drift
as a warm breeze filled their corners
tightening their flat image into a taut circular cups.
I yearned to be a ship's mate, travel beyond
Manhattan Island to places I'd see on magazines,
but not to be -- I knew those sails were nothing more
than Saturday's wash, but imagination had taken hold.
I soon found out imagination could grab those
that felt stifled, no matter the season, location
or traffic jams.
Ships sailed Saturdays, come hell or high water
as Bongo's and Banjo's cruised out of the Village Gate.
JDS
JDS
Dec 12, 2023, 8:08:11 PM12/12/23
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On Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 11:16:29 AM UTC-5, Michael Pendragon wrote:
> Start posting!
--------------------------------------------------
> Start posting!
Calverton National
It's getting to be that time
for a trip out east to visit
Mom and Dad.
At times I think of it
as a future home,
though I'm not quite ready
to move.
I do hope that Sabrett truck
is still by the main gate.
I'll toss some bun bits to hungry birds
JDS
ME
Dec 12, 2023, 10:04:37 PM12/12/23
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Michael Pendragon
Dec 14, 2023, 9:52:52 AM12/14/23
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NancyGene
Dec 14, 2023, 10:14:15 AM12/14/23
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I Am a Red-Nosed Reindeer
by NancyGene
My life is hard,
My red nose glows.
I’m on my guard,
I don’t disclose
My crimson shame
No doe would want.
I play no games;
I’m used to taunts.
I like to fly
But not pull sleds.
The fat guy’s spry,
The elves soreheads.
Each Christmas Eve
We don’t get paid.
Can you believe
We all have stayed?
I eat my feed
And check the trails.
I’m in the lead,
I don’t see tails.
It’s just one night,
But every year
My nose shines bright
Through midnight clear.
As working deer,
We wait for him
To disappear
O’er chimney rims.
He comes right back,
Then cracks the whip.
I hate that sack
And each toy trip.
by NancyGene
My life is hard,
My red nose glows.
I’m on my guard,
I don’t disclose
My crimson shame
No doe would want.
I play no games;
I’m used to taunts.
I like to fly
But not pull sleds.
The fat guy’s spry,
The elves soreheads.
Each Christmas Eve
We don’t get paid.
Can you believe
We all have stayed?
I eat my feed
And check the trails.
I’m in the lead,
I don’t see tails.
It’s just one night,
But every year
My nose shines bright
Through midnight clear.
As working deer,
We wait for him
To disappear
O’er chimney rims.
He comes right back,
Then cracks the whip.
I hate that sack
And each toy trip.
JDS
Dec 14, 2023, 7:29:09 PM12/14/23
to
make way for progress
coney island bids farewell
no more hotdog breath
JDS
JDS
Dec 19, 2023, 7:00:17 PM12/19/23
to
ME
Dec 19, 2023, 10:10:13 PM12/19/23
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Ash Wurthing
Dec 20, 2023, 5:55:05 PM12/20/23
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Sillyville
No shadows line the streets
of Sillyville - faux achievements
run along the banks of ancient rivers
as fishes and frog's wonder
at the contamination left
by those unwashed fragments
who know not what has been offered
but rejected, while crawling back
into the caves of days gone by
without one hint of any progress.
~Reverie
No shadows line the streets
of Sillyville - faux achievements
run along the banks of ancient rivers
as fishes and frog's wonder
at the contamination left
by those unwashed fragments
who know not what has been offered
but rejected, while crawling back
into the caves of days gone by
without one hint of any progress.
~Reverie
Michael Pendragon
Dec 21, 2023, 10:35:42 AM12/21/23
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Michael Pendragon
Dec 21, 2023, 10:40:17 AM12/21/23
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PLEASE NOTE:
December 31, 2023 is the last day on which we will be accepting submissions through usenet.
Beginning on Januaray 1, 2024, all submissions should be posted to the AAPC Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/184972343500393
We hope to see all of our regular contributors there.
December 31, 2023 is the last day on which we will be accepting submissions through usenet.
Beginning on Januaray 1, 2024, all submissions should be posted to the AAPC Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/184972343500393
We hope to see all of our regular contributors there.
Message has been deleted
JDS
Dec 22, 2023, 9:25:18 PM12/22/23
to
On Friday, December 22, 2023 at 9:22:09 PM UTC-5, JDS wrote:
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Ruminations
>
> Way down deep south
> they wonder who said "hello" first?
> or wonder, by the Chattahoochee,
> will leaves and a rake produce enough
> to fill the belly as dreams of the Navy
> erase thoughts of a bike peddled
> into camp filling the needs of those
> that cause skunks to run.
>
> By the campfire they wonder till dawn
> "Is he blind, one eye or two?"
>
> "Are there any comics' without proof?"
>
> "Hello" they'll say until it's time to move on
> or until dirt covers more than just excrement.
>
> Reverie
>
>
> Ruminations
>
> Way down deep south
> they wonder who said "hello" first?
> or wonder, by the Chattahoochee,
> will leaves and a rake produce enough
> to fill the belly as dreams of the Navy
> erase thoughts of a bike peddled
> into camp filling the needs of those
> that cause skunks to run.
>
> By the campfire they wonder till dawn
> "Is he blind, one eye or two?"
>
> "Are there any comics' without proof?"
>
> "Hello" they'll say until it's time to move on
> or until dirt covers more than just excrement.
>
> Reverie
ME
Dec 23, 2023, 2:54:29 PM12/23/23
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ME
Dec 23, 2023, 3:23:29 PM12/23/23
to
On Friday 22 December 2023 at 21:25:18 UTC-5, JDS wrote:
Peter J Ross
Dec 23, 2023, 6:23:22 PM12/23/23
to
On 2023-12-21, Michael Pendragon <michaelmalef...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Farewell, Creepster! I'm sure I'll never forget, er, whoever you are.
--
PJR :-)
wrote:
--
PJR :-)
Peter J Ross
Dec 23, 2023, 6:24:49 PM12/23/23
to
On 2023-12-23, ME <riverm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Friday 22 December 2023 at 21:25:18 UTC-5, JDS wrote:
<witless drivel snipped>
> On Friday 22 December 2023 at 21:25:18 UTC-5, JDS wrote:
> So glad you’re still contributing Jim!!!
drug-addict!
--
PJR :-)
Michael Pendragon
Dec 24, 2023, 10:32:57 PM12/24/23
to
But I still won't go out with you.
JDS
Dec 30, 2023, 9:54:27 PM12/30/23
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On Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 11:16:29 AM UTC-5, Michael Pendragon wrote:
> Start posting!
is it possible
the stench of narcissism
will become roselike
JDS
> Start posting!
is it possible
the stench of narcissism
will become roselike
JDS
JDS
Dec 30, 2023, 11:35:21 PM12/30/23
to
He knew --
the stainless table
didn't hold much warmth --
my hand quivered
stroking his floppy ear.
I looked around
and wanted to see
more green --
the starkness
negated all of our walks,
the quiet became
louder than his
youthful bark.
He looked at my hand --
no treats remained
as his eyes closed.
I wanted to trade places.
JDS
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