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Hello sweet Jude, my dear old friend.

I got your call the other day,

It’s odd but it seems like a trend

For people vanished in the hay

To recently come back to life

And to give news for old time’s sake,

I smiled when you said you’re a wife,

Now rain pours down, my shoulders shake.

Fond memories, without a stop,

Seem to come back to the surface,

Once they have again reached the top

I can clearly see all your faces…

Oh the good times we used to have,

I hoped since you’d learned to behave.

Oh my dear Jude I’m so sorry

To hear you in all this worry,

Life is unjust, it’s so unfair,

You were so good, the both of you,

The best of us now we’re so few.

If only Charlie were still there…

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A reply to Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis by Tom Waits

Part of a writing prompt.

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Harder, better, faster, stronger,

Higher, louder, brighter, warmer.

The pursuit of perfection takes much time,

It is a tiring and very steep climb,

However with diligence and hard work,

Endless dedication despite the murk

And perhaps a bit of talent and luck

You can overcome any time you feel stuck.

Bigger, simpler, lighter, sooner,

Farther, younger, deeper, ever.

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Simple but effective.

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In the depths of my mind

There is an endless void

Filled with things I avoid,

I try to leave behind,

It is dark and silent

Not warm but not quite cold,

Not peaceful, not violent,

And neither new nor old;

Then, without a warning,

A star in the distance

Lights up bright and shining

And it begins to dance,

A soft whisper rises,

A calm anc clear voice,

We come in all sizes

For the rest we have choice.

.

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What of my hope?

What of my love?

Will you just let

Wither away?

On this steep slope

Rising above

My heart is set

And shall not sway.

It may be plain,

I may be coy,

Never again

A little boy.

That is my pain,

That is my joy;

No bars or chain

Will with me toy.

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I am a good for nothing thug,

Always on my face a smile smug,

None can stop me, no man or god,

Always it ends in tears or blood

A true-born soulless criminal,

Monster disguised in human skin,

No more a man, oh just a beast!

Until I breathe my breath final,

On happiness of my past kin

And their life and love I shall feast!

.

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Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Don’t look over your head

She hates it when you do.

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That’s all for tonight. Bye.

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In these tears I can feel

The whole weight of your heart,

Emotions that you seal,

That could drive you apart

From yourself, from your soul;

In this soft, salty rain

That somehow keeps you whole

I can feel your deep pain.

Always darkest is night

Before the first new light,

This might not be the worst

But you are not the first

And surely not the last

To succumb to this ache

Come from ages long past.

Oh my dear desperate youth

Do know that you can make

It through the deadly storm

And one day time might soothe

The soreness of your form.

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One day

I wish to be able to say

What I think, what I feel,

I hope to know the way

Around my lone Achille’s heel,

One day

I wish to be able to show

Oh what in you I see

And what you mean to me,

How badly I want you to know…

One day

I wish to be able to make

You smile, you laugh – lovely –

To get rid, off to shake

My timidity, if only…

One day.

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