To Read

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As a child
it amazed me
that people
could write things
almost as incredible
as the stuff in my mind.

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Do you mean
you can write those things down,
and people will read them,
adding their own sounds?

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It’s hard to find words
to describe
how much words
mean to me.
It’s like living in a city
that grows
new streets every day.

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I hope growing up
doesn’t mean
I stop loving
the words in the books…
the stories in the books…
the adventures in those books…
that I read today.

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© Joel Tipple

All Hope

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“There, that’s done,” Clay breathed a sigh of relief as he and Lori left the real estate office in Bandon, Oregon after signing the lease for
the latest All Hope Ministries outreach center. “Clay,” Lori said, “there’s something you might not have considered when you picked this particular city for the next All Hope.” Clay’s brows drew together. “What’s that?” he said. The corner of her mouth lifted just a little. “Well, you know how you answer the phone in San Francisco? San Francisco, All Hope.” “Sure,” Clay said, “and in Portland we answer, Portland, All Hope. So in Bandon we would
say… Oh!” He shook his head and laughed quietly. “Okay, we’ll have to adjust that.”

© Joel Tipple

Safe?

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Safe is not what it looks like,
it’s an illusion
and
a trap.
A hand that appears to draw you forward,
while surreptitiously pushing you back.
It may not seem in your nature
to engage in risk,
to take bold chances,
but no one hits home runs from the dugout,
you’ve got to swing for the fences.

Crepuscular Countercurrent Philosophy

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Parents
of
teens
with countercurrent emotional pain
find their hair in retreat
and their nerves inflamed
while their own
crepuscular
philosophies
dash for
life
boats
and
preservers.

Ed. note… “Dictionary Roulette” entrees take three randomly
chosen words from the dictionary to be used as key ingredients
for a poem.