by
benditty
Categories: poetry, UncategorizedTags: ode, poetry, roger allen baut, tribute
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Tag: ode

Striped Philosophy
In Memory of Maya Angelou
I wrote a post in 2010 titled My Regards to Maya Angelou. In memory of a great poet I thought I would share it today.

I Know Why the Twitter Bird Tweets
The free bird leaps
on Google’s back
and scrolls down page
till the browser ends
and dips his wings
in Facebook rays
and dares to claim the internet.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow page
can seldom see through
his lists of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his claws to tweet.
The Twitter bird tweets
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tweets are read
on a distant hill
for the Twitter bird
tweets of freedom
The free bird may watch tivo’d Glee
And order up some good Chinese
and laugh as Sue Sylvester drones
On and on of kids off tone.
But Twitter bird stands on the grave of tweets
Getting “trends” for Trick or Treat
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his claws to tweet.
The Twitter bird tweets
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tweet is heard
on the distant hill
for the Twitter bird
tweets of freedom.
Thirteen Years on September 11th
thirteen years and
half my life ago
I felt remorse
inside the small world
of eighth grade
lockers and
simplicity before
the fires lit inside
a television set
and we were
manufactured to
believe in war
like tragedy might
save us from more
death…
thirteen years
and everything
is flat
but television
hasn’t changed
we haven’t
changed.
© Ben Ditmars 2014
“September 17 2001” by U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer’s Mate Eric J. Tilford. – This Image was released by the United States Navy with the ID 010917-N-7479T-515 (next). Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
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This file is a work of a sailor or employee of the U.S. Navy, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As awork of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. |
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This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights. |
O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman
Pale Blue
In Memory of Carl Sagan
his pale blue
sense of wonder
suspended
in a sunbeam
taught beauty in
the faint sensation
of our atoms
put together.
a legacy of
dust and stars
billions upon billions
of stars
I saw the sky and
endless possibility
stretch over me like
broken shackles
form the past
and we remain the
momentary masters
of a fraction
of a dot.
© Ben Ditmars 2014
“Carl Sagan – 1980” by PBS – ebay. Via Wikipedia.