Kitty corner from my childhood home Stood, with faded and peeling paint A gloomy red building Jo Lums Chinese RestaurantWe never, EVER ate there Not that we ate Chinese at all Even with its close proximity We still never ventured thereThe spicy smell of its kitchen The rotting stink of its dumpster Would waft our… Read More Jo Lums
Terror and fearForm in my mindAs I recall my earliest memoryChristmas at Grandmother EdmondsA yule time of cussing and fightingCould be had by all.Dad, after a few beersHas glazed eyes with a grimaceHe has checked out.Mother holding back tears.Wringing her handsMuttering words of hope.Grandmother fussing,Lecturing all on proper etiquetteCalling God’s wrath down on allGrandfather, ready… Read More First Memory
I’m so TIREDSixty-plus years of adulting has me just TUCKERED ME OUTWhy do I have to make decisions?Be the responsible one?I’m so EXHAUSTEDOf always doing the right thingWhy can’t life just gently kiss my assAnd bother somebody else?I am WORN TO A FRAZZLELooking out for othersWhat about me?Hey over here! I EXIST!ZonkedFinishedDepleted2026
KendallIt started with a hectic, mad dash southTo a frustrating city with no vacanciesBut oh, the outcome was so sweetA bright-eyed, beautiful baby girlThe last bundle of joyTo grace our familyYou made us complete,Like placing that last piece in the puzzle.Life, like it is known to do,Handed you your own peculiar playlistWhich you have mastered… Read More Kendall
Voltairine de Cleyre (1866–1912)Born April 12, 1866, Leslie, Michigan, USADied June 20, 1912, Chicago, Illinois, USA (due to kidney failure)Anarchist essayist, orator, poet, and leading figure in American individualist and non-sectarian anarchism.Thomas Paine, Henry David Thoreau, Mary Wollstonecraft, and the Haymarket Affair.Voltairine de Cleyre was one of the most eloquent and influential thinkers in the… Read More Poems of Voltairine de Cleyre by Voltairine de Cleyre – Rostie Publishing
Poetry from Mrs. F.E. O’Dell of Flint, Michigan.About Frances Smith OdellBirth: 16 Jun 1846, Michigan, USADeath: 16 Feb 1927 (aged 80)Burial: Glenwood Cemetery, Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, USAParents: William M. Smith Sr, 1823–1902Abigail Riddle Smith, 1824–1904Spouse: Frank Eldwood Odell, 1851–1924 (m. 1877)Siblings: Nancy Smith Funk Colby, 1850 – unknownWilliam M. Smith Jr, 1856 – unknownMrs.… Read More Poems By Mrs. F.E. O’Dell by Francis O’Dell – Rostie Publishing
The third of Cora’s books. A few reprints from previous publications.Cora Oma Long, a poet from Flint, Michigan in the 1920’s.Born: 12 Jul 1868, Michigan, USADeath: 24 May 1950 (aged 81) Genesee County, Michigan, USABurial: Mount Morris Cemetery, Mount Morris, Genesee County, Michigan, USASpouses:James Nathaniel Wyant 1856–1941 (m. 1929)Martin Long 1855–1929 (m. 1885)Children:Oscar Sherman Long… Read More My Blue Book of Poems Second Series by Cora Oma Long – Rostie Publishing
On a pot-filled dirt road Stands the church of my youthMy memories, though, do not speak of religion Rather, the scenes played out thereBusting from the basement as Sunday School ends And running the gauntlet of smoking DeaconsThe chill on my spine As Brother Jones rose with the spiritThe pitchers of Kool-Aid Never mixed rightThe… Read More The Harwine Street Church of My Youth
Poems from Mrs. Long of Flint, Michigan. Originally published in 1924Cora Oma Simons LongBorn: 12 Jul 1868, Michigan, USADeath: 24 May 1950 (aged 81) Genesee County, Michigan, USABurial: Mount Morris Cemetery, Mount Morris, Genesee County, Michigan, USASpouses:James Nathaniel Wyant 1856–1941 (m. 1929)Martin Long 1855–1929 (m. 1885)Children:Oscar Sherman Long 1886–1961Corp Lavern Harold Long 1892 – unknownParents:Asher… Read More My Blue Book of Original Poems by Cora Oma Long – Rostie Publishing
Poetry by Cora Oma LongBorn: 12 Jul 1868 Michigan, USADeath: 24 May 1950 (aged 81) Genesee County, Michigan, USABurial: Mount Morris Cemetery Mount Morris, Genesee County, Michigan, USASpouses:James Nathaniel Wyant 1856–1941 (m. 1929)Martin Long 1855–1929 (m. 1885)Children:Oscar Sherman Long 1886–1961Corp Lavern Harold Long 1892 – unknownParents:Asher Sylvester Simons 1819–1875Elizabeth Ann Williams Simons 1830 – unknownBuy… Read More Blue Book Of Original Poems by Cora Oma Long – Rostie Publishing
Ramblings of an Old Coot 