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In days gone by, I'd assume
our leadership was largely true...
but now I follow and I fume--
my trust has been entombed.

Tabatha Yeatts

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Here lies poor Froggie―
A former grass hopper,

Mowed down untimely

By the blade of a chopper.

© (2018) Cory Corrado

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Nine long months, then a new baby cries.

Alas, its birth, led to your demise.

©2018 Amanda Sincavage

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You knew I didn’t want you there,

But still you grew and didn’t care.

You poked your skinny fingers through

My garden soil, so - shame on you!

I lost my cool and went berserk,

With hoe and weeder went to work.

At last, I find that I can smile;

You’re trapped inside my compost pile!

LeeAnn Blankenship

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Sadly, teachers toted guns
to protect their little ones.
Mrs. Smith's gun misfired.
Shortly after, she expired.

Dianne Moritz

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With slithering, serpentine hair
and a cold, penetrating stare,
you turned men into statues of stone,
so most mortals left you alone.

But while you slumbered in bed,
Perseus chopped of your head.
Now, instead of resting in Elysian’s field,
you’re entombed on Athena’s bronze shield.

© Catherine Flynn, 2018

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Sweet daffodil raising in hopes of spring,
fooled by the sun late winter brings,

withers as Jack proves he’s still king.

© Maria Marshall 2018

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'Tis gone too soon; you'll never quote it.

The truth, 'tis sad: I never wrote it.

© Rebekah Hoeft February 2018

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Here lie could’ve, should’ve and would’ve
We’re still waiting for I did it!

by Angelique Pacheco

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I paid my dues,
No more to lose.
This show will be
A six-foot snooze.

© 2018 Jane Yolen, all rights reserved

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She piled books beside her bed
some to read, some already read
Throughout the years her bookstack grew
classics, mysteries, novels, too
The content of these tomes fulfilled her
sadly a massive bookslide killed her

Molly Hogan © 2018

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Poor sales,
No TLC.
Book fails,
Soon O.O.P.

Dianne Moritz

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She'd long been a hawker of books
selling tomes for romantics, and cooks,
jokesters, and sleuths,
seekers of truths.
It is said that she died by the book.

© Diane Mayr

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Here stands the home -

ours forty year.

We kept it safe.

We held it dear.

Now though it’s left

for another’s time,

still I walk rooms

as if still mine.

Memories stay

in stone, carved deep,

family pictures

We’ll always keep.

Linda Baie © All rights

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Grandpa’s face hair was unruly

Bristly, scraggly, scary… truly!

Grandma noticed Grandpa snoring

Shaved him ‘til his face was boring.

© Karen Eastlund 2018

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Pages sublime

with truths to tell,

when I would look

I learned to spell.

The rain poured in,

we dried you out.

But mold is tough,

it seeped about.

All reach The End

this tale just shows.

Off to the trash,

a story goes.

© JG Annino

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Your days were unhurried,

unworried, unvaried.

Then came the jobs, the bills,

a mortgage, a marriage.

You're not really gone,

just buried.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018

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Liz the librarian checked out books
until the day she fell.
She banged her head; did not wake up.
Then she checked out, as well.

By Ellen Leventhal

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John Senior Sleepyhead
Teacher of drivers ed
Morning crash, ends up dead

Ms. Joan Marie,
Teacher of PE
Who really liked to ski
but didn't see the tree

Lady with the long neck
Teacher of home ec
Ended up in a wreck
Didn't anybody check?

by Kathy Mazurowski

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Here lie the shattered remains

of Liz’s iPhone 7.

It succumbed to the weight of her minivan

and now it rings in heaven.

© Elizabeth Steinglass

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I pitched you products

on late night telly:

defog your mirror,

or trim your belly!

Want a Ginzu knife,

or a hot glue gun?

Don’t click the off button…

I’m not done!

© 2018 Teresa Robeson

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Here lies E. Moji
wore every smile from lol to suspicious

Was a text friend to every Tom, Dick, and Harry
Passed from this world laughing to death.

© Linda Mitchell

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Born near a TV early century
gamed all night by the age of three

Minecraft, Mario, Skylanders – whee!
died cause he never got up to pee.
Ayou….Ayou Tuber, king of the wild-web frontier.

© Linda Mitchell

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Ima Fibber was a star ad-libber

whose best lies were tiny-sized.

Then she heard someone glibber.

Her lies grew as supersized

as the president’s boasts on twitter.

She word-shifted to a super stellar lie teller,

until her tallest tale about the babysitter.

Now the storyteller’s confined to the cellar.

Copyright 2018 Brenda Davis Harsham

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Here lies Blue,

dear departed
pioneer of skies uncharted.
Friend of downy clouds on high,
an easy breezy kind of guy.
Fearless till the day he lost
his helium—then tempest-tossed,
he realized flight was not his calling
at the moment he was falling.

© 2018 Michelle Heidenrich Barnes. All rights reserved.

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Her name was Molly. Age 8.
She asked her mom for new
sneakers . . .
no more pretty ‘light-ups’,
for fear of being seen by the
school shooter.

© By Ann Magee

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You have some time to play Minecraft today,

but you've got to be good.

Sixty minutes!

Wait.
You tossed your food on the floor (the spinach),

we're docking you ten.

Fifty minutes!

Stop!
You're tearing up toilet paper,

we're docking you ten.

Forty minutes!

What?
Your science project is due TOMORROW,

we're docking you ten.

Thirty minutes!

Enough!
A fist-fight between brothers, we're reaching our limits,

we're docking you ten.

Twenty minutes!

"Twenty isn't enough, Daddy!"

and I have to agree,

twenty minutes isn't enough time for me.

by Joseph Greaser

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Epitaph for My Friend, A Good Night's Sleep

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Epitaph for My Friend, A Good Night's Sleep

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When I was young and not so wise,

I battled hard for your demise.

I argued that you spoiled my fun,

And fought you off—but you still won.

In college years, I tried once more

To push you firmly out the door.

“This paper’s due! I can’t afford you.”

No doubt my teenage whining bored you.

As a grown up, now I see

Just what a dear friend you can be.

But now, I fear, you’re gone for good,

Done in by one word: parenthood.

~ Jesse Anna Bornemann

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Counter clockwise
Round and round
Followed by a
Gurgling sound
Rising bubbles
Blub blub blub
Alas, my bath has
Fled the tub

© Karen Eastlund

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Now here lies some dirt and grime
Gathered while we were in our prime
Laid to rest with soapy suds
Now we all can wear clean duds

Kay Jernigan McGriff 2018
*Inspired by "Monday" -- pencil sketch by L.D. Wight
contributed by Linda Baie to Laura Shovan's February Poetry Challenge Ekphrasis at Home

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Soft Mega Roll when you were new

You cleaned quite a few in the loo

As you neared the end

The faster you went

But left us your brown cardboard tube

R.I.P.  T.P.

© 2018 Mindy Gars Dolandis

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Repository of

rotten food;

decaying

detritus of days

departed;

you have harboured

secret sins

and shrivelled skins

all summer break,

festering discontent

like seething maggots.

Rest in Putridness.

© Kathryn Apel 2018. All rights reserved

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My rhubarb crunch?

All munched at brunch.

His chicken soup?

Flew the coop.

© JG Annino

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Here lies just a fork and plate
A smudge of red - a sticky fate
Gone too soon - oh yes it’s true
I ate it all - my diet ? blew!

2018 Janie Lazo

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Pulled and stretched

in twists and turns -

picky permutation.

A chomp.  A chew.

The End. Of You.

(Sticky situation….)

©Robyn Hood Black.  All rights reserved.

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Out of a tree

into our life

sitting silent,

spread by a knife.

That time - I tipped,

poured you all out,

hair tangled with

wicked wide spout.

So soon, all gone.

I cried real tears.

Maple sweet hair

in child years.

© JG Annino

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Here lies my elegant creation,
ear muffed, necktied and cuddly.
Temperatures rose after February snows.
Climate Change made him all puddly.

Joyce Ray, 2018

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O by far, the crowning glory
of this massive creature's story

was it's final exit roar,
right before
it was no more

It shook the prehistoric age,
with frightful, fuming dying rage,

and with a sound so LOUD and DEEP,
it woke from embryonic sleep,

The Dawn of Man

Michele Krueger

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In the palm of my hand

a droplet now lies―

all that remains

of the snowflake that was,

the fleeting star fallen,

the wish           that landed,
and in a blink

v a n i s h e d   .   .   .

© 2018 Cory Corrado

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by David McMullin

Your light went out,
one pop, one spark.
Oh, light bulb, now
my world is dark.

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You lit the sky.

You made a splash,

then fell to Earth

as rock and ash.

© Buffy Silverman

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Thought I died didn’t you, King Dino Spinosaurus–

My vocal chords rrroared in Jurassic Three’s Chorus!

But watch out, I’ve a revival swim up your shore,

as the first dino swimmer not hokum folklore!

© 2017 Michelle Kogan

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Here lies Velociraptor
Who in battle never stops
Here lies too - his fierce opponent
Lifeless Protoceratops

2018 Janie Lazo

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The Dodo had no need to fly

’til frightening strangers breached his shores.

We wish he’d kept his wings in shape

so he could make a swift escape.

Alas, but now his spirit soars.

© 2018 by Sydney O’Neill

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Epitaph to a Bird that Failed to Take Off 

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Epitaph to a Bird that Failed to Take Off 

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No go dodo.

© Kathryn Apel 2018. All rights reserved

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There was an explorer named Eyre

in the Outback with no food to spare.

He loved his old horse,

but he ate her of course.

Next time he’ll be better prepared.

© Doraine Bennett

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by Dianne Moritz

Little, loyal, faithful friend,
My love for you will never end.
GOOD DOG

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He slinks around the house at night,
The cat that died from a dog bite.
He settles on the bed with glee,
A purple flash is all you see.
A ghostly form so very real
Jump on me you’ll hear me squeal!
I’ll then drop dead with fright
And soon join you in the light!

by Angelique Pacheco

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Flattened stinky roadkill

was your favorite treat.

You lost your life one midnight

while you gorged on rancid meat,

Proving for eternity

--you are what you eat.

© Buffy Silverman

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His toes were all curled,
his tongue was stuck out.
We made him this grave.
We blamed the bad drought.
In our defense,
we thought he was dead!
He was a possum,
and we were misled.

© 2018 Sarah Grace Tuttle

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You crossed the road, and now you're gone,

no more to waddle 'cross my lawn.
O, little one with noxious stink--
you won't be coming back, I think.

© Cynthia Cotten  2018  all rights reserved

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You tried to give me the alarm

that Fat Cat meant to do you harm

but I was blinded by Cat’s charm.

No more I'll hear your chitter-chatter

warning something is the matter.

Drat that Cat! He’s even fatter.

Cindy Breedlove © 2018

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Epitaph for the Former Emotional Support Rodent

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Epitaph for the Former Emotional Support Rodent

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Pebbles the support hamster
Trained to help nerves hush
Banned from taking flight
was given a final FLUSH

© Bridget Magee

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During her first semester at a school in Pennsylvania, Aldecosea developed a painful growth in her neck, leading to a cancer scare. That's when she bought Pebbles for comfort. In November, Aldecosea learned the growth was benign, but still painful. Withdrawing from school and going home hoping to have it removed, Aldecosea booked a Spirit flight from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale.

She twice called Spirit in advance, to verify the hamster could fly. The rep told her it was fine - an assurance that Spirit agrees was given to Aldecosea. "Our reservation representative, unfortunately, did misinform the guest that a hamster was permitted to fly as an emotional support animal on Spirit Airlines," spokesman Dombrowski wrote in an email.

When Aldecosea showed up that day, she said, the first Spirit agent checked her emotional support pet in with no problem. Pebbles was in a small cage that fit regulations for carry-on luggage.

But as she approached the security checkpoint, a second Spirit employee chased her down, hollering that rodents weren't allowed. Aldecosea said Spirit agents told her she couldn't put the hamster in the cargo hold either.

After hectic discussions, an outraged Aldecosea accepted a flight later that day. She said she had no friends or family in town to pick up Pebbles. It was then, Aldecosea insists, that an employee suggested letting Pebbles go free outside or flushing her down the toilet.

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Woman says she flushed emotional support hamster down toilet after airline refused to let it fly

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
During her first semester at a school in Pennsylvania, Aldecosea developed a painful growth in her neck, leading to a cancer scare. That's when she bought Pebbles for comfort. In November, Aldecosea learned the growth was benign, but still painful.

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Here lies Mousie Miss Lizzy
Who spun herself in a tizzy.

When 'boxed' over head
(ooops)
Miss Lizzy―stunned―STOPPED  .  .  .

Dropping
dizzy

dazed

dead!

© 2018 Cory Corrado. All rights reserved.

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Cotopaxi the axolotl

lived a little, was loved a lotl.

Within his bowl he was a king

‘cause Pippa gave him everything:

Plants and stones and water clear-

a kingdom for a royal peer.

But even Royals make mistakes

and when they do, them’s the breaks.

When creatures leave their proper sphere

chances are, their end is near.

Paxi did what he didn’t oughta-

went for air instead of water.

Now in Heaven they see his charm

Where he can come to no more harm.

© Kate O’Neil and Philippa Cook

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by Linda Staszak

Toad was a wild and crazy guy
Who couldn't resist a crunchy fly.
His throaty croak, his crooked leap--
Memories we'll always keep.
Adventure called him toward the road
And there he lies, old warty Toad.

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Your shiny trail gave you away,
when hungry ducks came out to play.

One look, a peck, and giant slurp,

and you were nothing but a burp.

© Maria Marshall 2018

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So I was sitting there

minding my own business,

quiet as a mouse,

not bothering anyone.

So I was sitting there

being a wallflower,

politely unobtrusive,

just hanging peacefully.

So I was just sitting there

bothering no one at all,

waiting for my next meal,

when…

SPLAT!

A rolled up newspaper

done do me in.

© 2018 Teresa Robeson

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Here lies Fly, who wasn’t clever.

He made the worst decision ever.

Lunch with Spider sounded swell.

He left this world an empty shell.

© 2018 Randi Sonenshine

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Was born for flight (and reproduction),

set off for a swarm seduction.

Lost his mate; could not locate her.

Sadly, died a few hours later.

© 2018 Matt Forrest Esenwine,

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Background Image: "only sleeping" by Robb North