Chuck Toll Poems

When out of sorts with life or self,
A porch is hard to beat
As long as you’ve a comfy chair
And space to stretch your feet.
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We neither pity other creatures nor feel sorry
for ourselves. Life does what it must, so do we.

We accept what there is: snakes, bugs, mice,
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Kayaking on the East River, my daughter
Met a coyote swimming and offered help.
It declined, adding it needed the exercise.
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I really want to know whether you exist or not!
Your site has several “Contact Us” links, and
Emails to you produce an “Auto-Thank You”
But our messages then get lost in cyberspace
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Four score and more can be a drag.
I’ve watched my face in mirrors sag.
My fiber diet makes me gag.
Alas, my tail has lost its wag.
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One April Claude Monet became enraptured
With an oak, a vision begging to be captured
On canvas, bare limbs stark against the light.
Magnifique! Mon Dieu, he’d paint this right!
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The moose, silent at twilight in the mountain pond, watched us
Approach down the tree-canopied ravine without alarm.
It chomped calmly, water grasses dripping from its mouth.
While not inviting us to stay, it seemed to have no objection
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Our small New England town buried a son yesterday,
A young soldier killed on duty in Afghanistan.
It was our first casualty in struggles far away
But, as it had proved, not sufficiently removed.
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“This is a defining moment, ” proclaims our president loudly
As Malaki leading several newly minted regiments proudly
Rushes to Bosra to attack the Shiite militia and is nearly crushed,
With a thousand desertions. Another Kodak moment to be hushed.
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Grand Canyon

Touching the gray stone
Formed beneath an inland sea
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