Coach Roth
Coach Roth Poems
Maria worked weekends
in a geriatic ward
of another hospital...
her first long time patient
...
Little Miss Muffet
sat on her muffin...
then she began to pray...
where oh where is my
...
When I was young..
I loved the trombone...
it's beautifully crafted horn
fed by long elegant tubing...
...
Eve did not tempt Adam
with the apple from the
tree of life...
she was the forbidden fruit...
...
Coach, Chumly, and Maria
moved into the Snake Pit
in June having bought it from
Tony who was an 88 year old
...
Christmas Eve…
Maria had gone home
for the holidays,
Coach and Chumly
...
Coach worked the counter
at a video store in Hollywood...
musicians, actors, drag queens...
to say the clientele was eclectic
...
The assignment was simple...
write a poem about Spring,
but it was third grade
and no one had explained to me
...
The pieces are assembled,
the trap awaits...
the cage hangs precariously
above the Swiss cheese,
...
The ex-Marine walked
into Coach’s bar…
260 pounds…
most of it still muscle…
...
***A bedtime story for Frank James Ryan Jr. who has encouraged my writings, and inspired by the Forum discussions of what type of poetry is best and who should be allowed to judge.***
The Rider
...
Coach took a job bartending
at a tavern on Sunset Boulevard…
All the regulars were in…
Little Donny Quinn, Frank the Greek,
...
Patsy seemed content
to sit in the doorway
or on the deck...but
still was wary of coming
...
Felix came into Coach’s bar…
Barely 5’6” maybe mid-sixties
Scrawny and mousy…
with his beer
...
I'm not dead yet,
my hands still feel...
...
My birthday is only a day...
it has no meaning...no love...no spirit...
...
Bosco came into the bar nightly…
Latino, good looking, strong…
He owned a chain of restaurants
in the Los Angeles area…
...
Coach Roth Biography
I have decided to publish a good many of my poems...It is the heighth of arrogance and self-conceit I know, but you have only yourselves to blame for all the nice comments you have made on them over the years(comments I have saved one and all) ...the book is '70 Feet High and Falling Fast: The Suicide Journals and Other Love Stories'...it is availble at barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com...whether I ever sell a copy does not matter, holding a book of my poetry in my hands is worth the trouble...I went with Publish America...they take on all the expense of publishing and naturally, take most of what profit there might be...and they expect the author to self-promote...a fair trade-off if other publishers are unavailable...many of you who are far better poets than me, especially those with family and children might want to consider it so that you have a record, a tangible physical record of your great poetry for them to have and remember...anyway, thank you for your encouragement these past years...aI hope to start writing new material soon and look forward to reading yours...Coach)
The Best Poem Of Coach Roth
***paradise-12-Fat Man Dies
Maria worked weekends
in a geriatic ward
of another hospital...
her first long time patient
was a fat man who
weighed 500 pounds.
The nurses were taxed...
baths, changing sheets.
turning him over...
everything was magnified
by his size...
'My god Coach'
Maria said with that inflection
that indicated sympathy...
'he's humongous...
but such a nice guy,
kind of like Peter Sellers
trapped in a fat suit.'
Over the weeks,
they grew close...
talking at night...
passing the time...
she took him flowers,
he showed her pictures,
they laughed at jokes.
Then one day,
he introduced her to
his family...
beautiful wife, lovely daughter
respectful son, a loving group...
Fat man: 'Maria takes care of me...'
Wife: 'Thank you dear...'
Maria was proud to be his friend...
One night the code blue blasted...
Maria was first in the room...
the fat man was flat-lining...
no time to wait...
Maria was only four feet eleven..
110 pounds...
she lowered the railings
but still couldn't reach him...
she jumped on the bed
climbed on top...
straddled the fat man
started CPR...
pushing, pushing, pushing
pushing...
'Goddammit...
don't you die.'
Maria had never had
a patient of hers die...
'Goddammit...no...
not you...not the first...
goddammit no...'
She pushed and heard
ribs breaking,
knew she
couldn't stop...
'Dammit...no...
dammit noooo...'
The doctor on call
reached the room
found Maria
on top of the fat man
bucking like a bronco...
he gently grabbed her
and lifted her off...
'Whoa...little cowgirl...
he's dead.'
'Sh*t...goddam' sh*t'...
Maria broke down and cried...
and she hated crying
in front of others...
Coach
'You did what you could...'
Maria
'Not enough...not enough.'
'You're gonna be
a nurse, get used to it...'
'Never...' Maria said...
'Never.'
Coach Roth Comments
Coach Roth has a talent to paint verbal pictures, all of them are well worth reading...
Delivering Poems Around The World
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8/25/2026 1:19:01 PM # rel_20260813T193622Z_3aad590
Coach Roth is all about Paradise: I still owe him one… I promise it won’t s.u.c.k. when it comes.. aroha PS.. I will probably have to deliver it privately though