John F. McCullagh Poems

A Lover, cloaked in sorrow,
knelt beside his woman’s stone.
His Ann was only twenty two
when Heaven called her home.
...

In the presence of the enemy
He split his force in two.
His red coated invaders
displayed contempt for the Zulu.
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Life is so precious
for look how we cling to it,
enduring all manner
of outrage from fate.
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Two folded sheets of paper
were hidden in his stovepipe hat.
He mouthed the phrases with his lips
on the platform where they sat.
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No, you will not hear him anymore.
belting out a Broadway score.
You would wait forever
before he walks through that door.
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Back in the days of Vietnam
We said: “Make Love, not war.”
No matter how many Cong we killed
Like Doritos, they made more.
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Dappled light through sheltering leaves
on a perfect summer’s day.
My lady love lies on the grass
Alas to pray, not play,
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There are loves that are inseparable,
loves that never leave.
Loves that can define us
This much I do believe.
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The onset was a subtle thing;
a clumsiness, a loss of grace.
She who had been strong and proud
was, suddenly, listless, out of place.
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I want to see ol’ Warren’s face
When I claim the Billion prize.
When my perfect bracket
takes the cash,
...