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MANAO PUBLSHING |
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For a few moments respite, enter the Reading Room. Here you’ll find previously published, unpublished or soon-to-be published works; short stories, essays, poems and serial pieces covering a variety of subject areas and topics. They change regularly so drop in and spend a few minutes. These works are posted solely for your enjoyment, interest and entertainment. |



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MEDIA MOGUL
Singular grains of sand gathered as if one pounded by tsunamic waves of relentless media overexposure
celebrity, titillatingly spawned at every twist and turn
forcing our pendular vacillation between envy and obnoxious revulsion
hounded by delight in their self-righteous comeuppance and publicly proliferated failures we relish the magnitude of their loss, while secreting desires that we too might hold sufficient positional acumen to blunt life’s onslaught and yet remain a foundational pillar on page six
© 2009 |
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All works of literature posted herein are copyrighted and may not be used or reproduced in part or in whole, either in print or electronically without written permission of the author and publisher. Please be advised that works by Branch Isole are written for adults, containing adult material and language, some of which is sexual in nature. All works are intended for mature audiences only.
SITE DESIGNED AND MAINTAINED BY MANAO PUBLISHING © 2006-2010 |
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Inseparable
Each holiday and season brought requests and gifts Toys, candies, clothes and games electronics, equipment newer models, more of the same
Coveted material things under trees, in bags most wrapped, others not expectant exchanges, symbols love fraught
Where are those prized possessions today? What closet, attic, basement or trunk keeps them safe, protecting their aging, promoting their wasting away
the “have to haves” of so long ago the “I can’t live withouts” how much time money energy was invested to be ‘first on the block’ to be the one ‘never bested’
And today?
What can I possibly give promote or desire that of itself you will never tire
Guaranteeing our continuance as spiritual parent and offspring What singular gift to you can I bring One of encouragement, responsibility to exhibit love’s true encapsulating civility
None past nor present nay, not one can stand in comparison to the one I wish to share for you to own, to spend eternity with you before the eyes on God’s throne
© 2009 |
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LAS VEGAS EAST
There is a place, Las Vegas East where commerce market high rollers meet To talk and scheme cajole and dream on how to make mega bucks off the backs of unlucky hacks
They share and trade information of soon to be breaking news intended for their capitalization, but as for Joe six-pack he gets to lose
That’s fine with them either way they win For their fee to play in this one sided game is to charge you now, and later again
Rules arranged to keep in place those gambling with their dreams Not those who control this monied race with all their insider schemes
Too fast, too high or slump too low at too quick a pace Automatic curbs and stops swing into place Guaranteeing time for each of them to fully cover their base
You can bet on the line or bet on the come on specifics to buy and sell These players are happy at attempts; every, any and all for regardless of win, lose or draw ultimately you take the fall
Long before south goes the game, before too many traders are maimed They’re back on the sidelines on the make, counting their take off your mistake
Occasionally, a few get caught with their hands in the cookie jars but it’s only you or I who would ever do time behind a set of steel bars No ‘club fed’ for us, that’s for sure in our cases to serve our time it’s “let the punishment fit the crime”
No matter the outcome nor heinous number of times or trusts they manage to breach It’s America’s small investors who keep getting fleeced
Monday through Friday it’s business as usual; Lying, cheating, stealing thieving, conniving at ‘Las Vegas East’
You and I know it by its other name, NYSE, Wall Street
© 2009 |

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SECRETS
A comfort will be missed Secrets two have shared Minute aspects of daily life Souls that have been bared Vulnerabilities long ago breached Fodder now for emotions that seethe
An undercurrent recently present yet blinders disallowed peripheral introspection Leaving produces heartbreak but will abandonment initiate greater pain than an eventual knowledge of a vowed trust decimated piece by piece incident by incident behind one’s back
Rewards and punishment hover clandestinely within the shadows each waiting to be revealed A power struggle balanced precariously atop the apex of promises made while impatience gnaws upon the fortitude of belief
At what point are the pangs of voluntary servitude broken only to be supplanted by the loneliness of independence At what level, the depth of love?
© 2009 |
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THE POINT
I don’t find your promises attractive Anymore, than your denials for not finding the Time, it would take to show I am still Important, enough to make the struggle worthwhile
It’s redundant Starting over After accepting the sacrifice and then Excusing, it as a substitute for fulfillment as if it had Meaning, beyond you and me
You never stray but your Ever present, guilt trip Hovers, over my shoulder Possessing, a disparaging smirk
You indicate Desire, to share my success yet you raise the Bar, all efforts which take me closer to Rewards, you change by altering the Parameters, of acceptance As I draw nearer to each goal
Exactly what is this Point, you’re trying to make? that if you help insure my failure your Unconditional love, becomes more evident? To whom? You or me?
Which of your justifications lead you to believe Continuation, would entice me to be with you in the future?
© 2009 |
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SYMBOLIC
It was necessary for Jesus of Nazareth to live and die in an era when the executioner’s tool was the cross For no other symbol of demeaning elevation could have evolved to have such impact
© 2007 |
