Pandora's Box: New Collected Poems

By Jack Henry Markowitz

Book Summary

With the publication of Pandoras Box New Collected Poems the author presents a collection of his more recently written poems. This new volume can be viewed as a book end to his prior collection Please Ask, Do Tell The Collected Poems which represents a collection of some of his favorite poems that were written over a span of 40 years.
In his novella Stuff Happens author Jack Henry Markowitz combines elements of fiction and non fiction in a new form he calls Friction - a combination of the fictitious with the real. In The Practice and Other Stories he writes short stories with satiric wit and Jewish humor about working class New York characters he had observed during his growing-up years. With the publication of Bubbie and Zadie Save the Day Markowitz retells a Romanian folk tale that his mother often told to him and his siblings as a rather unusual bed time story

The author resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he continues to work and write. See links for more information: www.jhmcommunications.com; http://jckmrkwtz.blogspot.com.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469177878

Jack Henry Markowitz

Jack Henry Markowitz, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, grew up in a magical time when Coney Island was still thought of as the entertainment capital of the world – a time when the Brooklyn Dodgers still played at Ebbets Field and millions of people came to visit the fabled beaches and boardwalk, Steeplechase Park, Parachute Jump, Cyclone Roller Coaster and Nathan’s Famous. During his undergraduate years at Hamilton College, Markowitz studied creative writing with Wallace Markfi eld (To An Early Grave, Teitlebaum’s Window) and with Alex Haley (Roots, The Autobiography of Malcolm X). Markowitz resides in Philadelphia where he continues to work and write. In this new volume of The Kool-Aid Drinkers & Other Poems the author presents a collection some of his more recent poems.

Book preview

Pandora’s Box

NEW COLLECTED POEMS

Jack Henry Markowitz

Copyright © 2012 by Jack Henry Markowitz.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2012904277

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4691-7786-1

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4691-7785-4

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4691-7787-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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CONTENTS

A Place Called Valley Forge

A Pre-Existing Condition

All Of My Life

All Things Considered

And Her Name Is Gloria!

Angels With Dirty Faces

As Soon As My Diabetic Leg Begins To Heal

At The Hop

Beat The Clock

Blood On The Tracks

Blue Suede Shoes

Down Goes Frazier!

Down In North Miami Beach

Even Now I Feel The Need

Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit

Eye Of The Tiger

Flotsam And Jetsam

Gung Ho For Fung Shui

Hey Buddy This Bud’s For You

Hiking Alone In the Woods

Hitler’s Last Ten Days

Home Again Alone

How I Envied Them

How It Usually Works

How The Dead Must Laugh

I Ain’t Dead Yet

I Am Broke-Busted

I Think I Missed My True Calling

In The Barrels

In The Final Analysis

Lake Pontchartrain

Like A Candle In The Wind

Like A Dog Returning To Its Own Vomit

Meshach, Shadrach And Abednego

Morning On The Serengeti

My Alma Mater’s 200th Birthday

No Country For Old Men

Not Even In Your Wildest Dreams

Ode To Kris Kringle

On A G String And A Prayer

On The Madness Of Bees

On Top Of Old Smokey

Otzi The Ice Man

Pals

Pandora’s Box

Score One For The Home Team

So This Is Christmas

Soon There Will Be Pumpkins

Sorry But I Did Not Die In Vietnam

Taking The #3 Bus

The Beautiful And Magnificent Theory Of Everything

The Greek Lady In The Aluminum Van

The Laughing Fat Lady

The Post Partum Holiday Blues

The Revolution Has Been Televised

The Rise Of The Tea Party And The New Anti-Federalism

The Shroud Of Turin Man

These Days

To Be A Poet

Today

Too Much

Waiting For The Return Of Normal

Walking The Floor Over You

Yetta’s Poem

Your Mama

Zen And The Art Of Bicycle Maintenance

A Place Called Valley Forge

It all depended on him

And him alone

On his broad shoulders alone

When all else was lost

(Even hope itself)

He stood alone

His men’s uniforms

Were now reduced

To little more

Than rags

And rags were all

That now kept

Their bootless feet

From freezing

That winter

In 1777

At a place

In Pennsylvania

That the locals called

Valley Forge

With the winter settling in

And with prospects for

Joining against the British

In battle greatly diminished

General George Washington

Sought quarters for his men

Washington and his troops

Had just fought

The pompous Red Coats

To a draw at the

Battle of White Marsh

And Valley Forge

Would prove to be a

More secure location

For the coming winter

Where his men

Could heal their wounds

And regain their strength

To live to fight

Another day

Valley Forge

Proved to be

An excellent site

Far enough

To halt the threat

Of British surprise attacks and

Close enough to allow

Supplies and reinforcements

To get through to

His ill clothed and

Hungry troops

The high grounds

Of Mount Joy and

Mount Misery

Combined with the

Schuylkill River

Made for

Formidable defense

Against the British

Raiding and foraging

Sneak attacks that were

Designed to harass and

Disrupt the

American lines

Under their General’s

Close watch

12,000 Continentals

Prepared to face the

Coming winter’s full fury

As the men

Hurried to build huts

Of wood and mud

Though the huts

Did their job and managed to

Provide some protection

From the howling winds

And bone chilling cold

It was still

Difficult for the men

To keep dry

And disease began to fester

Soldiers ate a steady diet

Of fire cake

(A tasteless mixture of

Flour and water)

And whatever other

Game and

Provisions that

Could be foraged from

The nearby farms and towns

(Where not all of the

Local townsfolk

Were loyal to

The American cause)

Conditions in the camp

Grew so severe that

Washington despaired that

"Unless some great

And capital change

Suddenly takes place

This Army must inevitably

Starve, dissolve or disperse"

The men tried to obtain

Subsistence

In the best manner

That they could

Under the guidance of

Quartermaster General

Nathaniel Greene

Who had a talent for

Finding caches

Of food and clothing

By hook or by crook

As long as Washington

Wasn’t too inquisitive

As to how the supplies

Were obtained

(Every army needs a quartermaster

Like General Nathaniel Greene)

But despite Greene’s best efforts

Nearly 4,000 men were listed

As unfit for duty

Due to inadequate supplies

Undernourished and

Poorly clothed

Living in crowded

Damp quarters

The American Army was

Ravaged by

Sickness and disease

Typhoid

Jaundice

Dysentery and

Pneumonia

Killed 2,500 brave men

While Washington’s

Appeals for help

Fell on the deaf ears

Of the constantly squabbling

Continental Congress

(Sound familiar?)

So sadly

The men continued to suffer

While hundreds

Of women and relatives

Of the enlisted men

(And many of the

Children as well)

Provided what help

That they could

To share the manual work

And to help with the cooking

And to help with

Nursing the wounded

And the sick

Back to health

All of them

Angels of mercy who

All shared in the

Many hardships and burdens

(Camp followers at Valley Forge

Consisted of the families

Wives

Children

Mothers

And sisters

Of the soldiers)

By the time

That the spring of 1778

Finally arrived

Word came to Washington

That the British

Had abandoned their stronghold

In Philadelphia

Washington lost no time

In ordering his men

To form their ranks and

To fix bayonets

With drums drumming

And with their flags

Once again unfurled

And snapping proudly

In the wind

On June 19, 1778

General George Washington

Marched his army

Out of Valley Forge

In hot pursuit

Of the foe

Promising the enemy

Neither quarter nor rest

Washington and his men would

Once again engage

The British at New York

No longer as a rag tag army

But now as a disciplined

Fighting force to be treated

With fear and respect!

An American Army

Whose metal had been tested

At a place called

Valley Forge!

jhmarkowitz

Philadelphia, Pa. 2012

A Pre-Existing Condition

Ever since childhood

I have had a

Pre-existing condition

As an infant

(I was a change of life baby)

I had a pre-existing need

For parental love and affection

My father died when

I was ten months old

And my mother

Withdrew into her own world

Of self-pity and depression

It was said that

I was a

Willful baby who would

Bang his head against the wall

Until someone would pay attention

(For lack of attention

And nurturing

No doubt)

As a pre-adolescent

I had a pre-existing need

For a stable home

Medical care

(I suffered with asthma)

Dental care

(On a steady diet of

Candy and soda pop

My teeth were

All rotted out)

Nutritious meals

Adequate clothing

I was provided

With none of those things

My so-called family

Moved around

From pillar to post

Like a gypsy caravan

One step ahead of

The Sheriff

And all the Landlords

Who were always

Hot on our heels

Trying to collect

The last month’s rent

We always had to fear

The bill collector’s

Knock on the door

I went to seven

Different schools

Before reaching

The sixth grade

I have recently

Celebrated

My 65th birthday

(Who would have thunk it?)

(Not bad for a

Self made man with

Some very serious

Pre-existing conditions)

jhmarkowitz

Philadelphia, Pa. 2012

All Of My Life

All of my life

Growing up in Brooklyn

I have always

Loved to promenade

Along the Ocean Parkway

Which stretches from

The Atlantic Ocean

To the Grand Army Plaza

This was my Athens

This was my gateway

To literature

To art

To natural beauty

Across the street

From the main branch

Of the Brooklyn Public Library

Was the entrance to

Prospect Park

Further down the street

Along Eastern Parkway

Could be found the

Brooklyn Art Museum

And the

Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

Here was where

I spent endless hours

Viewing the art exhibits

Strolling the wonders

Of the Botanic Gardens

Feeling safe and protected

From the vicissitudes of

Everyday life in the

Big city

I would go to the library

To study

To do my homework

And research assignments

And I would never fail

To be amazed at the number

Of books

And newspapers from all around

The world

And the number of magazines

And periodicals covering

Every interest and topic

Under the sun

I loved the lighting

And the way the sunlight

Would stream in

Through the floor to ceiling

Windows

My proudest possession was my

Library card

My gateway to the knowledge

Of the ages

The Brooklyn Museum of Art

Was my other great love and haunt

I reveled in the exhibits of exotic cultures

Of Eskimos and African tribesmen

Of pre Columbian works of art

And of the artifacts left behind

By primitive cultures from all

Around the world

I loved the great totem poles

The world famous collection

Of Egyptian artifacts and mummies