29 Comments
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Daniel Baldwin's avatar

Thirsting for vibrance,

They peel the soul and leave husks.

Only shadows remain.

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Honeygloom's avatar

I love this! A deep reflection on what’s lost when a place is sold for mass consumption.🖤

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A.C. Cargill, Author's avatar

Shorts and flip-flopped feet

Cam'ras clicking ev'rywhere

Spend money, then Shoo!

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Honeygloom's avatar

A double-edged sword that tourism business, well said🖤

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A.C. Cargill, Author's avatar

Thanks!

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A.P. Murphy's avatar

He began to carve a name onto the gargoyle,

high up there on the cathedral roof -

Found fallen onto patio far below,

neck gouge most mysterious.

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Honeygloom's avatar

Love a gargoyle poem. And a vengeance gargoyle at that🖤

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Richard Blaisdell's avatar

Tourista . Moctazuma’s revenge.

Dirty water washed lettuce leaves

Left behind memories.

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Honeygloom's avatar

Oh gross 🤢😂

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Richard Blaisdell's avatar

A double entendre that flushes, drains our energy and says clean up our environment, actions speak louder than words.

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ClownWorld Shakespeare's avatar

Born, walk, love, hope, sleep

Death makes tourists of us all

Earth: Just visiting

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Honeygloom's avatar

Oh nice!! I love this take!🖤

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Songsterfunsterhamster's avatar

We fly in like wasps

Brain-bleached beach-buzzing zigzags

Wishing you weren’t here

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Honeygloom's avatar

If I’m reading this correctly, the tourists are upset at the existence of the locals? Love that take, underscoring the selfishness of tourists.

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Songsterfunsterhamster's avatar

Yup, that’s basically it - “this place’d be great, if it wasn’t for the people” sort of thing

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David Perlmutter's avatar

"Yeah, I met them. They couldn't say the town's name. It's BEL-WHA, not BELL-OIGHT. Americans can't speak French for shit."

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Honeygloom's avatar

We can barely speak English, what chance do we have with French?

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A.C. Cargill, Author's avatar

Vraiment? Je suis Americaine. Je prononce parfaitement le français.

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Gloria Horton-Young's avatar

Moi aussi.

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Gloria Horton-Young's avatar

For fun-

Eah-yay, I et-may em-thay. Ey-thay ouldn't-cay ay-say ethay own's-tay ame-nay. It's EL-WHA-BAY, ot-nay ELL-OIGHT-BAY. Americans an't-cay eak-spay Ench-Fray or-fay it-shay.

and

Ita, eos conveni. Non poterant dicere nomen oppidi. Est BEL-WHA, non BELL-OIGHT. Americani linguam Gallicam loqui non possunt.

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Dylan Delgado's avatar

A cacophony

of languages, confuse those

that call this place home

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Honeygloom's avatar

I like this perspective! I wonder if it’s all like white noise eventually, like you get so used to hearing what you don’t understand, you just ignore it.

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

Daily, they appear,

To fray our nerves, then leave with,

A cheap souvenir... 😎

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Honeygloom's avatar

Hardly seems worth it, lol.

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

Haha! That's very true. Especially as you can probably just buy the souvenirs on Amazon these days anyway and save yourself the trip... 😎

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Honeygloom's avatar

“Faded dreams on hotel beds” might be one of the saddest lines I’ve ever read. Love these🖤

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Gloria Horton-Young's avatar

I wrote tanka poems about Las Vegas visitors when we first moved here.

Neon glows so bright

Nights under casino lights—

Hopes ride on the dice

Mirage in the desert's heart

Dreams rise, fall, and drift apart

Crowds move in a wave

Strip's chaos, a constant hum—

Strangers' laughter blends

Lost in the city's mirage

Night's allure never pretends

Glittering facades

Faceless crowds on Vegas streets—

Every night a show

Secrets hidden in plain sight

City's pulse beats through the night

Desert sun burns hot

Tourists flock to pools and shade—

Mirage so deceived

Amidst the flashing allure

City’s secrets never grieved

Bright lights cast long shadows

Faded dreams on hotel beds—

Fortune's fleeting kiss

Stories told in whispered tones

Echoes linger, never known

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Songsterfunsterhamster's avatar

Ooh, never come across “tanka” before

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Ken Flyingheart's avatar

I've got two:

Wreck all for selfies

Faces growing tight and cold

Until they've had enough

Two:

Maine coast should be seen

But remember, just in case:

Leave before Labor Day

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