Paul Violi Poems

What'll it be?
Roast beef on rye, with tomato and mayo.
Whudduhyuh want on it?
...

We, the naturally hopeful,
Need a simple sign
For the myriad ways we're capsized.
We who love precise language
...

The qualities I look for in a subordinate are
A situation in which humor might be most unwelcome is
After considering which is better, to be wealthy or wise
My greatest sense of personal fulfillment depends on
...

To see you laugh and smile, so free
And joyful, to look across the table
Into your glad eyes and realize how long
...

I listen to the crickets and hear
the machinery at the bottom of the night.
They are all made in Hong Kong
...

For we were made to reach for things.
For imagination extends life.
For our reach must exceed our grasp.
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Here come those splendid Persians!
We were expecting fireworks
And here they are!
Short bows, long arrows,
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Please think of this as not merely a piece
Of writing that anyone would fully
Appreciate, but as plain and simple
Words that attempt to arouse whatever
...