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    GENERATIONS

    Poems from Three Generations of Drogins

    by SOLOMON S. DROGIN, EDWIN M. DROGIN and BARRY J. DROGIN

    Copyright (C) 1997 by Barry Drogin

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    INTRODUCTION by Barry J. Drogin

    When I was a teenager, I started to compose music. One of my first projects was setting a collection of my father's poetry, either as a father's day present or birthday present. The melody lines weren't that good, and the piano accompaniment was improvised to chords I had written out.

    Recently, I was reunited with these poems, when the family house was sold after my father's death. A treasure trove of old family photographs was also discovered, which I immediately had mounted in an album. I tried to scan the poems in, but found that OCR (optical character recognition) just ain't what it claims to be: the faded, typewritten words on yellowed sheets fooled the software on every line.

    I put the project aside for a while, but then was handed another jewel of a collection: my grandfather's poetry, handwritten into an old, grey, composition book. This, obviously, could never be scanned. But wouldn't it be great it I could have them printed out in large type, for my grandmother to read? Her eyesight was getting worse and worse.

    Thus, a grand typing project was begun.

    I have never been a great judge of poetry, and I offer these three generations of poetry with no claim as to their worth. There appears to be a large population of high school and college students wandering through the Internet, and as these poems were all written by people of that same age, the poems may speak more directly to them than to a professional audience. Enjoy.

    P.S. Quite by chance, in searching for something else, I discovered the original settings of my father's poems. So everything surfaces at once. Coincidence?

    Biographies and commentary:
    Solomon Drogin
    Edwin Drogin
    Barry Drogin

    Permissions: With this notice, permission is granted to electronically download the following poems for personal viewing. The poems may not be saved in a non-cache form, or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of Barry Drogin. For information on how to purchase the entire collection, and other offerings, click here.

    GENERATIONS/POEMS FROM THREE GENERATIONS OF DROGINS

    PART ONE: IMPROMPTUS by Solomon S. Drogin

    The machine rules o'er us all
    Bow down, bow down
    We are kept in locked pig stall
    In field, in town
    Praise God

    All true art is starved to death
    "Daily News," "Daily News"
    We are choked by this monster's breath
    O Muse, O Muse
    Praise God

    The machine rules o'er us all
    Bow down, bow down
    What is left to do but fall?
    You clown, you clown
    Praise God

    MK
  • 1. Of Four
  • 2. A little Soliloquoy
  • 3. My Own
  • 4. of travel
  • 5. An action of light
  • 6. The boon
  • 7. A thought
  • 8. Protoplasm
  • 9. Weary
  • 10. of May
  • 11. Our Day
  • 12. For Time
  • 13. My violin
  • 14. of an April Rain
  • 15. A cry
  • 16. The mind
  • 17. Dullness
  • 18. Lonesome
  • 19. The Answer
  • 20. of a tryst
  • 21. A thought
  • 22. A monotonous tone
  • 23. A chess game
  • 24. The mystery
  • 25. An unknown voice
  • 26. The solution
  • 27. A new acquaintance
  • 28. The last day
  • 29. Time
  • 30. Words
  • 31. In the subway
  • 32. An evening
  • 33. A Thought
  • 34. Thwarted
  • 35. Nightmare
  • 36. It came
  • 37. Rain
  • 38. A new face
  • 39. Monotony
  • 40. Sacrifice
  • 41. Time Again
  • 42. A mood
  • 43. Sunday
  • 44. A Query
  • 45. A letter
  • 46. One morning
  • 47. Something wrong
  • 48. Evolution
  • 49. A Prayer
  • 50. A picture
  • 51. Another
  • 52. A Retrospection
  • 53. Love Lost
  • 54. A Scene
  • 55. A command
  • 56. Me
  • 57. Anew
  • 58. Love Regained
  • 59. Torn
  • Four Days and Nights

  • 60. Tasks Done
  • 61. A Social
  • 62. Motherly treatment
  • 63. This time six
  • 64. A complaint
  • 65. Rain Threatened
  • 66. Passion's torment
  • 67. A Thought
  • 68. A Moment of Weakness
  • 69. She
  • 70. The Violinist
  • 71. Selma
  • 72. Ella
  • 73. At 4:30 AM
  • 74. The Plea Again
  • 75. In class
  • 76. Life's Incident
  • 77. A passive evening
  • 78. Prey
  • 79. A Bridge Game
  • 80. A chance
  • 81. A Paean
  • 82. over again
  • 83. Philosophy
  • 84. A Prayer
  • 85. Still Another
  • 86. An Evening
  • 87. Parties
  • 88. Addenda
  • 89. Philosophy
  • 90. Question
  • 91. Vision
  • 92. Solace
  • 93. Love
  • 94. Restraint
  • 95. Picture
  • 96. Song
  • 97. Silent Presence
  • 98. Proclamation
  • Beginnings Found

  • 99. The History Class
  • 100. Sweet Slumber
  • 101. A Query
  • 102. Man's Consolation
  • 103. Sweetheart (What Price Glory)
  • 104. The Refund (closing of "The Captive")
  • 105. When Drowsy
  • 106. A Cup of Coffee
  • 107. Upon rereading a billet de deux
  • 108. Still Again
  • 109. Prayer
  • 110. Long Distance
  • 111. Heavens, Man!
  • 112. An evening
  • 113. Weakness
  • 114. Encore, A Hope
  • 115. Our Philosophy
  • 116. Strength
  • 117. Pen's Urge
  • 118. Driven
  • 119. Conclusion
  • 120. He Sings
  • 121. Woman Answered
  • 122. Morbid
  • 123. Birth
  • 124. Strife
  • 125. Desire
  • 126. Shadowed
  • 127. Resuscite
  • 128. A week
  • 129. A Roof
  • 130. Questions
  • 131. Insomnia
  • 132. Disaster
  • 133. Request Answered
  • 134. Moon Madness
  • 135 Impulse of Life (Loeutis Last Stand Percy Marks)
  • 136. Still Mad
  • 137. Once More
  • 138. Tears
  • 139. Contact
  • 140. Problem
  • 141. The Telling
  • 142. The Critic
  • 143. Heart's Content
  • PART TWO: A COLLECTION OF OBSCURITY by Edwin M. Drogin

    Just one new idea, one thought my own,
    Then ever will my name be known.
    from "Irony", number 60
  • 1. Can You Measure?
  • 2. Beauty Is Only
  • 3. And Back I Peer
  • 4. For Peace
  • 5. Untitled (When I was)
  • 6. Outgnashing Nash
  • 7. Complaints May Be Left At The Desk
  • 8. Four Letter Word
  • 9. Perhaps
  • 10. See On
  • 11. Climb
  • 12. Not Worthy to Note At The Second Of The Seasons
  • 13. Egomet
  • 14. Age of Innocence
  • 15. Untitled (Children of the sun)
  • 16. Passion's Pillow
  • 17. Behind all, herein lies...
  • 18. To A Girl Who Came
  • 19. Untitled
  • 20. Condolence
  • 21. False Pattern
  • 22. EMD
  • 23. Untitled
  • 24. Discrepancies Are Unadjustments Of A Machine
  • 25. With Laughter
  • 26. Untitled
  • 27. Credo
  • 28. Untitled
  • 29. Untitled (When the world)
  • 30. Untitled
  • 31. Untitled (53)
  • 32. Campaign
  • 33. College and A Fraternity House
  • 34. Sum
  • 35. Chamber Music.
  • 36. Untitled (When)
  • 37. Untitled
  • 38. Foreword to a six sumerset.
  • 39. And the Wind
  • 40. Tired
  • 41. Birch Trees in a Moonlit Park
  • 42. To Some
  • 43. Four Seasons
  • 44. A collection of Obscurity
  • 45. Untitled
  • 46. Untitled (Life)
  • 47. Untitled
  • 48. The Crocodile Went Back To Sleep
  • 49. Untitled
  • 50. HMS Pinned to the Door (incomplete)
  • 51. Untitled
  • 52. Untitled
  • 53. Untitled
  • 54. For Beauty
  • 55. Interlude of Peace
  • 56. Untitled
  • 57. Untitled
  • 58. To My Typewriter
  • 59. Introducing...
  • 60. Irony
  • 61. The Mists
  • 62. Lullabye
  • 63. Dance
  • 64. Children-Learn
  • 65. Untitled (A soul)
  • 66. Untitled
  • 67. Untitled
  • 68. Half-assed Poet Tells All
  • 69. Untitled (It's not water you want)
  • 70. Untitled (Avoid the snow)
  • 71. Untitled
  • 72. Untitled
  • 73. Earth and Concrete
  • 74. Ah! Spring!
  • 75. War of The Future
  • PART THREE: POEMS FROM A THREE YEAR SOPHOMORE by Barry J. Drogin

    Zonker: You see, Joanie, school is more than just a way station! It's your last taste of freedom! It should be savored! Now, there are all kinds of ways to forestall graduation! Taking a term off, getting suspended, not completing courses, all of these are valid! If you just plan ahead, Joanie, anything is possible!

    Joanie: You mean, like when you were a sophomore?

    Zonker: Exactly! Joanie, those were three of the happiest years of my life!

    Joanie: You were pretty adorable then..

    G. B. Trudeau, "Doonesbury's Greatest Hits"
  • 1. Meditation
  • 2. First Time
  • 3. The New Morality
  • 4. The NSF Program

  • 5. My First F
  • 6. Sociacal Sensibility
  • 7. Reflections on a Shitty Poem
  • Response options: (unless you give permission, all responses will be confidential)

  • Send e-mail to barry@notnicemusic.com.
  • Send snail mail to Barry Drogin, 720 Greenwich Street #5T, NY, NY 10014 USA
  • This page © 1999-2009 rights@notnicemusic.com

    keywords: poetry
    Last Updated: May 24, 2009