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No Time for the BluesI had no time for the blues,
but they had time for me.
They came to my house
about a quarter to three.

I had to get out of bed
when they knocked on the door.
But why had they come?
They would not tell me what for.

I was awake with the blues
for the rest of the night.
And oh, I saw the blues
by the dawn's early light.

It was a quarter to nine,
I had things I should do.
But I couldn't go out,
I was feeling so blue.

And so I said to the blues,
you must have somewhere to go.
They glanced at the time
and they answered me no.

I had no time for the blues
but the blues didn't care.
All the time in the world
is what the blues h

Barbed Wire Ballad

Bring more barbed wire. Bring the heavy rolls
of twisted steel and metal thorns. Wear
heavy gloves, unspool the wire from the roll,
make loops atop the wall. Bring more.

Bring more barbed wire. Here are metal stakes
on which it may be hung. Go on and on.
Here is a wire cutter for when we are done,
but that will not be soon. Bring more.

Bring more barbed wire. Here are people
to keep out, there are people to confine,
here a place to make secure, here we are
on our side, thank God. Bring more.

Here are people, there are people,
here a border, here a barrier,
here are places, here are people,
here a wall and here the

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More from *RichardLeach

Blues for Cindy (or Maybe Cindy Lou)I used to be outnumbered,
but now I'm number one.
I'm going to the city,
I'm going to have some fun.

I will meet a girl named Cindy,
or maybe Cindy Lou.
She will know just how to treat me,
she will know just what to do.

And we will go out dancing,
we will shake it till it falls.
We will dance on the street
when they close the dancing halls.

Then she'll take me back to her place
and introduce me to her dad.
He will see that I am special,
the best that Cindy ever had.

And then we will get married,
we will wed that very night.
When you meet a girl like Cindy,
you hold on with all your might.

I will not be numb

ValentineI know the ancient words and I speak the newest talk -
my pantry's full of pie and my front door has a lock.
You can be my fiddle and I can be your bow -
I can play the high notes so soft and sweet and slow.
I know you need a quiet place where you can mend your dreams -
my daddy was a tailor, I can sew those ragged seams.
I've heard that there are angels who are jealous when we kiss -
they look at us and think about all the things they miss.
There is something to be said for not rocking any boat -
but if you rock with me I know we can stay afloat.
I asked the higher powers if our love would be okay -
they said love is always risky but do it anyway.
I used to know just what to do, I had a master plan -
the only thing I know now is I want to be your man.
This is no brief love affair and this is no mistake -
this love is mine to give and my heart is yours to take.

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Submitted: June 12, 2010
Image Size: 408 KB
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Page 7by *RichardLeach

Literature / Poetry / General Poetry / Visual & Found Poetry

Tea stain and subtraction from antique poetry book page.

~bettykrueger Apr 16, 2012

i know a magician never reveals his secrets... but i am DYING to know how you were able to fade the words on the page, if you ever feel like disclosing some info...

but that aside, this is excellent. beyond well done.

*RichardLeach Apr 17, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

Happy to disclose! I take the ink off the page with regular Scotch tape - Scotch Magic is what I usually have on hand. Masking tape works too. These tapes will pick up ink off any unvarnished paper (magazine interiors not covers - try it with newsprint and you'll see) and when you have old thick paper that the ink has soaked into for a long time like I do here (it's a book from the early 20th century) it leaves some behind and gives this nice effect.

And thank you most kindly!

~bettykrueger Apr 17, 2012

Thank you soooooooo much!! i can't wait to try out this method! and i really appreciate you sharing your superior word fading knowledge.

*RichardLeach Apr 17, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

You are most welcome! I discovered it by accident and then I made a study of it

~OllieP Apr 6, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

Gorgeous. Did you use turp to remove the other words? Lovely.

*RichardLeach Apr 8, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

Thanks very much!
I use tape to take words off, on old thick paper it works well. Scotch packing tape for big sections and Scotch Magic tape for details.