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FANCY
people

Poems (and other writings)
by Herbert Munshine

IDEAS
OF A WRITER BASED IN GREAT NECK, NEW YORK
HUMOR
PEACE CORPS
LITERARY WORKS
SHORT STORIES / PROSE
​GET TO KNOW ME

I’m Herb Munshine. What you'll find on my site are the poems essays and short stories of a teacher and an observer of human behavior.

I have been a secondary school English teacher since 1964. I have taught in Sierra Leone, West Africa and in New Jersey and New York. I have taught for 56+ years -- so far. I have also been a son, a brother, a father, an uncle, a friend and a grandfather. I have taught, mentored and coached. During all that I time, I have been not only a participant but also a coach. I have had interaction with people from Sierra Leone, Greece, Switzerland, France, England, Spain, Guinea, Morocco, Israel, Lebanon, Canada, China, South Korea, Japan, Peru, Mexico, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Scotland, Ireland, Albania, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Australia, Egypt, Italy and Belgium, to name a few places. I am a product of all those experiences. So is my writing.

HERE IS A TASTE OF MY POETRY

ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY! CHECK OUT ALL THE PAGES.
(HINT - Click on one of the words in a title to get the back story related to the poem.)
             IT WILL NOT LAST
We cannot let the deadly virus
Do its thing and then define us.
We must believe that we are strong,
That the pandemic can't belong
To make us suffer in its wake;
Instead, we must -- for Heaven's sake ---
Do what we must, more than survive.
We have to show that we're alive!
We've lived through tragedies and wars
And though it feels our hearts it gores
We will do right and show defiance
And chain ourselves to self-reliance!
We will do more than just get through;
The human spirit we'll renew

And then breathe sighs of true relief
And leave behind our deep-felt grief.
We will move on, as others have;
Our souls will be our comfort salve.


                      I Saw an Eagle Fly Today
​I walked upon the grassy field
And breathed the air so sweet and crisp
When suddenly my sight did yield
A flying figure smooth as a wisp
Of cloud among the heavens high.
It was an eagle soaring so,
Enough to bring from me a sigh,
A wish that I could likewise go
Afloat and glide from place to place
But knowing that I could not soar
I simply quickened my slow pace,
Trying to conform  before
I'd lose sight of that wonderous bird.
But then I stopped and just gave gaze
For it was simply too absurd
To try, and so it truly did amaze
But no way did it even faze
Me for I felt too much of praise.
Bless you, proud eagle, on your flight;
Bless me for having seen that sight!
THE TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE OF POEM
PAGE FOUND
It Will Not Last
HOME
I Saw an Eagle Fly Today
HOME
Painting as a Muse
FANCY
All by Myself
FANCY
A Poem, Not Much More
FANCY
Free
FANCY
A Study Center Mother's Day
PEOPLE
Dr. A+
PEOPLE
Confess the Stress
PEOPLE
Cry of the Rebel
PEOPLE
Lillian's Sonnet
PEOPLE
Ode to the Levy Leaving
PEOPLE
From Here
IDEAS
1964
IDEAS
The Magnificent Fate of the Lowly Cucumber 
HUMOR
Kelly's Cow
HUMOR
Lament of the Exoskeletal Soul
HUMOR
Macdeath
LITERARY WORKS
The Moor is No More
LITERARY WORKS
Life: Ironic, Yet Iconic
IDEAS
Novel Reactions
LITERARY WORKS
Past versus Future
IDEAS
Rhyme Time
PEOPLE
The Queen
PEOPLE
Tomorrow
IDEAS
Too Much Class, or Not Enough
LITERARY WORKS
What a Waste
HUMOR
Ode to a Desolate Desk
HUMOR
Thomas
PEOPLE
Driven
​LITERARY WORKS
Self-Anger
​LITERARY WORKS
Many Days' Journey from the Fight
​LITERARY WORKS
Hansberry Buries Bad Blood
​LITERARY WORKS
To Holden
​LITERARY WORKS
Stradlater Says
​LITERARY WORKS
The Original Mac the Knife
​LITERARY WORKS
The Next Chapter: ​Fahrenheit 451
​LITERARY WORKS
Early 1984
​LITERARY WORKS
Lord, Let Me Fly Away
LITERARY WORKS
Lobster and Blueberries
FANCY
A Temporary Challenge
IDEAS
Complaint of the Rebel
LITERARY WORKS
Nice and Slow
IDEAS
Free
IDEAS
Iambic Non-Prose
IDEAS
The Villa of the Villi
HUMOR
Of Matters of Matter
HUMOR
A House Divided
HUMOR
Past Friends Know No Ends
PEOPLE
A Sad Sonnet
PEOPLE
In Honor of Jayne's Daughter
HUMOR
Say Something
PEOPLE
Do Not Fetch the Wrist-Wretch
FANCY
Roman Charges
FANCY
Jury Duty
FANCY
a - la - ee
FANCY
It's a Rap
FANCY
The Sell - a - bration
FANCY
Home
IDEAS
Therapy
IDEAS
Surprise! (Welcome Home)
IDEAS
Overreacting? I Think Not
PEOPLE
To Nancy
PEOPLE
Simply a Lifetime
PEOPLE
To Karen Our Keren
PEOPLE
Love Song for Two
PEOPLE
Read and Feed
IDEAS
The Life Journey of a Nut
HUMOR
A Crunchy Bunch of Chips
HUMOR
Tom
PEOPLE
The Flock
LITERARY WORKS
My Nose is Running
FANCY
Love and Strength
IDEAS
Darkness
PEOPLE
Once a Teacher . . .
PEOPLE
That Good Night
PEOPLE
Sonnet CLV
HUMOR
The Great Outdoors
HUMOR
My Dog
HUMOR
Writing with Words on a Blowy Evening
FANCY
Shakespeare Works
LITERARY WORKS
The Angels of Our Time
IDEAS
Facetious
HUMOR
The Ballad of the Sea Monster
FANCY
Disposable Society
IDEAS
The Dummy
PEOPLE
Compromise
IDEAS
She Doesn't Understand
PEOPLE
Lark Rise to Candleford
FANCY
Future Cat
PEOPLE
The Way We Think
FANCY
sofaraway
FANCY
Nature Comforts
IDEAS
Peace Corps Volunteer
PEACE CORPS
Pandemic Drive
PEOPLE
The Library
IDEAS
The Early Vote
IDEAS
Fare Well: Requiem for a Warning
LITERARY WORKS
Simple Pleasures
FANCY
COVID-45
PEOPLE
Memories that Sing to Me
PEOPLE
The Mueller Non-Report
FANCY
Song of Longing Fulfilled 
PEOPLE
Low Propensity Voter
PEOPLE
Of Blessed Memory
IDEAS
The Store
IDEAS
Amaranth Seeds
FANCY
The Doctor Stopped Me
PEOPLE
Main Character
PEOPLE
Automated Help
HUMOR
Seven Channels
FANCY
Life as it should be
FANCY
The Divided States of America
IDEAS
The Coin
FANCY
Charlie
HUMOR
Estate Sale
FANCY
Interlude
PEOPLE
JOE
PEOPLE
Tranquility
IDEAS
The Stoop
IDEAS
Deliver Me from Deliveries
HUMOR
Missing Mother
PEOPLE
You Learn
IDEAS
2020 Hindsight
IDEAS
Imagine
PEOPLE
Let Me Be Your Voice
IDEAS
I Have No time for Time
IDEAS
My Father's Voice
PEOPLE
No Longer
IDEAS
The Never Dance
PEACE CORPS
High School Graduation is So Sad
FANCY
My Journey is Not Done
FANCY
I'm Taking a Break
HUMOR
Weakdays and the Rest
IDEAS
I Was Fine
PEOPLE
Poet Laureate
LITERARY WORKS
The Poetry of Everyday Things
LITERARY WORKS
In Old Quebec
FANCY
Six Minutes
PEACE CORPS
Trike and Bike
PEOPLE
West Africa Story
PEACE CORPS
I Looked Up and Beyond
FANCY
The Game
PEACE CORP
The Question
PEACE CORPS
Residual Guilt
PEACE CORPS
Personal Knowledge
IDEAS
I Tried to Entertain a Clown
FANCY
There Was an Old Man
PEOPLE
Misdirection
PEOPLE
This Poem is About You!
HUMOR
The Jackson-Dylan Game
HUMOR
I Am Out of Date
IDEAS
She Served
PEACE CORPS
Thanksforgiving
IDEAS
Something Old was New Again
IDEAS
Denial
IDEAS
Vaccination
PEOPLE
Grounded
FANCY
Father
PEOPLE
The Earth Stood Still
FANCY
The Ovation
SHORT STORIES
I Said the Words
PEOPLE
He Knew
SHORT STORIES
The Feeling
FANCY
My Humanity
IDEAS
A Pleasant Drive Spoiled
SHORT STORIES
Questions
IDEAS
So Empty
PEOPLE
Optimism
FANCY
Burial
SHORT STORIES
You Are Ugly
IDEAS
She Has No Voice
PEOPLE
Steppingstone
FANCY
The Family Store - a memoir
SHORT STORIES / PROSE
Germany 1966
PEOPLE
zoommates
PEOPLE
A Pandemic Thanksgiving
IDEAS
Am I Quiet Today?
FANCY
In Heaven
FANCY
Brownie
HUMOR
Gems of Advice to a New Husband
SHORT STORIES / PROSE
Long Island High
SHORT STORIES / PROSE
Derision
IDEAS
Lone Ranger Ring
IDEAS
Mysteries
FANCY
Innocent
LITERARY WORKS
The Woods
IDEAS
Jewelry Store
HUMOR
Port Loko
PEACE CORPS
Day and Night Within Us
IDEAS
In Darkness
PEOPLE
Dog Tags
PEOPLE
A Clear and President Danger
PEOPLE
I Was Shot
HUMOR
Herd Insanity
PEOPLE
The Madame
LITERARY WORKS
The '60's
PEOPLE
I Miss Them
FANCY
A Single Kiss
FANCY
The Sixth
PEOPLE
Fly to the Sky
FANCY
Early Morn
IDEAS
Every Sunday
FANCY
Snow
IDEAS
The Hunter
PEOPLE
False Prophets?
IDEAS
Willow
FANCY
English is Weird
FANCY
Vaccination
PEOPLE
The Elephant
IDEAS
Past is Present
IDEAS
He Built a Wall
PEOPLE
I Learned
FANCY
The Journey to Hell
FANCY
Daughter
PEOPLE
Son
PEOPLE
Grandkids # 1
PEOPLE
Ordinary
IDEAS
Madness
FANCY
Half a Million +
PEOPLE
Brain Forest
FANCY
My Billow Guy
PEOPLE
William's Words
LITERARY WORKS
And the Games Began
SHORT STORIES / PROSE
Sunset is Misunderstood
IDEAS
Caregiver
PEOPLE
Dread
PEOPLE
Santa In His Place
PEACE CORPS
Gift from China
PEOPLE
I Have No Boundaries but My Own
FANCY
Wave Upon Wave
IDEAS
Cracks in the Sidewalk
IDEAS
My Resume
SHORT STORIES / PROSE
I Was Cool
PEOPLE
80
HUMOR
How Goes It?
PEOPLE
In Loco Grandparentis
PEOPLE
Not So Small Victories
HUMOR
Emily and I
FANCY
Pinpoints of Hope
FANCY
Her Own Opinion
IDEAS
Present of the Future
FANCY
There is No Love
IDEAS
Vision Question
FANCY
80
PEOPLE
The Dancer
PEOPLE
The Actor
PEOPLE
The Barber
PEOPLE
The Surgeon
PEOPLE
The Movie-goer
PEOPLE
The Ophthalmologist
PEOPLE
The Poet
PEOPLE
The Politician
PEOPLE
The Veteran
PEOPLE
The Attorney
PEOPLE
The Mailman
PEOPLE
The Unpublished Poet
PEOPLE
Rocks Have Feelings, Too
FANCY
The Musician
PEOPLE
The Gossip
PEOPLE
The Artist
PEOPLE
The Mortician
PEOPLE
The Beloved Teacher
PEOPLE
Henry and Charlie
FANCY
The Old Person
PEOPLE
The Bee-Keeper
PEOPLE
I Miss The Nation
IDEAS
On hearing properly
IDEAS
I Went Shopping Today
IDEAS
Revisiting the Sensuous Store for More
HUMOR
Letters to a Granddaughter at Camp
SHORT STORIES / PROSE
My Masterpiece
HUMOR
Weird
HUMOR
It Isn't Easy
PEOPLE
The Greatest Love
IDEAS
The Young Boy
PEOPLE
A Once Young Boy Remembers
PEOPLE
Family Gathering
PEOPLE
It's Different Now
PEOPLE
The Monkey
PEACE CORPS
Peace Corps Volunteer
PEACE CORPS
I Am a Poet
PEOPLE
Good Golly, Miss Mollie
IDEAS
Anxiety
IDEAS
Life
IDEAS
Automatic
HUMOR
Past Friends Know No Ends
LITERARY WORKS
Bad Seed, Indeed!
LITERARY WORKS
Remembered
IDEAS
Mementos
IDEAS
FantasticLand
FANCY
The Coconut and the Fly
FANCY
Pieces
PEOPLE
"Security is Mortals' Chiefest Enemy"
HUMOR
Dream Life
IDEAS
Ten Minutes
HUMOR
Eyes to the World
HUMOR
A Wish Come True
FANCY
Eulogy for a Bowl
HUMOR
One Hour
PEOPLE
Pool
PEOPLE
Five
PEOPLE
The Real Mountain
IDEAS
A Monstrous Mistake
FANCY
The Flock
IDEAS
The Bagel
HUMOR
He Just Sits
PEOPLE
Simmering Summer Song
IDEAS
My Poem
HUMOR
I have to Write!
PEOPLE
A Snow-Go Sonnet
IDEAS
Proposed Course
HUMOR
One Final Try
FANCY
Bad Spell
FANCY
Distant Lovers
FANCY
Watch Commercials
HUMOR
A Simple Suggestion
IDEAS
The Moment
IDEAS
Big Questions; Small Solutions
HUMOR
Kingdumbs
PEOPLE
Time Runs Out
IDEAS
Fellow Citizens
PEOPLE
Two November Deaths
PEOPLE
The Frost that Warms the Heart
LITERARY WORKS
My Favorite Book
LITERARY WORKS
Words That Describe
HUMOR
When I am Gone
PEOPLE
Olympic Dreams
HUMOR
Eat the Meat
HUMOR
Fleeting
FANCY
It Doesn't Cease to Be
IDEAS
Waiting for the Mail
PEACE CORPS
Summer Punchball
PEOPLE
Waiting Room
HUMOR
The Empty Page
IDEAS
The Plea of the Amoeba
HUMOR
Me
PEOPLE
The Journey To
PEACE CORPS
Salone: Mirrors
PEACE CORPS
The Gift of Silence
IDEAS
The Isolated Umbrella
HUMOR
Two Not of a Kind
HUMOR
They Should Have Been . . . .
PEOPLE
A  Positive
PEOPLE
Lionel Trains
FANCY
The Appearance of the Moon
PEACE CORPS
African Folktale: Sky People
PEACE CORPS
A Fair Exchange
PEACE CORPS
Watching the Radio
IDEAS
Appreciation Day
IDEAS
Broken Trees
PEOPLE
The Wall
IDEAS
Treasure Hunt
IDEAS
Teaching with Omicron
PEOPLE
I Never Knew
IDEAS
Problems: 2021
PEOPLE
Ambidextrous
FANCY
Alone
IDEAS
To See or Not to See
HUMOR
Dukes and Chamberlain
IDEAS
A Single Blade of Grass
IDEAS
I Didn't Cry
IDEAS
Anger
PEOPLE
The Stench of Death
IDEAS
Dear Miss Lottie
LITERARY WORKS
Driver Ants
PEACE CORPS
Banana Tree
PEACE CORPS
Up is Bad
IDEAS
Voices
PEOPLE
Recognition
PEOPLE
They Are
PEOPLE
I Absolve You
IDEAS
Satireday
IDEAS
A Matter of the Mind
PEOPLE
What Do I Do?
IDEAS
Hope
IDEAS
Old
PEOPLE
An Outlet for Our Hearts
IDEAS
Menu
IDEAS
The Orange and Blue
FANCY
Friends
PEOPLE
Mini-Head
HUMOR
Do They Remember?
PEOPLE
Staggered
IDEAS
Designated Hero
FANCY
The Rain
IDEAS
Baseball is Life!
IDEAS
When I Was Young
IDEAS
In 1960
PEOPLE
I Am the Mets
IDEAS
The Broken Man
PEOPLE
The Game
FANCY
The Old Neighborhood
PEOPLE
Not Even Once
HUMOR
Mazeroski Broke My Heart
HUMOR
Raymond
PEOPLE
More Respect
FANCY
The Baseball Camp
PEOPLE
My First Homerun
HUMOR
Game by Game
FANCY
Contrasts and Similarities
PEOPLE
She Plays
PEOPLE
I Live
IDEAS
I Used to Laugh
People
Baseball is in Our Soul
IDEAS
Mantle
PEOPLE
Bill
PEOPLE
Thief!
PEOPLE
The Journey Home
IDEAS
Impressions of the Game
FANCY
The Civil War: New York Against Atlanta
IDEAS
Unexpected Heroes
FANCY
In a Pinch
IDEAS
Baseball, Then and Now
IDEAS
Satch
PEOPLE
Paige
PEOPLE
Broken
HUMOR
Is It Really Over?
PEOPLE
Technophilia
IDEAS
In First Place
FANCY
The Room
IDEAS
Hall of Fame Villanelle
FANCY
I Prefer
PEOPLE
Understanding
PEACE CORPS
1964 (duplicate)
PEACE CORPS
Am I Jewish?
IDEAS
Fear
IDEAS
Living Masterpiece
FANCY
Looking Back
PEACE CORPS
Steppingstone in the Fall
FANCY
Field of Nightmares
HUMOR
Simplicity
IDEAS
Waiting
IDEAS
Interdependence Birthday
FANCY
The Rabbi
PEOPLE
Legacy (guest poem)
PEACE CORPS
A Letter to Steve
PEACE CORPS
The Future is Now
IDEAS
Birds of Play
FANCY
Halloween
IDEAS
Parking Lot
IDEAS
To Be Frank
PEOPLE
The New Room
IDEAS
Zenith
FANCY
Thank You, Sandy
PEOPLE
American Parade
FANCY
Stepping Up to the Plate
FANCY
Another Friend
PEOPLE
Tripods
FANCY
Questionable Call
IDEAS
Disappointment
HUMOR
My Place
IDEAS
Joe for Ted?
FANCY
Old-Timer's Day
FANCY
X Marks the Spot
FANCY
Built to Win Now
FANCY
Yogi
PEOPLE
A Wedding
PEOPLE
The Gift
FANCY
Every Spring
PEOPLE
My Diner
PEOPLE
I Understand / I Don't Understand
IDEAS
Fancy
IDEAS
Kiner
PEOPLE
Snow
FANCY
The Wall
PEACE CORPS
Protector
FANCY
Baimba
PEACE CORPS
Shifty Strategy
IDEAS
Whose Weather is This?
IDEAS
I Thought I Heard my Past
PEOPLE
Baseball is Magnetic
PEOPLE
The Day the Franchise Left
PEOPLE
Waiting Once Again
FANCY
Fifth Grade
PEOPLE
I Once Was a Poet
FANCY
Family Gathering
PEOPLE
The Love in Their Eyes
IDEAS
Snow Day
SHORT STORIES / PROSE
I Wish I Could Stay
IDEAS
The Bases: Home Plate
FANCY
The Bases: First Base
FANCY
The Bases: Second Base
FANCY
The Lonely Diner
PEOPLE
The Bases: Third Base
FANCY
Sisters
PEOPLE
Double-headers
FANCY
Love
PEOPLE
Bleeding Nose
PEOPLE
Touch
PEOPLE
Elusive
PEOPLE
Golden Tears
PEOPLE
Ghost
PEOPLE
Jules Munshin
FANCY
Then and Now
FANCY
Mandala
FANCY
International Pastime
IDEAS
Baseball is Poetry
IDEAS
She Sells
PEOPLE
E Pluribus Unum
IDEAS
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