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Five Happy Gypsies

"Five Happy Gypsies is a happy book with bittersweet overtones, told in a voice unique to Greg Razran-- somewhere between a storyteller and a stand-up comic. These poems are full of passersby and friends, shoppers at the dollar store, neighbors, the near and dear, animals and humans, the far and unfamiliar. Greg Razran knows how to embrace the strange with all his heart. He is a mighty new poet to be reckoned with."

Book Columnist, "The Boston Globe" and

Editor of I Just Hope It's Lethal

"The poems in Five Happy Gypsies are chatty, colloquial, funny, self-deprecating, ironic. Greg Razran's poems speak directly to the reader. There is no pretense here; no elitism. What emerges in this work is a living, breathing person with a unique voice and a big heart."

Maria Mazziotti Gillan,

Editor, The Paterson Literary Review

Table of Contents

For the Oldest Living Manatee Born in Captivity

At The Emergency Room, Just After Midnight

Grandpa Macaroni

For Anna (at `Jiffy Lube')

Larry King, The Smiling Buddha,

and Number Twenty

Mr. Lane, I Hope You Can Be Happy One Day

Dancing on Leroy

Moonlight Café, Late August

One of Those Crazy Things (For Sherry)

At the Jackson Pumpkin Farm

Five Happy Gypsies

Dad Meets Richard Nixon

Easy-Rider, 2004

An Evening at Glenn's

For Dick Pindell

Nightshift at Dunkin' Donuts

Fuck the Whales, I Say

Wal-Mart, 3 a.m.

Cabbage Picking, Circa 1990

At the Dollar Store

Jade's Iguanas Are Dead

Larry King, The Smiling Buddha, and Number Twenty

Follow me. I am sitting at this Chinese restaurant,

waiting for my # 20, reading my place-mat horoscope.

From the left hand corner, Larry King is speaking to me

from the screen of a twenty-inch television.

In the right hand corner, there's a six-foot-tall statue

of a smiling Buddha, dressed in a sharp pinkish robe.

The hostess / waitress comes back to me, again;

"Would I like more hot tea?" Sure. She smiles and brings it.

"More crispy noodles?" I haven't finished the first bunch,

but, yes, what the hell. She flies away and then back.

She is still smiling, but now she is just staring at me.

The silence is awkward. I love these, I say, and dig in.

"Number twenty will be ready in a minute," she says,

and quickly walks outside, through the double doors.

She comes back soon, heads straight for my table.

"You have a big car," she says, laughing and looking at me.

Yes, I say, it's huge, in fact I often get lost inside;

I have to pay this special tax, the big car tax, you know.

She blushes, laughs, then blushes again, more intensely.

I think of making a move on her; a smooth line, perhaps.

But then I catch a glimpse of Larry King, again.

He is staring at me with those big eyes under the glasses.

He leans forward into the camera, as if getting ready to jump

out at me, through the screen, suspenders and all,

should I try any funny business with the waitress.

And then I notice the Buddha; His eyes are fixed on me, too.

I almost think I see him smirking menacingly,

as he read my thoughts.

I give up the whole adventure, my motives caught

between the host in his suspenders and the robed Buddha.

The sound of the plate hitting the table breaks my trance.

She walks away, and as I dig into the food, I realize

she has brought me number twenty-five.

Five Happy Gypsies

is a 48 page hand-sewn book with spine - $12.00


	FootHills Publishing \| home Books 2005 \| Finger Lakes Anthology \| In the Arms of Words \| Coffman \| Machan \| Low \| Roche \| Lehmann \| Vincent \| Ferroggiaro \| Holmes \| Orr \| Lupinacci \| Schwartz \| Hoey \| Allen \| Lowenstein \| Janus \| Martin \| Zegers \| Meierjurgen \| Holley \| Hyder \| Bashkirew \| Miller \| VanHeusen \| Razran \| Slechta \| Costanzo \| Ordering by Mail \| Contact FHP Five Happy Gypsies Greg Razran "Five Happy Gypsies is a happy book with bittersweet overtones, told in a voice unique to Greg Razran-- somewhere between a storyteller and a stand-up comic. These poems are full of passersby and friends, shoppers at the dollar store, neighbors, the near and dear, animals and humans, the far and unfamiliar. Greg Razran knows how to embrace the strange with all his heart. He is a mighty new poet to be reckoned with." Liz Rosenberg, Book Columnist, "The Boston Globe" and Editor of I Just Hope It's Lethal "The poems in Five Happy Gypsies are chatty, colloquial, funny, self-deprecating, ironic. Greg Razran's poems speak directly to the reader. There is no pretense here; no elitism. What emerges in this work is a living, breathing person with a unique voice and a big heart." Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Editor, The Paterson Literary Review Table of Contents For the Oldest Living Manatee Born in Captivity At The Emergency Room, Just After Midnight The Neighbor Grandpa Macaroni Duds and Suds For Anna (at `Jiffy Lube') Candy Larry King, The Smiling Buddha, and Number Twenty Mr. Lane, I Hope You Can Be Happy One Day Dancing on Leroy Moonlight Café, Late August One of Those Crazy Things (For Sherry) Strawberry Pie Mickey At the Jackson Pumpkin Farm Five Happy Gypsies Bleeding Dad Meets Richard Nixon My '79 Gremlin Easy-Rider, 2004 And Gorby Cried Binghamton, NY An Evening at Glenn's For Dick Pindell Nightshift at Dunkin' Donuts Fuck the Whales, I Say I'm Running! Djurma Wal-Mart, 3 a.m. All That Jazz Cabbage Picking, Circa 1990 At the Dollar Store Jade's Iguanas Are Dead From the Book: Larry King, The Smiling Buddha, and Number Twenty Follow me. I am sitting at this Chinese restaurant, waiting for my # 20, reading my place-mat horoscope. From the left hand corner, Larry King is speaking to me from the screen of a twenty-inch television. In the right hand corner, there's a six-foot-tall statue of a smiling Buddha, dressed in a sharp pinkish robe. The hostess / waitress comes back to me, again; "Would I like more hot tea?" Sure. She smiles and brings it. "More crispy noodles?" I haven't finished the first bunch, but, yes, what the hell. She flies away and then back. She is still smiling, but now she is just staring at me. The silence is awkward. I love these, I say, and dig in. "Number twenty will be ready in a minute," she says, and quickly walks outside, through the double doors. She comes back soon, heads straight for my table. "You have a big car," she says, laughing and looking at me. Yes, I say, it's huge, in fact I often get lost inside; I have to pay this special tax, the big car tax, you know. She blushes, laughs, then blushes again, more intensely. I think of making a move on her; a smooth line, perhaps. But then I catch a glimpse of Larry King, again. He is staring at me with those big eyes under the glasses. He leans forward into the camera, as if getting ready to jump out at me, through the screen, suspenders and all, should I try any funny business with the waitress. And then I notice the Buddha; His eyes are fixed on me, too. I almost think I see him smirking menacingly, as he read my thoughts. I give up the whole adventure, my motives caught between the host in his suspenders and the robed Buddha. The sound of the plate hitting the table breaks my trance. She walks away, and as I dig into the food, I realize she has brought me number twenty-five. ISBN 0-941053-83-0 Five Happy Gypsies is a 48 page hand-sewn book with spine - $12.00 TO ORDER ON-LINE To order through mail click here.