New Posts of old poems for 2021
Lizard
(Written 8/21/2019)
I didn't mean to chop off the tail of that lizard;
my shovel slipped and left him with a stub.
He's as ugly as sin, and he sits by the door
like he wants to come in.
I shook my head and said, “sorry, Jack,”
and he answered, “I want my tail back!”
I didn't have any plot in my head
that concerned quieting him
and I stood there, while he was talking and squawking
when-whoops-my shovel slipped again.
Ancestors' Names
(Written 2/7/2019)
Two! Four! Six! Eight! I'm glad that we triangulate!
BUT I match so many common names.
My Smiths, Blacks, Martins, or Greens might match with me
and they also may match each other.
So are they the Smiths, Blacks, Martins and Greens from my father's side,
or the Smiths, Blacks, Martins and Greens who match my mother?
They all had common first names, too.
If I had a common surname, I'd give the kids unique first names.
Hezekiah, Obadiah, Henrietta and Boo are perfect with Smith.
Absolom, Malachi, Guenivere and Fredericka are great with Green,
while Morningside, Stevenson, Aldrich and Montana
are Martin names through and through.
Guiseppi, Geronimo, Jeremiah and Fuchsia sound great with Black. They do!
So while we check our matches and use new tools for the DNA,
wouldn't it be nice if we could re-name our ancestors
somewhere along the way?
Big Pharma
( Written 2/28/2019 )
I'm Big Pharma and I made a new pill for you,
and if you buy it and use it and have a reaction, this is what it could do:
it could make you feel dizzy, unstable, or queasy, and make your vision blurry.
It could increase your appetite, make you throw up,
make your mouth water and your tongue furry.
It can cause pains in your stomach, and organ failure too; your skin will be dry,
there'll be pus in your eye, there's a fair chance you'll die,
and that's not all it can do.
You won't just get medicated; you'll be irritated, agitated, ruminated,
resonated, syncopated, undulated, fabricated and lubricated.
I'm Big Pharma, so if these side effects happen, you can't sue me
because I told you all about it, and you took it anyway.
It's your fault, you see.
If these things don't happen, and it all works out right,
this new magical pill will cure your ills
and let you sleep through the night,
after you pay a bunch of money to me.
Guns
( Written 8/10/2019 )
“to conquer a nation, first disarm its citizens”
You want to be a dictator. If you do this right,
the people will be so upset with all the violence
that they will say-they will DEMAND-
that you take their guns away.
Act apologetic, as if it's the one thing you really
hate doing, so when the guns are gone,
and it's all over and done,
you can pat yourself on the shoulder.
You're a dictator now;
the game has finally been won!
BABY DUCKIE
5/29/1995
Baby Duckie, swimming in a pond
Baby Duckie, on and on
Baby Duckie, what do you do?
Eat the crumbs I brought for you!
THAT KID
5/31/1995
That kid, whose folks just moved in
In the house, down the street
Is really nice, is really quite neat.
That kid can skate, ride a bike and swim
Better than I can,
Better than Jim.
That kid has video games.
I thought I was quite good,
But I can't beat that kid, there's no way that I could.
That kid is nice, shares games and toys
And she said we play okay, too,
Considering we're boys.
PEACHES
5/31/1995
If all the trees were fruit trees
And all the cities were beaches,
Would all the children in the world
Make sand castles and suck peaches?
MY BLANKET
6/2/1995
My blanket is the nicest thing
I take it when I go to bed
I hold it close whenever I sleep,
Tucked up, beneath my little head.
I bring it with me to the park,
Or for a ride in Mama's car.
My blanket helps me every day,
No matter where we are.
MY PUP
6/2/1995
My puppy and I like to run down the hall,
We slide on the floor,
Crash into the wall.
Sometimes we take a bath and we get
As wet as a kid and a puppy
Can get.
We' ll take a ball out on the lawn
Then throw it and chase it
Till it's lost, it's gone.
My friends come over
And I say "don't worry!"
Cause Puppy is friendly, soft and quite furry.
I hear my Mom calling
I know she's upset
About one of Pup's and my messes, I bet.
If God didn't mean us to make messes
Or crash when we run,
Then why did He make my Pup so much fun?
Seashore
6/2/1995
Small feet, brown and tanned,
run quickly over hot sand
to the water's edge.
Tiny hands pick up shells
and chubby fingers probe the insides
hunting for life unseen.
Vaccination
6/3/1995
Gabriel, gelding, Morgan extraordinaire,
Watched the woman as she entered the barn.
He stood stiffly, each muscle in his body tense
As she made her way through the stalls.
Some of the horses stood silent
As she did her job,
But others screamed in pain.
Gabriel watched and waited.
Finally, she entered his stall and called him by name.
"Gabriel," she said sweetly, then patted his head,
And his eyes were wide with fright.
Then, in a few seconds, it was over.
His neck felt stiff and sore,
But the woman had left him.
Vaccinations were over,
And life was back to normal.
BOY
6/3/1995
You retreat into the closets of your mind
Listening to voices only you can hear
and shutting the door behind you.
Do you feel safer there,
By yourself, alone,
Not having to cope with the trivialities
Of the real world,
Or are you just trying to find a home?
Janos
6/3/1995
Janos looked at the girl's red lips.
Her sun-bleached brown hair hung in clumps
Next to her face.
Her eyes were closed, but Janos knew
Without looking at them,
That they were probably blue.
She had just been in the wrong place
At the wrong time,
And for that she had to die.
Janos couldn't change that,
It's just the way things had to be.
The blow to her her head was quick,
And she fell, not knowing what it meant.
Then, Janos had done all the other things
Which insured that she would be dead.
He realized he could look at her,
And wonder if there were people who loved her,
But to do that would indicate a conscience
And Janos had none,
So he would not think such thoughts.
He looked at her red lips and smiled.
He did not think of her as a person,
With likes and fears and thoughts.
She was merely a source to Janos,
A supplier of body parts.
He thought himself an artist,
A sculptor of sorts.
His latest project was the Madonna,
And she would have red lips.
THE BALLAD OF JOHNNY AND IRENE
6/8/1995
He was Johnny-come-lately, and he did,
Arriving when Irene was half-past thirty-seven.
She had already dedicated her life to spinsterhood;
She took care of the cats, crocheted baby clothes
For the children of friends, and read
Romantic novels far into the night.
Then Johnny fell with a Vengeance into her life,
And things were never the same again.
She packed one small suitcase, gave the cats
To a friend, and left Scooba. They eloped,
Like teenagers in some old movie, sneaking off
In the middle of the night.
They bought a store in Tupelo, and sold everything
That they thought anyone might need, from fishing worms
To champagne. They sold clothes and dishes and lottery tickets,
And they sometimes gave free candy to children, and
By the time Irene was forty, they had two children of their own,
A boy and a girl, good kids.
When Johnny was forty-eight and Irene was fifty-five,
He had a heart attack. He lived eight days, then died.
She sold the store and moved back to Scooba.
Her children were almost grown.
She took care of cats, crocheted baby clothes
For the grandchildren of friends, and read
Romantic novels far into the night.
TWO
6/8/1995
We first fell in like, then in love,
And our coupledness became us.
A twosome, duet, we said the words
But marriage seemed unreal,
Too conventional for free spirits
Such as we.
We needed no bonds of law
Or matrimony to contain us.
We'd live like aborigines,
Free and wild, unbound
Then, one day, we decided
To parent a child,
And all our fears about fathering
And mothering came to the surface,
And we read each and every book on
Parenting that we found.
And now we have decided to part,
And we search for a way
To tell our friends that it's over,
Finished, completed.
Our coupledness is gone, and
Each of us is satisfied
To continue our journey alone.
So I put your shoes outside my door,
Like primitive peoples are said to do.
I moved your clothing into big boxes,
And your books, and every
Other thing that reminds me of you
I gave to the family that lives by the park
In their car. And I said, "I divorce you,"
Three times. And then, we were through,
No longer two.