The Poetry Marathon

Mystical union
Before the holy altar
Making sacred vows

Document Driven

It all went pear-shaped
Not grapefruit, obviously
It is way too sour
Or is sour what I meant by pear-shaped?
Like Trump at Mar-a-Lago
(Documents not-so-concealed in the toilet
Boxes listening to the purple flush of the commode
What a stench!
But I digress)
Like Trump, we were minding our own business
Tootavilling along
Free as the birds
With our noses to the grindstone, burning the midnight oil
The sweet paperwork of the realm!
When “the you-know-what hit the fan”
Lordy, Lordy
I figured I head on down to Mar-a-Lago myself
Take a seat on that memorable throne
Dirty Document Don, esquire
Bringing all this paperwork with
And secreting it among the other bundles and bags
No one would suspect this guy here
Except poor John
His smooth white porcelain wet with tears
(At least, I hope they are tears)
¡Qué horror!
Unable, still, to speak
It’ll be the winning shot for the both of us
Even if I never pay my taxes
Now where did I put that fruit bowl?

the less we say about it the better

a golden shovel after lyrics by David Byrne

mum i sit, the
world less
rational. we
cascade. you say
don’t worry about
it. but it
is alarming. the
end won’t be better

Checkpoint

Taking turns sleeping and driving
the cool darkness is welcoming –
foreboding
thrilling
Tall pines shadow the road
shadow our escape
shadow our past, passing
around us
As we slip beneath the radar
freeing, finally

Until
The Checkpoint

Its warm light deceiving
silent already, we hush
holding our breath against hope

Minutes are hours, our
documents now
in the hands of fate

This year I feel more unprepared than ever before. And it’s been a hard week, so I’m exhausted. Not sure how this is going to go.

Birdsong

birdsong
cheery twatter
morning light trigger
some squabbles, some swagger, some sugar
request and response
chirpy commotion
birdsong

The Summer Book*

Stretched out on chaise lounge
Or bunkbed, beach towel, porch swing
You turn the pages.
Quickly at first
Delving in, devouring it

But then you notice
Oh, no!
There isn’t much of this wonderful story left!
How can you live outside of such a fascinating world?

So you try to read slower
Savoring the pages
Rereading the best lines
Over and over

But you can’t help it
The heroine is at peek crisis!
You need to know what happens!
Like you need water, air

And suddenly
There it is
Done

Now, whatever will you read for the rest of the summer?

*Yes, that is really the title. It is by Tove Jansson, and it is a lovely summer read!

From Acorns

“The sky is falling!” proclaimed Chicken Little
Fake news the bird did propound
So on-point was she with her message
That needless fear spread around

When the flock checked back at her henhouse
An acorn was found on the ground
“It’s only a symptom,” said Little
“The rest is sure to fall down!”

Consider the source is the moral
Check the facts before you expound
Be wary of what you think you know
From acorns mighty oaks can abound

Umbrella, Bumbershoot, Brolly

Umbrella, bumbershoot, brolly
The button there, go on! press it down
The whoosh and the click are iconic
No other thing makes the same sound

Umbrella, bumbershoot, brolly
Twist it, go on! Spin it ‘round
It comes in most every color
Well, I suppose, not so much brown

Umbrella, bumbershoot, brolly
Tis good for use all the year round
For snow and for rain, even sunshine
A more useful device can’t be found

Second Breakfast

The three bears, they went out before breakfast
To wait for their porridge to cool
When they came back, a girl had destroyed it
Which just seems to me rather cruel

Did they chase her away in raw anger?
Did they treat her as their new-found foe?
No, they invited her back to the table
To fill up before she might go

They served her eggs over easy
And pancakes, stack upon stack
Ham and sausage and bacon
Which was just the first course of this snack

There were waffles, French toast, and fry bread
Muffins: berry, banana, and bran
There was fruit from so many seasons
Fresh, frozen, dried, bottled and canned

They had yogurt, and honey, and custard
Orange juice, grape juice, and milk
Coffee with cream and with sugar
And cottage cheese softer than silk

Eggs over easy, well I’ve said that
But also, hard boiled and fried
Some that were made into omelets
And some, as for Easter, were dyed

“Try a little bit more, sweetie, won’t you?
See, you’re hurting our dear mother’s pride!”
“Not one more bite,” she choked out
“And it’s time I was saying good-bye.”

The bears waved as Goldilocks sped off
As fast as her tummy could stand
Killing with kindness is one thing
All bear families do understand