#278
Diagnosis?
My dermatologist told me
I'm like an ancient ship:
My skin is full of barnacles,
I've knobs upon my hip,
I've liver spots all over
And my nose is all a-drip.
Arrgh!
What Does a Bird Know?...
#277
Where, Who, How?
I saw a tufted titmouse
Flitting right behind*;
I wonder if he knows the seed
Is someone being kind?
* Right behind the black-capped chickadees,
of course.
Bird Brain, Creature to Creature...
#276
I saw two black-capped chickadees
Flitting round our feeder;
I wondered to myself, I did,
"Do they have a leader?"
Another Dexter Dog Verse...
#275
A Dog's Desires
Dexter waits at the top of the stairs,
A creature of hope and very few cares;
All he wants is peace in his home,
A pizza to munch and a latte with foam.
Sod and Sand...
#274
Just One
A grain of sand from ocean shore
Contains within its being
A cosmos full of wonder
And a glory breath exceeding.
More Whimsy, Maybe...
#273
Then Again
If all reality exists
Within the mind of God,
Illusions like the movies
Are less meaningful than sod.
Angels in Heaven...
#272
Movies
Are there theaters in Heaven?
Would Angels run the shows?
Would they show us The Avengers?
Only Jesus truly knows.
Andy (ha ha) Panda
#271
Tosser
Andy Panda (29)
Andy Panda threw a party,
After which he threw a book;
Then he threw a game of chess,
When he couldn't move his rook.
Andy Panda!
Tosser
Container gardening....
#270
Fresh Fruit
Fig tree grows in a garbage can,
Grows as well as a fig tree can,
Forced to grow in a garbage can.
Jesus wouldn't dare curse this tree,
As loaded with figs as a tree can be,
Unless of course there's something else to see,
Hidden within this bountiful tree.
A scene seen from our front window (sorry)...
#269
Terror in the Tree
A rat snake high in a sugar maple tree
Winding up a branch is a sight to see,
With robins and wrens hopping limb to limb
Above and below and close to him.
Brave little birds, living on the edge,
Brave long snake so high above the hedge.
Andy Panda in Lit 101...
#268
Andy Panda (28)
Andy Panda took a class
Taught by a lovely Irish lass.
Andy's heart would fall and break
Every time she quoted Blake:
"Tiger Tiger."
Pet Adventures: Simon the Dachshund
#267
Stubborn
Simon has a stubborn streak,
Longer than a turkey's beak,
Shorter than a trip to Mars,
Stronger than a Russian czar's.
You could wail and yell and call,
If he's engaged out there at all,
You'll have time to conquer Gaul.
Whoop!
Here Simon Simon Simon!
In case anyone's wondered...
The title of this collection is:
Phone Poems: A Joyful Noise
Perhaps writing the title here is to keep me from forgetting,
Even though I just passed one of those circulating
Brain tests to see if you have one.
Turned out I did, though I keep mine well hidden.
As you can now see, prose is prose,
Regardless of the arrangement on the page.
Pet Adventures: Simon the Dachshund
#266
The Mystery
I watched him sleep
On the rug with the flower,
Eyes softly closed,
Not a care to be found;
I wondered, amazed,
At the little dog's power
To keep me enthralled
And deeply spellbound.
Zen: A riot of Angels...
#265
Impossibilities?
I know the sound of one hand clapping,
Heard the toll of the wooden bell;
I've even heard the cries of the damned,
As I journeyed round the circles of Hell.
What I've never heard,
No matter how quiet,
Is the beat of the wings
Of an angelic riot.
Sometimes I wonder...
#264
What?
The amphibrach, a simple creature,
Makes himself known by a single feature:
He leaves no track,
He's short in front, short in back,
And very long in the middle.
His life, you might say, is a riddle.
I saw an ant walk as I died...
#263
Pun-ish-ment
Just as I was going under,
Sitting in the Dentist's chair,
I saw a black ant walking towards me:
"Wonderland," I thought, "I'm there."
Then the Dentist needled me,
And I could not see to see.*
*With apologies to Emily D and Dr.
Brents, both of whom I like very much.
Pet Adventures: Dexter and the miracle drug
#262
Transformation
Dexter Dog has been rather ill,
But all it took was a thyroid pill
To make him frisky, young and thin,
Bring out the puppy hidden within.
Pet Adventures: Our Dog, Simon
#261
A Sleeper
Simon, our dachshund,
Can sleep anywhere:
He sleeps on our sofa,
He sleeps in my chair.
He sleeps on the floor,
He sleeps on our bed,
He sleeps in my arms
Like one raised from the dead.
Simon!
Pet Adventures: Our Dog, Frollie
#260
Where They Go
The squirrel raced down the boardwalk,
Our dog hot on its tail;
The squirrel leaped into the crabapple tree,
Thus the run to "No Avail."
Each day the race plays several times;
Each time the squirrels escape.
Just once I'd like to see our dog
Grab the squirrel by its scruffy brown nape!