Category: Poetry

pinky toes

my pinky toes point upward
up upward to the sky
from above they look so silly
and even more so from the side

they look a little iffy
and pretty out of place
they’re rather super funky
pointing up to space

i’ve never really used them
except to draw a crowd
but even though they’re useless
they make me very proud

uniqueness is a blessing
no matter what the form
it’s the perfect way of living
divergent from the norm

parched

oh desert dry desert
would you have just a tiny bit of water?
i’m afraid you make living quite grim
even the oases are seeing things
might you spare just a drop or two of rain?
even a half would be fine
without just a drip, not even a sip,
surely the cacti will die
my skin is like toast
burnt like a roast
gasping for liquid relief
i’m really quite desperate
please show me a creek!
this could be the end for me

who’s who

it’s the annual who’s who of birds
and in most years the winner is clear
one trillion years straight the owl has won
with not a challenger in sight
but in this year’s who’s who
the show’s not at night
and you know who slept through the show
the winner this year is the owl of light
the morning dove takes home the dough

association potion

tails or heads?
heads have hair
hair covers skin
skin is an organ
organs have keys
keys open doors
doors slam shut
shut rhymes with tut
tut was a king
king trumps queen
queen was a band
bands have horns
horns protect rhinos
rhinos eat leaves
leaves change color
color needs light
light as a feather
feathers warm birds
birds have wings
wings played on USA
USA has borders
borders sold books
books teach people
people love dogs
dogs have tails
tails or heads?

sun soul

the soul of the sun is strong and bright

bear beautiful light
yield mighty delight
yet give to the night

spark passion and vigor
bring warmth to the heart

have infinite faces
but never an edge

and forever shine, always in sight

jumbalaya jam

potato chip forest dandelion greens
teriyaki chorus bumblebee dreams
avionic seasons sugar maple schemes
patriotic parties lucky laser beams

barnacle oatmeal arbitrary foam
paranoia pixies scintillating tome
cordless cabbage bark punctuating gnome
eighteen artichokes rummaging alone

mountains of magma
comets of kaboom
coronal mass ejections
blistering the moon

each knee animal
honest sonic knock
fared a fooling folly
sold a soaring stock

peanut butter caviar
watermelon whisk
java llama petting zoo
with a lemon twist

juniper jumping jack
super berry crayon
marigold maverick
jambalaya jam

ticks to tocks

how does a tick turn into a tock
forty-three thousand two hundred times a day?
does it know how to walk, talk, learn, laugh, and leap,
or does it only know not to stay?

is it the gears within, grinding with grit
or the pendulum’s beautiful sway?
is it the springs that are sprung, abruptly undone
that kick the seconds away?

is time just a thought, on the surface of naught
and the clock just a rhythmic display?
a heartless dimension, one of invention
no care for the world at bay

or is every tick that makes it to tock
a reminder that life if okay?

where’s tad?

where’s tad the toad?
i haven’t seen him in weeks
he left some food on the stove
and now his kitchen reeks

i checked all his logs
not a trace of dear tad
if he doesn’t turn up
no joy can be had

a call to miss lily
surely she’s seen tad
but she’s missing too
and empty is her pad

a stop at the school
where tad tends to study
no sign of the guy
where is my buddy?

a stroll by the farm
where lily likes to play
but empty is the place
minus eight bales of hay

last stop’s the swamp
where the two tend to roam
and what do you know
two toads in the loam