Category: Poetry

gumdrops

my pet alpaca likes gumdrops
especially the ones with lots of extra sugar crystals
and double extra especially the green ones

to him, the sound they make when they hit the floor
is like a parade of exuberance
amplified by the sense of nothing else matters

that gummy gel glistens bright on the dusty floor
like khufu at high noon
or the luxor on saturday night

his hooves take a spin and head lurches forward
as his trunk tries to keep up

his bubble gum tongue rolls out like tape
coated in anticipatory glue

his thick white fleece flows in the air
as he arrives and gobbles it up

wire talk

we send notes over wires all day
sometimes the notes dash through the air
and phew we can read them from our palm

our pockets buzz with new notes
sometimes the notes are from strangers
who want us to give them money for who knows what

remember the fax?
how magical that a note could teleport like that

it’s nice when we can send one note to many people
except for when we do it by accident
that video of cats falling off tables was not for you

i always sign my notes with my name or my initials
i dont even know why i sign the notes at all
the machine says they’re from me

it’s nice to be able to ignore notes when i want
although that feels weird
you wouldn’t do that in person

good nature

the wind whispers, and the meadows listen
the trees croak, and the stream glistens
songbirds play a tune, and the old man whistles fondly

the sun glares high while the shadows fade
tall grass waves at the hills
the buzz of cicadas cuts through the humid air

the woodpecker’s knock fades to a tap
the breeze turns chill
the sun simmers with violety glow

the trees breathe a sigh
the stars, a dim lit sky
night laid bare with no moon

rest well, good nature

parrot blabber

hello! please sorry my english
i’m a parrot of many few words
just simple ones to go by here now
are you give me your papaya?

please forgive my clumse
i also wobble a lot
i grew on ships as a tot, hello!
the seawaves still give me sick
ohh noo. what was i say?

please forgiven my words
i learned english from a seal
he taught many few words to me
and was much better good at art

so i beg this pardon for me now
do excuse my tongue, hello!
i’m a parrot of many few words
and i need your papaya to eat

bosons

may i please borrow some bosons?

because without particulate matter i am dead
in fact i will cease to be
my mind will be clear and my spirit quite free
but the world will be minus a fred

i don’t need that many, but i do need a few
just a handful perhaps, how ’bout three?
one to laugh, another to sing,
and third so i can ask all the questions i ask all the time to everyone i see wherever i am

that will complete what is me.

aversions

i once knew a calico cat
he spent all his time chasing rats
rats eat garbage and carry diseases
i don’t want to be a cat

i once tried to mimic a frog
by sitting all day on a log
it was so boring i thought i might croak
i don’t want to be a frog

i once shared a bus with an owl
we hooed at the riders who scowled
knowing only one word is really boring
i don’t want to be an owl

i once toured the sea with a shark
we didn’t find much it was dark
you can’t even see the stars at night
i don’t want to be a shark

when history repeats itself itself

the memory is pure, but it’s just a flashback borrowed:
a strong link to the past, but a weak one to tomorrow.

the picture is clear, but it’s just a glimpse deranged:
nothing’s really different, yet everything has changed.

the meaning is real, but it’s just a carbon copy:
identical on the surface, but underneath it’s sloppy.

the thought is deep, but it’s just ol’ déjà vu:
ancient is the memory, but the circumstance is new.

when history repeats itself, we’re quick to place the blame,
lessons learned gleaned nothing, and time produced the same.

but take a closer look – today is not the past –
and chart a new path forward where the opportunities are vast…

“History is the only laboratory we have in which to test the consequences of thought.” – Etienne Gilson