~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three shadows slipped through fluorescent halls,
silent as the dismissal bell's dying hum.
The home ec door—unlocked, of course,
swung wide on hinges slick with grease.
I kept my post beside the lockers,
listening for footsteps down the tile.
The scent of brown sugar and butter
drifted out like a traitor's whisper.
My friends emerged,
the chocolate chip cookie dough bowl
cradled between them,
gleaming under the exit sign's red eye.
Spoons plundered from the cutlery drawer~
our spoils now.
The bench by the soccer field,
pockmarked with old gum,
became our banquet table.
We dug in, sticky-fingered, laughing,
each mouthful sweeter for the sin.
(I only took a taste.
Just enough to lick the spoon clean.
Just enough to be complicit.)
Next morning, the janitor found
the empty bowl washed
and left politely in the sink.
No note. No crumbs~
only the smell of chocolate
and vanilla lingering
like an apology no one would ever hear.
*Related memoir vignette can be read at poetrysoup.com/short_stories/adventures_in_home_ec_class_13676
Good old shared party line
The triple ring is ours ~ ignore others
Country living at its best
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Domestic Terrorists
corrupt officers
Mc kissick niece
attacking innocent
persons stop sending
Terrorists threats fraud
waste scum bullying
terrorizing blowing up
vehicles seated with the
arson murderer of
nine persons Ciro Gargano
actually blew up my skull
with a car bomb because I
wore wires pregnant for
the FBI buying weapons
and drugs from junk sick
corrupt officers severe
repeat violent ofenders
ARSON MURDERER OF 9 INC.
The humor of it all
I shan't fall
my stalker catrina bell
my identity
thief born 3-13-1967
you can't be me
I'm born in 1963
terror rage from page
to page live your own life
live your own age
brutal attacks
upon my space
love yourself
love your own face
fredlocks made his choice
it sure wasn't you
so if you would please
just leave
stop your stalking threats
and simple shew
Swallowing
lightning
Teasing
the bear
Dharmic
illusions
Circling
a square
Trapping
a rainbow
Embracing
the clowns
Rewriting
language
Up
getting down
Stripping
the moment
Wishes
that fly
Summer
of love
Timeless
goodbyes
Alice
returning
Virtuous
sin
Lost
in the rhythms
Buried
—within
(The New Room: September, 2023)
Las Vegas 1967
Harrah’s, free drinks
Circus Circus, bring the kids
Frontier, win a Chevy
Golden Nugget, best slots
Flamingo Capri, Elvis impersonator
Caesar’s Palace, world’s best buffet
Tropicana, win big
Sahara, all day breakfast
Dunes, best shrimp cocktail thirty cents
Golden Nugget, live girls
I would certainly hope so.
CANCER circa 1967
It ate away at compassion
chewed ragged the edges of love
hard breath drawn through clenched teeth
fighting the whisper
denying the thought
“why can’t she just let go….and die?”
However long it was, was too long.
To watch hopelessly
mindlessly, angrily
as she lay in a drugged stupor
IV’s supplying sustenance
but no relief for her
or for us.
She did eventually let go….and die.
It brought no closure for us
only the angst of anger’s guilt
the emptiness of hope’s folly
and the sadness of wishing it so.
6/6/2021
Cancer Ivy Poetry Contest
jalapeno peppers
parading their truth proudly
making the fried tortilla laugh
oranges and the brightest azure blues
the sizzle of a skillet
my mouth salivates
strumming of a banjo
bluegrass music and cotton candy
my food hot against its cardboard sleeve
glitzy pink neon lights
smell of hot popcorn
laughter from all over the midway
Iowa state fair magic
carnival barkers screaming for my attention
fireworks will start in an hour
reading of my palm
her eyes are wizened
I am intrigued, her predictions magical
enjoying this day
in an innocent way
excitement extraordinaire
alive at fifteen
flirted at by sixteen
memory that still makes me smile at sixty-eight
I remember
so well
the friends
that I made
when childhood
was wrapped
in blue sky
but I cannot
remember
the last time
we played
- and whether
we all said
goodbye.
The country was turbulent on TV,
but not in Iowa
The ‘Times Were A Changing’ for most to see,
but not in Iowa
There was more to sound than snippets or bites,
back then in Iowa
Each voice was heard when spoken and free,
back then in Iowa
The kindling burned in most other states,
but not in Iowa
Ideals were being traded, their price was blood,
but not in Iowa
The generations still talked and listened together,
back then in Iowa
The world made more sense away from the madness
—back then in Iowa
(Dennison Iowa: June, 1980)
her heart was shanghaied
captured on a sunny beach
with waves lapping happily
in a nineteen sixty-seven day
Beach Boys were singing
From a portable transistor
wind carried happy laughter
he had flecks of gold in his eyes
They were in love
So she let him
put lotion on her back
A brave move for these times
Yesterday's Nonsense
I don't like animal crackers Dewey,
I'd rather have eggs and Ham.
I've never liked animal crackers Dewey,
You know what a fiend I am.
Fix me a sandwich Dewey,
With an intellectual swing
Give me a soda Dewey,
Make me laugh and sing.
I don't like animal crackers Dewey,
That's all you want to eat.
All that is good is not pretty,
And all that is pure isn't sweet.
I don't like animal crackers Dewey,
You know they're the Devil's tools
Jesus didn't eat crackers,
They're only made for fools.
Quick, get me a pizza Dewey,
With a lot of garlic and cheese.
Don't offer me animal crackers.
It's not at all funny to tease.
I don't like animal crackers Dewey,
They are forbidden fruit.
It's nice to have ham and gravy,
The better folk it suits.
Don't feed me animal crackers,
Though they may taste sweet indeed.
They're poison to the stomach,
And make the intestines bleed.
Watching the lushness pass below me
Rivers lazy, paddies verdant
Crater ringlets there to show me
Wanton murder too often fervent
Young men dying, futures slaughtered
An idiotic, absurd endeavor
Unborn sons and unborn daughters
Our loss, their loss, gone forever
Who remembers, who considers
Those whose dreams that ended there?
Souls for sale to highest bidders
My soul, their souls, shared despair
Time will heal us, time a buffer
Every year as memories fade
Lest we forget those boys who suffered
Too high the price that they all paid
I smell a darker age
I fear a fiercer rage
the conflagration will begin a new page
in the history of a country once named.
More 'saints' would die
birds of bullets would fly
and there'll be no barricades to hide,
nature will cry!
Have you long forgotten
the excruciating pains of 1967?
Art thou diagnosed with dementia
of how our streets were soaked
with the placentas of pregnant mothers?
How hopeless our children felt
when heartbeats of parents couldn't be felt...
Art thou forgetful of the bloody taste of water
and how emaciated our kids were?
Oh that thou would visit thy past
Oh that thou would visualise the path
that thou thread,
Oh that thou disallow an imminent war!
My heart bleeds, bleeds the more(sobs)
Surveying over her kingdom,
In silent flight on hushed wings,
With eyes that search the field for life
Her ears detect the slightest sound.
She kills her prey and tears it too-
And feeds her hungry one.
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