we were
always burdened
by the
captivating chatter
discreetly hostel
last likely
a shew
proposition to
reconsider southwest
precook texarkana
thickened tangy
ambition crookedly
fluster and
recognizable flake
(Weekly Magnetic Poetry Challenge • August 31–September 6, 2026)
Howdy - put this in your craw!
Tell your ma. Tell your pa.
Yes sir, you have my word -
verily, I'll pull my sword.
I'm the poet swordsman of Arkansas.
They went mudd’n down at the water hole
Getting their trucks filthy was the goal
Grandma said they needed to bless her soul
They baptized that old lady in the water hole
Everyone has a beard down in the holler
Because haircuts cost more than a dollar
The best rednecks live in squaller
My pig is Sophie, you may call her.
We ride our bikes off our roofs in Arkansas
We do not put on airs or say “lah dee dah”
We are the hillbillies, we have our own chainsaw
Come see us some time, you can dance with pa
We have bonfires and weenie roasts
We make smores, and peanut butter toast
If you like travel trailers, I will be your host.
No one will put on airs, be snotty or boast.
Small Arkansas town had tolerated enough
Deceased bully is now not so tough
Lots of guns blasted the square that day
They did not give the brute time to pray
Gunshot came from every direction around
It did not stop until the bully was on the ground
Don’t mess with Arkansas, said Detective McBing
None of the townspeople saw a thing
three women
in their seventies
travel four hours
walk their feet off
in largest art gallery around
crystal bridges
I am the baby of the group
a mere seventy-two
our driver is seventy-six
our birthday girl is seventy-five
the seventy-six-year-old is dancing around us
as we limp around the night tour of a forest
lit by fiber optics, with projector lights and sounds
I do not remember being out this late I say
it is nine-twenty-two.
we look for a restaurant
because we did not eat supper
they all closed at nine
motel lobby in arkansas
close to the crystal bridges
young man with tattoos walks to large creamer
he begins to pump creamer into coffee
sees me and indicates I go ahead of him.
Ii shake my head ‘no”
tell him to go ahead, he will be quicker than me
two polite strangers making conversation
in a motel lobby in arkansas
I sit down to eat my breakfast
watching people sauntering in and out
four children skip past, giggling like faeries.
they could be from new mexico or virginia
There are license plates outside from several states
I marvel that people are vacationing
in the middle of the week in arkansas
I am going on a trip to Arkansas
with four friends, all women, older than me
in their seventies; not late, but middle
most of them rarely travel
figuring out a place to stay took four days
I thought we had it on day one
but no one got back to me by text
I finally had to call them and leave voice messages
“the chairs do not look comfortable”, one said.
This was a joke, right?
Afraid not.
We had to find a different place.
She is one of the two who rarely travels.
So we let her choose the place.
One of us is driving, but not me.
I have a sports car.
No one wants to sit four hours with their legs out the window.
Every other day one of them says “maybe I should not go”.
I think we should all go, and I do not care who drives.
I am sure "who drives?" will take them four more days to decide.
Come one, come all, down to the Candy Cat Paw!
The most fabulous kitty store in old Arkansas.
We have Animal Twists and Meow Mix too.
Mom and Dad, there are kitties waiting for homes with you.
They are being weighed and petted around.
We’ll sell them to you cheaply, by the pound.
Come one come all, down to the Candy Cat Paw!
Sugar mice are free, down in old Arkansas
Happy birthday, Sister Elsa,
It's known for its abundant park;
The wilderness of Arkansas
Hosts the night beasts in the dark.
Topic: Birthday of Elsa Mercurio (March 22)
Caves and lakes, pine trees, apple orchards.
Festivals to honor summer, spring, and fall.
Arkansas has the hillbilly music I grew up on.
Blue grass too. Grab a fiddle and join us!
The roads are winding and hilly for this is the Ozarks.
If you are visiting Arkansas, make it in the fall
When the apples, pumpkins and gourds are ready.
Everything will be decorated in lively oranges and yellows.
There is a diamond mine, recommended highly.
I have started out there several times but stopped along the way
And spent my money on homemade honey and biscuits,
Jimmy Dean sausage and enough gravy to soak a car.
They believe in country hospitality
Big breakfasts, large families, feuds,
Story-telling, whittling, and diddling.
It is a nice place to relax and take a breath.
Attended an Arkansas small-town celebration
a few years ago somewhere on the map,
where two-lane roads were in need of repair,
driving for hours and eating dust caused despair.
We met our friends at a specific destination,
so glad to see familiar and friendly faces,
had an opportunity to take a picture with a queen,
an honorable title of Miss CatfishTeen.
The highlight of the day was a picnic feast,
all you can eat fresh fish, coleslaw and taters,
walking up to the long line my shorts fell down,
exposing two shiny moons much to my frown.
The lesson of this story is to check the elastic
on your shorts and keep a safety pin in pocket,
also to remember to wear your Fruit of the Loom
in case you have a wardrobe malfunction of doom.
An Arkansas Traveler
All our troubles we wanted to unravel
Did travel on Arkansas road of gravel
Would have to hear a humming sound
Even though no other car was around.
Were astound by site of countryside
Forever there we both want to abide
Hearing sounds of horses and a cow
Where we wanted to live some how.
Like Arkansas there is no other place
People happy with smiles on each face
Part of what God had planned for them
In prayers every night they thank Him.
Dream came true and we now know why
Those in Arkansas live until they die,
And so many cemeteries can be found
Where birds sing with a sweet sound.
Just ordered a grave stone for Jill's mother.
They will not be able to install it until
after six months or so. People are dying
to get in and once they do they do not
want to leave. My wife Jill and her whole
side of the family were all born in the
Batesville, Arkansas area.
Jim Horn
Saw No Bra in Arkansas
First lady we ever saw
With now bra from Arkansas
A huge crowd did draw.
Both bosoms were at their best
Of time truly passed its test
As they stood at rest.
Raise up what could cause them to
Like soldiers always new
Short crew cuts should do.
When crew wanted to bail out
Orders they forgot to shout
Now do have much doubt.
While sleeping floor with her broom
In bra there was extra room
Took them to her tomb.
Previous plot did unfold
Which was finally grow old
Did what she was told.
Does that sound like the story
of your life after in the back
receiving a knife.
James Thesarious Hilarious Horn
Retired Veteran and Poet
Arkansas
OK, I hail from R-Kansas
That’s what some call the state
We’re the model of the future
Stuck in 1958
My cousins are your cousins
Our DNAs the same
And sometimes when we marry
We don’t have to change our names
In spite of public thinking
I still have all my teeth
‘Cept for 2 or 3 the top ones
And 3 or 4 beneath
I lost some in a bar fight
The others lost to chaw
My mother was an angel
I don’t even know my Pa
I have shoes but I don’t wear them
‘Cept with Sunday overhauls
We sing praises to our good lord
In our sleepy southern drawls
As for fishin’ and for huntin’
Well that’s a gull-durn given
If you ain’t killin’ somethin’
Then you ain’t really livin’
Don’t knock me for my birth place
I’m just having fun
It’s just the place where I grew up
And now I’m glad I’m “From”
Mdailey 3/31/12
Written for someone on facebook as a joke. I have never lived in Arkansas
Agent Arkansas kicked down the bolt lock door. He fired one round and once he was
out of shots he swung back out of the room to reload. The four men started flipping
tables for cover. Agent listened carefully to where they were hiding.
Reload-
Swing around the doorway
Fire-
One-Two-Three
-Missed
Four-Five-Six
-Hit
Return fire
Not one hit
Dive out of the room
Silence before the storm…
Agent waits for the three men left to reload. BETA breaks the quiet by telling him that
he should go while they are reloading.
Ignoring BETA, Agent, cocks his pistol and turns. He starts firing, killing two more-
leaving one left. He moves back behind the wall to reload and shoots one shot into the
last gunman’s chest.
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