'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'
~ so is a wooden nickel
__________________________
Entry in 'Two Line Quote' contest
Sponsor: Rick Parise
March 24, 2025
“The Burning Bush”
At the Burning Bush
the dance cards
were passed
from palm to palm
the flowers plucked
from the wall by green
lounge lizards grinning
“music saved my life”, she said
“poetic”, the Comme des Garçons
like a boy on roller skates said
circling like a shark with
two in hand for what it’s worth
the Burning Bush girl remonstrates
she understands,
“Tango Down?
That’s not a question.
Now.” she demands
“It’s a right Charlie Foxtrot,”
he says skating backwards,
“Look at all that Chest Candy,
it’s enough to make you
want to put on your
Jesus Slippers.” Front on
she bats her eyes, like
its a home run, she replies,
“It’s a real Soup Sandwich
out there Oscar Tango Mike
the Alpha Charlie Ate-up Bravo Zulu
deploy your Sky Blossom,”
she says, back to the wall,
“Tango Uniform
Delta,
Tango Down
Charlie Mike
Oscar Mike
Kaos captive,
Agt 99, H.Q.
holding Control
down”
(LadyLabyrinth / 2023)
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"
codes embedded in dossier boxes, below
Stupid Things People Say.
.
Stupid things people say
I hear them every day
.
Is it the weather or me?
How do you want your tea
In or out
Well it make more sense to have it in a cup
To me
.
Is that a guitar on your shoulder?
No it’s an ironing board
And a boulder
Can you play?
No I just carry it about all day
.
Is that a camera are you filming?
No I’ve got something stuck in my eye
Goodbye
.
Are they your dogs?
No I’m taking them back for the ransom money
Are you trying to be funny honey?
.
It always rains but never pours
So you've been to this planet before?
.
I’m going shopping for a bargain
Not if you didn’t want it in the first place
Not another frying pan and cardigan
.
Money makes the world go round
Well if it does
Here’s half a crown
.
I bet you were a beautiful baby
I still am beautiful
Lady
.
The wheels on the bus go around and around
Of course they do
Or we’d never get around
.
The grass is always greener on the other side
Not if you have a mudslide
.
You never know what’s around the corner
I do
Big Ada I have to warn you
.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush?
.
Peter Dome©2020.
To 'ride on somebody's coat tails'
Is the most dangerous thing you can do
'Keep a stiff upper lip' is another cliché
Mine's not stiff, how about you?
'One good turn deserves another'
Turns my stomach if you must ask
'There's no fool like an old fool'
I'm quite offended by the last
'Sticks and stones will break my bones'
Can break someone's heart as well
So if somebody up and says this to you
Tell them to go straight to hell
'A penny for your thoughts' is yet another
That's pretty damn cheap I'd say
A dollar would certainly be more in line
With the times we live in today
'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'
Who made up this silly old verse
A bird in the hand is quite messy I'd say
Poop on your fingers or worse
So I've come to the obvious conclusion
Concerning the debunking of clichés
Refuse to use 'em coz people abuse 'em
You'll wind up much happier I say
© Jack Ellison 2013
Somebody told me that cliches are dead
But what if I run out of things to say
Can I say "to know me is to love me"
Or "tomorrow is just another day"
What about "liars never prosper and cheaters never win"
Would I be accused of reviving the dead
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"
Or is it "an ace in the hole instead"
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder"
Or if you fall "it's only a scrape"
What if I tell them to "button your lip"
Will they get "all bent out of shape"
But I'm "at the end of the pecking order"
So how much can I really know
I'll never use cliches again
Right after " I told you so"
Jealousy, greed, or something in between.
A belated response: my chance has already been.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush -
you being with him reminds me of the path I should’ve took.
A mocking jeer at my self-indulgent indecision,
clouded sense of self-worth, I truly believed I was omniscient.
Disregarded your beauty, the pure essence of your personality.
Sacrificed what could’ve been the love of my life, for the sake of my vanity.
Lamenting the error of my ways gives rise to nothing other than pain.
I thought I was a player, but got played by the game.
Engrossed in whatever seemed the biggest challenge, when it was clear-cut,
we were intended for one another and I messed that up.
Don’t want you to be my Rosaline, be my Juliet:
Otherwise I may lose my mind in a cyclone of regret.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
But man is slaved to fate,
No fun or spontaneity
Unless you speculate
You can’t keep a good man down
The candle’s sturdy wick,
Yet alcohol and ageing
Seems to do the trick.
Let he who is without sin
The first stone seek to cast
Attack is the best defence,
May as well be first as last.
Life is like a box of chocolates,
Yet as we grow old and greyer,
The top ones are all gone,
And the best from the bottom layer.
A woman is like a fine wine
With time she will mature,
But men by nature love to taste
A vintage that is newer.
The pen is mightier than the sword
Or so it has been writ,
Unless you’re in a sword fight
And then you’re in deep ….
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