METRONOME
The Arctic winds blew
The bitter cold slew
High in the sky
The birds of prey flew
The Heavens reached down
Wings, white as whey
We gathered around
The metronome played
We walked in the clouds
We died where we lay
Still begging for bread
Hands frozen, we prayed
The pendulum swung
The traitors, hung, swayed
We gathered around
The metronome played
Before the sun rose
We crawled and we cleaved
The flesh under snows
We ate, so we breathed
The sirens, slow wailed
The traitors, shot, brayed
We gathered around
The metronome played
872 days of cold, hunger & death was the siege of Leningrad. When the radio was not playing patriotic music to boost the morale of the citizens, it broadcast the beat of a metronome ... The faster the beat, the more imminent an attack.
Change vomited dark entrails
Of the bald vulture on my clan;
We were buried,
One after the other,
In the belly of the village stream,
And pulled out
Almost immediately
To choruses that had no place
When waist dance shared peace
From the full moon;
We have brayed and prayed
In the names of strange ancestors
Printed in a book of curses, blessings,
And chronicles of their blessed exodus
But we have been sinking
Down the understream
Among the half dead and the forgotten;
We reek of bile throws
From a turn in history
When our men were led from line
By yellow ants
Thus change has treated
MY clan this badly.
Old MacDonald had a farm
With some noisy critters on it.
They mostly mooed, or neighed,
Or clucked, or brayed,
But some stayed
Resolutely mute,
I'm afraid.
It wasn't his equines,
Or bovines,
Or fowls,
Or anything lodged in his barns or corrals,
But a couple of rather recalcitrant vowels.
The "e" and the "i" and the "o"
Answered the call,
While the "a" and the "u"
Stayed conspicuously AWOL.
Lamb Chop really wanted to ride the pink bear
The bear shrugged and said “I don’t care”.
Donkey friend stood on carousel on a dare.
Elephant tried to outpace the solemn bear.
I watched Lamb Chop’s eyes, from my white mare.
She was laughing in earnest, happy with the fair.
Donkey friend brayed, his voice hoarse in the air.
People in the stands turned to stop and stare.
It was the best time ever Lamp Chop said in her lair.
Which was a shoebox under Sherry’s bed, so fair.
The lid was shut, which made my eyes slightly glare
I thought we needed another ride on that pink bear.
Once upon a donkey’s back,
as I rode I heard a quack.
Donkey worriedly shook his head.
“It’s a duck!” he brayed with dread.
I was surprised and could not speak.
Why would docile Donkey shriek?
Duck was not a fearsome foe.
Why did Donkey fear him so?
“Donkey,” I asked, “why do you fear?
Duck is merely following us here.”
“I don’t wish Duck to be so near.
His intent to me is not clear.”
“If Duck desires to ride with us,
I’m sure you won’t put up a fuss.”
But Donkey quickened up his pace
with a dark frown on his face.
I pleaded Donkey to slow down.
“Duck only wants a ride to town.”
His response was plain insane.
“Duck intends to pull my mane!”
So we refused poor Duck a ride.
My deep concern I could not hide.
I looked in wonder at Donkey,
his wacky fear a bit wonky.
Once there was a man named Trump,
Whose hair was quite the frump,
He tweeted and he blustered,
But his speeches all just flustered.
He called himself a businessman,
But really just a Twitter fan,
He touted his great wall plan,
But ended up with no real stand.
With each golf game he played,
The American people just brayed,
For they knew this man's charade,
Would lead our country to fade.
So let us all come together,
And vow to make Americba better,
Without this man's orange weather,
We'll prosper and succeed forever.
The puppet pranced
The strings frayed
A jackass brayed
As poppin’ hoppys
Sat and rose
In ballet dance
Of well browned nose
Applause and “clapture”
of Stockholm rapture
A mocking strut
Of failing stature
Overseers jaundiced eyes
Pundits seeking pulitz prize
Dissect the metaphoric frog
Wash it down with pints of grog
Amidst the spin of liars din
They shout pick me let’s ride again
Update quickly twitter feeds
Sating lustful twitter needs
Condense a two hour monologue
Into a twenty-five word blog
Check the facts, don’t be a chump
It’s just another “word soup” dump
John G. Lawless
©2/8/2023
The Donkey of Destiny
The party was set, the guests were invited,
The adults were happy, the kids all excited.
All going to plan; the hosts were delighted,
Then the Donkey of Destiny brayed – he-haw!
The Donkey of Destiny brayed.
The Board of Directors set forth their campaign,
To conquer their industry, supremely reign,
To guarantee ultimate financial gain,
Til the Donkey of Destiny brayed – he-haw!
The Donkey of Destiny brayed.
Military leaders made their decision,
Troops were deployed with painstaking precision.
Soon they would realise their tactical vision,
Then the Donkey of Destiny brayed – he-haw!
The Donkey of Destiny brayed.
To amuse the young children, a day out was planned,
Buckets and spades and sunshine and sand.
Ice-cream and fish-and-chips; seaside brass band,
But the Donkey of Destiny brayed – he-haw!
The Donkey of Destiny brayed.
There’s nothing as fickle as Destiny’s Donkey,
Capricious as weather, and sly as a monkey,
Be certain that everyone’s hopes will turn funky,
When the Donkey of Destiny brays – he-haw!
When the Donkey of Destiny brays.
I chose to run but had I stayed
I’da been an ass and loudly brayed
©11/2/2022
I sat on the back of a burro
The little fella brayed
Then I tried a quarter-horse
The big guy neighed
Did I mention we were on the moon
Thought I was a jockey for a day
as the hen settled down on her eggs
and the burro brayed his last bray
the moon slowly rose in the sky
fulsome and round to the eye
sated calves nuzzled up against udders
while fillies snuggled into their mothers
lambs curled up beside sheep
the world had plunged into sleep
yet denizens of the dark kept on going
internal time clocks never slowing
night crawlers dancing 'til dawn
miles from the doe and her fawn
In the land of Timbuktoo
Two people lived there, one was you
The population went up to three
When a monkey fell from a tree
The monkey made an awful clatter
His family came down to see what was the matter
They all make a terrible to do
As over their heads flew a cockatoo
The cockatoo squawked, "What the heck?"
And bit a monkey in the neck
A sleepy mole came out of his hole
As a slippery snake slithered down a pole
A wolf howled from far away
In a shed a donkey brayed
"What's all the hullabaloo?"
Said a passing red kangaroo
Chasing after a frightened rat
Came a hungry, angry cat
A mouse scurried by in a hurry
It knew it had cause to worry
A lamb said "baa". a horse said "neigh"
You and I ran away
Realizing it wasn't fair
To have human beings living there
A barn on a hill.
Beside was a wheat mill.
Corn grew in tall stalks.
"Ding, Dong!" said the clocks.
Early morning sunshine.
Finally 'twas feeding time!
Grass was the main course.
Hay for the horse.
I fed seed to the hens.
Jersey Cows in their pens.
Kid goats brayed.
Llamas strayed.
My kitten was purring.
Nobody was listening.
Oh, the pigs are squeeling.
Piggies, I'm coming!
Quickly, I ran to the shed.
Roosters, waiting to be fed.
Sheep with their fuzzy wool.
Turkeys want a handful.
Under the warm sun’s heat.
Vegetables, washed and ready to eat.
Watered the lawn early today.
Xeriscaping now takes place.
Y’all would’ve loved this day.
Zip-dee-doo-da-yay!
Strong Coffee Ate A Silver Spoon
Strong coffee ate a silver spoon
Blind feline lapped up the spilled milk
Sweet relief cannot come too soon
I slept on sheets of finest silk
Gone such dreams with vanishing moon
Dry toast from molded bread was made
Served with the world's gold gilded lies
Sides of temptations, well displayed
Seeds of regrets in cherry pies
I, a blind jackass, sorely brayed
Eggs were scrambled while feeling pain
Table sighed, "Why am I left bare?"
Except for heartache's tenured stain
and foolish pride that placed it there
I hear cries in horrid nightmares
Plum jam scooped from a broken jar
Morn's mirror showed my old hurts
bludgeoned by love's iron bar
Stove hissed at me, "Your just desserts!"
I deserved each deeply etched scar
Robert J. Lindley, April 2nd, 2002
Rhyme, (Early dawn, Breakfast speaks, Life's foibles)...
The old black man came riding up
On a wagon pulled by a mule
In the wagon he had a plough
And some other old rusty tools
As best I recall it was late in the fall
Of nineteen sixty two
He said hello and told my dad
He was looking for something to do
And for a fee would unhitch Ol' B
They'd plow up the garden out back
The old man smiled as they dickered awhile
Then began to unpack
Ol' B wore blinders as he walked behind her
It only took them a bit
With all of the kids from the neighborhood
The pair had made quite a hit
Put the cash in his pocket gave her a carrot
Hooked up and went on their way
As the old man whistled to the clippity-clop
The old mule loudly brayed
an original poem by the "poemdog" Daniel Turner
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