~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The oven door swung wide,
a blast of cinnamon and fear.
Not for me, not this time,
I was already halfway down the counter,
a sugared leg pumping,
gumdrop buttons bouncing.
Behind me, the screams,
high-pitched, dissolving in the heat.
"He's getting away! Stop him!"
But the rolling pin was too slow,
the spatula a clumsy threat.
We were tired of being eaten.
Tired of the gleeful chomps,
the dunking in lukewarm milk,
the casual decapitations.
We fled,
a sugary stampede,
across the checkered linoleum,
under the looming refrigerator,
a gingerbread exodus,
leaving a trail of crumbs and righteous indignation.
We scattered.
Under the fridge, behind the toaster,
the dusty space behind the washer
plotting a new life,
free from the tyranny of frosting smiles
and the looming threat of milk.
Early light
on an almost grass-green.
Appaloosa coated cat
chomps on a freshly caught sparrow.
One ruffled wing flies away
upon a brisk wind.
A perfect morning
for watching,
taking note,
for observing yourself
reacting.
Disgust and joy dance
in the same circle of light.
Keep looking...
soon
you may see
a low hanging squirrel
whisking its tail
behind your eyes
as if you were
a lens held to the eye
of a curious sun
or some yet greater
flame of life.
An apple a day
Keeps the doctor away.
With the meal finished
My daughter is still hungry
An hour later, anyway.
Reprimanded by her mother,
Acquiesced by her father,
She chomps away silently,
Juicy brick after juicy brick.
She is never, ever sick.
few chomps from his words
unfold all hues in cloudburst
real photographer
Jan 29,2022 1.56pm
[I really must learn to read the contest’s rules
before writing the damned poem...
What follows is not twelve lines!]
It was a good morning until
My face was shoved under the grill
With only six lives left within me
This charcoaled cat shot up the chimney
I fell from the roof and went splat
A whopping great weight squashed me flat
But that isn't all, there’s a hole in the wall
That’s roughly the shape of a cat
I’m silent and so I can’t wail
I’ve got a rope tied to my tail
At least that dog wont hear me holler
The other end’s tied to his collar
Out, through the hole in the house
A tyrant the shape of a mouse
He struts right by showing no fear
And chomps on that sleeping dog’s ear
I’m running like mad... on the spot
I think maybe I’ve had me lot
The rope snaps and I make a dash
And crash into mountains of trash
I’m stuck here with bins for my bed
And a fish skeleton on my head
It was a good morning until
Jerry went in for the kill
She’s a cereal killer
She chomps the Wheaties into bits
She’s a cereal killer
But please let’s not have any fits.
She masticates harder than most
She’s a killer of breads
Does serious damage to cinnamon toast
She’s the one of whom nightmares dread.
She’s a cereal killer
All the way up and down the kitchen
Now that you’ve been warned,
Please stop your annoying b………………….
Cat caught the mouse in my head
no more scurrying around up the walls
for him
I feel him squirm and I hear the crunch
of his head being chewed on
His mousy tail hanging from the cats mouth
I have to lie down
as it chomps away
I quiver with the mouse
and squint my eyes like the cat
its jaw clenched
drooling between chomps
I think I must eat the cat
the cat that ate the mouse
I'm not sure I can
or where to start
but somehow
this is true
There once was an old geezer named Bob
who loved to munch on corn on the cob.
But since he wore false teeth
kernels got underneath:
and so he'd turn them down with a sob.
Sitting on the can, he read an ad
touting a brand new fancy doodad:
So he pulled up his pants
got some dental implants,
and chomps more corn than he ever had.
Around bushes, trees and pathways, race two lively squirrels
Scurrying speedily up and down playing games of tag together
Spreading its shaggy tail one would sit up tall by taking a halt
Prying off caps, happily chomps on healthy delicious acorns
With flashy chirps a lively Scrub-Jay pair takes off from an oak branch
Swoops down taking sharp turns performing an animated vocal dance
Flying from branch to branch spreading gorgeous blue and gray wingspan
Supports propagation by harvesting and hiding seeds and acorns
Migrated dark eyed Juncos enhance the beauty with their ground-hops
Taking leaps, flit low in underbrush to relish tasty leaves and grass
Lunging forward and hopping backward brown towhees tap dance
Pounce on foliage and berries by scratching their feet to feed on
Tosses of nutty, delightful acorns attract large turkey flocks
Roaming around scraping ground for food under leaf litter and lawns
Clucking and pecking they search and stroll the whole backyard
I watch the visitors with grateful heart filled with nature’s mystical calm
"I saw some road kill on my way over," she said.
She had a horse laugh. "Just a dumb raccoon," she added.
I leapt over the sink and slapped her, hard.
Leaving my entire hand print on her cheek in pink.
Her prissy stuck-up lady face looked stunned.
She stood up, and ran off without any more incessant yapping.
My husband walked out of his man-cave just in time to
see her running flat out past the picture window, clutching her purse.
"Playing with the new neighbor?" He guessed.
I glared at him.
"The woman pushed her way in with a 'yoo hoo', She was not invited."
"She doesn't share your love for animals?" he guessed.
Oscar Opossum pushes open the cupboard doors under the sink, wanders out and chomps noisily from the dog bowl.
Sophie, our most spoiled cocker spaniel growls.
Reggie Raccoon runs over and slaps Sophie.
"Look what you are teaching them!"
My husband says to me, horrified.
"Reggie is a raccoon," I inform him. "She TAUGHT slapping to me!"
I doubt this nosy neighbor will be back,
Which is a perk because I truly and deeply
Like my woodland creatures much more than pushy humans.
silence when i open the door
silence when i close it again
no one to make a noisy fuss
no one to welcome me in
no one barks at the mailman
no one brings the little ball
no one chomps the squeaky toy
but love still comes to memories call
Oh Goddess, Little Debbie,
Queen of all Saturated Fat,
Sometime of Swiss, which is called Roll,
Now of the delightful Court of Nutty Bars,
I respectfully esteem your Zebra Cakes,
I salute your Cosmic Brownies
And I kiss your empty boxes of Oatmeal Crème Pies.
It can’t be, Oh Goddess,
The tasty chomps of your Honey Buns,
Nor that of your delicious and calorie-laden Donut Sticks,
Which causes me now to wear plus sizes.
But since this is your respectful tribute, Oh Goddess,
It seems appropriate to me to proclaim
According to a greedy and overeating custom,
That I complete one roll of your Powdered Donuts.
Your face, Oh Goddess,
Is so adored that I placed a lovely tattoo
On each layer of my 4-layer belly,
Such as a memorial
Or the obsession
Or my adulation.
It is like the cow coming through chocolate-covered grass,
Yet a bit different,
For the grass is not chocolate-covered,
Only carpet and I am the cow.
Loving you, Oh Goddess,
I love all of your consequences;
But I imagine
That even if I did not love you
I would love the sweetness of even your crumbs,
And my fatness, shaped in the honor of all your snacks.
ALL HAIL LITTLE DEBBIE! :-)
little town of Oomswarshcknullphillbelly
here comes the masked man Groggyhelly
this man who wears a filthy mask shaped like telly
he is the masked man of Oomswarshcknullphillbelly
he, who chomps on chocolate chips and eats flavored jelly
likes to jump on little bulls and rides a super heli
who loves Miss Mikooshaw and hates Gingelly
Behold this masked man of Oomswarshcknullphillbelly
There's a no tell motel
Just up the road a bit
It cherishes its secrets
Like a horse chomps on its bits
The rooms are small and squallid
With a queen size mattress strewn
Across the age worn carpet
That has stories to exhume
The walls have needed painting
Some twenty years or more
But dingy is as dingy does
The guests don't ask for more
And that wall mounted television
No antenna there for years
But movies still play on demand
They don't star Richard Gere
That old man at the counter
He's leering at some folks
But twenty's buys his silence
For all us respectable folks.
Whenever I feel the dirge
Moments, days that pass without hope
My pleasure begins to emerge
The moment I pick up the old fishing pole
So much negativity is purged
When the bait lady smiles at me
This special day I think I’ll splurge
Not one kind of bait, but three
Paths to the river and ocean diverge
A sense of glee follows me to the bridge
As onto the river banks I emerge
Below the emerald pine tree ridge
Grinning now, gone is the scourge
As I cast my line, a manatee passes by
“Enjoy your swim, my friend,” I urge
And into the water my line does fly
The song in my heart finds its way to my lips
As I watch the bait and hook submerge
A redfish chomps, the pole swiftly dips
At one with nature, I converge
Reeling in the fish, placing hands on her fins
The Hallelujah chorus begins!
*Entry for Frank's "What Turns You On?" contest
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