Something lite
She'd fetch
Boy is Deep
Steep keep leap Jeep peeped weeping
Sweeper creep
That sneak
Deet spray
No way
Jose
Way far out
Hey gay laid by the bay
Speak
Stray tame
Lame
Game
Jingle jungle
Dangle fumble
Wavy lazy Hazy daze
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
Spree, mead spill
Krill thrill
Killer whale snail
Pale jail stale tale
Fail army sailor moon crescent
Wanton pondering fawn
At dawn spawn
Lawn care spare tire share
Hairdo spew unglued rude One Shoe knew
Hue of the cue that drew a muse too soon
Boom! Boom!
Today rockets won’t glare
And the bombs will not burst
For, although it’s July,
It is only the first.
Still, the calendar flips
And the stores are stacked high
With the burgers and hot dogs
That customers buy.
The humidity’s up,
The mosquitoes a’buzz,
So to get in the swing,
As most everyone does…
Find your sandals and shorts,
Grab the sunscreen and Deet
And accept that it’s summer,
With sunshine and heat.
Take a break from routine;
Have some chips and some beer
For we’ve somehow surpassed
The first half of the year.
Recalling how chiggers can itch
I'll still cross the muddiest ditch
the biggest blackberries to find.
Deet sends most critters to their niche.
Wrestling briers, a path I'll stake
while dreaming of cobblers to bake...
Whoa! my full pail I left behind
the moment I spotted a snake.
Returning with weapon in tow
and searching along with my beau
At last, I regain peace of mind,
he scares off the snake with a hoe.
Retrieving my bucket brim full
we hurry past fence and the bull.
Are they worth the grit and the grind?
You bet, homegrown blackberries rule.
July 31, 2022
Contest: Your Thoughts on Blackberries
Sponsor: Matt Caliri
A flock of large birds
or a fleet of small small planes
is speeding towards me.
NO! It's worse--mosquitoes!
I failed to use repellent!
I grab my swatter.
They slap it away, laughing--
my baseball bat too.
I’ll need a tub of itch cream,
maybe a transfusion.
The females descend
to feast on me; the males watch,*
rendering support
with cheering and clapping.
Next time I’ll use spray with DEET.
*Male mosquitoes do not bite living things; they can only consume sugary
fluids and thus do not bite or suck the blood of humans or animals. This was news to me!
August 21, 2021
entered in the Buggy Tanka Contest
Sponsor: M.L. Kiser
Have you heard that the
state bird of Alaska is the
mosquito which is the nasty
insect that flies around,
looking for a victim to be found.
Its blood-thirsty bite is
similar to a miniature
vampire who with teeth of
precision bites and draws
swooping down for its cause.
The rule of thumb is
to cover up head to toe
and not wear any perfume
or after-shave lotion or
you will be an object of its devotion.
When traveling in the great
outdoors of Alaska carry
a container of insect repellent,
preferably the dependable Deet,
making sure you spray your feet.
The mosquito of the great North
doesn't discriminate who it will attack,
redhead, blonde, gray, brown or black
heads of hair for it has a perpetual thirst
because its mighty tanks never burst.
Pitter patter of voyeuristic neighbors on retreat
An obsurd rapper missing a beat
A noisy fan having his posterior put on his seat
The last gasp of a coffee pot removed from the heat
A pesky pan handler groaning when being taken off the street
Interrupting rain in a boring soccer match turning into sleet
Whizzing mosquitos fizzing when sprayed with deet
Choppy waters cutting down showman, water skier's feet
Raspy moans of greedy kids when no candy results from trick or treat
Purring of a well-behaved baby that does not often bleat
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