I was in a bear of a mood
You need to hibernate my husband said
I thought he needed some refrigeration
Pictured him hanging in a meat cooler
He thought it was me
I knew it was him
We have a saying “when the horse is dead dismount”
This worked for us for a number of years
We are older now
Maybe senile, forgetful
Neither of us would let the issue go
Stirring the other one up like we did when we were young
Maybe we just wanted to feel our juices again
Streetlight dander. Jawbone asphalt.
Blink razors carve her iris script.
Rib stars ovulate in feral grates,
mechanical tongue juts a bloodline breath.
Keystroke ruin writes in collapse,
a waveform lodged in sternum glass.
Lipsticked rodeo—a gash in faded denim
Banana-knuckled hands torch filterless ghosts.
Tree-call through copper root systems.
Wire-pluck storm,
vapor chews the stock market
Cancer caught in molar hush,
brined in citrine static.
She opens her throat like a coin purse.
Spine bows in semaphore.
We dismount the edge—
An incisor cusp,
the confession still blistering
beneath the flesh of no language.
#1 When I am wrapped with a feeling of ecstasy
vulnerability of the sea - side to side, overboard, dismount
my husband and I used to argue
weeks after a verbal agreement should have been over
we were silly about it
heckling and harassing each other
over things that do not matter
ridiculously egging and goading
my husband told me a story about a soldier
the soldier kept beating his horse after it had died
his commanding officer said “the horse is dead, dismount”.
now when the argument reaches a silly stage
one of us yells “the horse is dead, dismount”
this has worked to end our idiocy for the last fifty years.
Two pixies dressed in October clothes
Were dancing on wings of an autumn leaf
Their lively footwear was fun to watch
Neither seemed concerned we were there
Twirling and whirling, on tippy toes
They showed off their dance moves
As the elm leaf floated to the ground
Where they would safely dismount
Days Of Man
Miracle Man 1/2024
Man is born of passion facing unknown days,
void of life thoughts and path he’ll be facing.
He’ll face cloudy days, an inducement to frays,
also dreams of rainbows he’ll soon be chasing.
As his days mount he beholds a faint design,
still he fathoms not his allotted days count.
As age accumulates he finds fewer days to shine,
And the question lingers about life’s dismount.
Only God knows man’s steps
and the time allotted to get through them.
Tom
You may conquer
on horseback
but to rule
must dismount
Pandora
lies waiting
new blood
for the fount
Napoleon
Attila
Augustus
afield
The vanquished
in chaos
till order
—congeals
(Dreamsleep: October, 2023)
Look at me
I am a cat
Iam lithe and lean
An acrobat machine
Nothing is too hard for me
I can walk the tight rope and look down upon the world
Don't you wish you could see what I see?
I have vision
I see far and wide
I know what is coming before you do
But I don't care
Because I am a cat
I do care about that mouse down there
I will gracefully dismount the high place
And study you, mouse!
I shall lay in wait
I am patient
I am goal oriented
I will corner you
And toy with you
Exhaust you
And then I will eat you
You are what I care about
What's right in front of me
I am a cat
"...... define the moment or the moment will define you."
-Walt Whitman
Driven to succeed, dare now to achieve
Desire for accomplishment’s blessing flow
Determined against trials, to God… cleave
Delight yourself amidst fulfillment glow.
Dreams toward victory can start today
Do maximize chances with all your might*
Depend on the Lord Who guides through the way
Doubt not His Word that teaches what is right.
Direct your steps this moment forward
Dismount from confusion-ride for faith’s fly
Define clearly role as Christian steward
Demands of work …meet…despite hardship’s sigh.
Destined to win along the Saviour’s side
Decide for optimized triumphant bliss
Distinguish yourself with finisher-pride
Duty … keep on minding from heart’s abyss.
*Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Didactic in quatrain with alliteration
June 9, 2023
1st place, "Writing Challenge - D Quotes" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Constance La France; judged by 6/11/2023.
An interesting form indeed:
this one’s the Shrinking Verse.
The more you let your ink pen bleed,
the more, stanzas get terse.
The opposite, I must concede,
for sure, would be much worse.
I can’t draw forth the words I need,
an older poet’s curse.
From eight to six to four to two,
so goes the stanza’s count.
Like run-off rain will often do,
a trickle from a fount,
and when you’ve pared to pairs, you’re through:
time for the big dismount.
The rhyming pattern does repeat;
’Tis just an ‘a’ and ‘b’.
The ‘a’ line always has four feet;
The ‘b’ line, only three.
In truth, it’s not that much to ask,
so I will not shrink from the task.
----------
The Shrinking Verse has a decreasing number of lines per stanza, typically 8/6/4/2, but you could start at 12 or 10 as well.
The rhyme pattern, 8a:6b, repeats as many times as is needed for the stanza.
The exception is that the final couplet is 8a:8a
Mouse skier with a zizzle and a zazzle
Never suffers from frostbite or razzle
We cannot get him to dismount his skis
Coaxing him with all kinds of stuff including please.
He will no doubt be an Olympian mouse.
I see him out there, projecting over a house.
He’s got ramps in our kitchen, including one on the sink.
When my mother sees him up there, her face turns quite pink
Why can’t you practice at your own house? She asks.
This is one of my houses, he says, getting out his blue flask.
We did not realize we were sharing our home with him.
He is one of my besties now, his name is fat Jim.
In your youth, a bit of a hellion
Septuagenarian, begone rebellion
In midlife, having gone green
Please dismount that stallion
Now as King, let your one cause be
~ Caring for humanity
Great moments in childhood
THE PLAYGROUND.
Responsible for
bumps, bruises, broken bones
busted egos
Redeemed by
spontaneous acts of wisdom
retaliation, retribution and mercy.
THE “JUNGLE BARS”
A ten foot high tower
ruled by a reincarnated
Olympic gymnast.
THE “SEE-SAW”
An 18 foot plank
Balanced on a fulcrum
(never trust the other kid
to dismount slowly and ease you down)
THE CENTRIFUGE
(aka the kid killer)
A 12 foot in diameter lever powered device.
Purpose - to allow children to spin so fast
that they could be thrown in a tumbling
mass across the stone strewn ground.
THE “SLIDE”
A 15 foot long metal chute
Capable of reaching temperatures of 125 degrees
on a perfect “let’s go play in the park” day.
THE “SWINGS”
A controllable Grandfather Clock
capable of inducing great fear and excitement
and an insatiable desire to get higher – faster.
(often thought of as a “gateway drug”)
John G. Lawless
©6/15/2021
Could not find the kitty again; called her, she was too smart to meow.
At the top of the Christmas tree; dog told me with his gruff bow wow.
She was above two of my favorite glass bulbs, posed precariously.
Purple bulb from Russia, and my Gold K bulb from Grandma McPhee.
I removed them before I coaxed cat, who did not want to climb down.
Dog barking furiously now, he is a mighty hunter, this three hand hound.
Give me a break I told him, chasing him away from the Christmas tree.
I urged Poindexter to dismount; she was a head or two taller than me.
Poindexter knew she was in a heck of a fix, but she could not move.
So I put on some music, and I began to sway, shimmy and groove.
That did not work so I put some wet cat food on a plate.
The dog ran out from the kitchen and carried it off; what a mate!
Cat nip someone whispered inside my brain, it was the cat fairy!
So I sprinkled some around the rug at the bottom, it blew up kind of airy.
Poindexter was down fast, tree shook and quaked. She was very meek.
Had talk we always have, as it was her third time up there this week.
Donald has a problem with the vote count,
Threatens legal proceedings he will mount!
Trump losing his post now widen..
Thanks to our trust in Joe Biden
This lying, cheating clown should soon dismount!
Completely your choice (38) any topic any theme
Brian Stand
Written 05/11/2020
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