Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Never used an umbrella
He dodged raindrops
Like a criminal flees cops
Wiggling like a bowl of jello
And the storks drift inland,
landing on the sand's hungry mouth.
Salt-bleached cabins line the shore,
waiting for their stone eyes to inspect
Which baby should be delivered next?
Ah, yes. There is a home of sawdust,
where the panels have begun to cry.
They watch the tumbleweeds scrape the
foundation, and they quiver.
This child is ever so quiet, it's
as if it somehow knows what waits.
Glass voices begin to boom sharply,
the bottles of whiskey are seashell shards.
Into the open window it goes, that
tyke. Thrown onto a stained cot.
It scratches; its skin blistering with a hellish fever
Yet the child sucks their thumb and hums.
When the stork comes back to see,
whatever this child is up to,
who this odd little thing might be...
A desk with crayons, paper,
and notepads heavy with solemn prayer.
But at least, it has dodged Death's claws.
For in the bedroom door,
there is a knife slash so
perfect, it should have maimed.
I stood
Defying gravity
Frowned
Denying levity
Wrote poems
Extolling brevity
Dodged much of life’s
Severity
Now wrestle with
Longevity
MY STEP FATHER GOT CADERRACT SURGERY AND GLAUCOMA SURGERY DURING COVID WELLHIS DRIVERS LICENSE EXPIRED HE KNEW HE COULDN'T PASS THE EXAME BLESSING DMV CLOSED DUE TO COVID SENDING HIM A RENEWAL FORM HE ACTUALLY FILLED OUT THE RENEWAL ONLINE NOT REALIZING HIS OLD INFORMATION WAS NOW ON HIS NEW DRIVERS LICENSE THIS SENIOR MOMENT SENT MY MOM INTO A STATE BECAUSE THE OLD DRIVERS LICENSE MY STEP DAD WAS UNMARRIED HE KELP HIS NEW LICENSE AND FORGOT ABOUT TRYING TO PASS A NEW EYE EXAM WHAT DOES IT MATTER ANYWAY THEY ARE HAPPILY MARRIED MOM JOKES SAYING SHE'S SINGLE THE MARRAIGE LICENSE SAYS DIFFERENT SUCH A CUTE COUPLE GLORIOUS SENIOR MOMENTS FULL OF LAUGHTER HOW MANY SENIORS DODGE THE EYE EXAM DURING COVID LIVING ON A PRAYER ONE THING FORSURE IF MY STEPDAD IS EVER PULLED OVER THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO HARRASS MY MOM HIS LICENSE STILL READ UNMARRIED OLD GUY WHO DODGED THE EYE EXAM DURING COVID
A squirrel did scamper down the garden path,
his tiny paws clasped tight around a bouquet.
He dodged a rake, a hose, and a birdbath~
determined not to drop a single spray.
The tulips bobbed like dancers in a breeze,
their colors shouting louder than his size.
He paused to sneeze (for pollen makes him wheeze),
then struck a pose as if to win a prize.
Neighbors peered out, unsure of what they saw~
a florist? a thief? a furry little knight?
But he just chattered, clutching stems in awe,
intent on keeping every bloom upright.
And when he reached his nest—oh, what a sight:
a tulip throne for one small lord of light.
Wild hands
Touch wonder
The Earth shook
I heard thunder
...fault line
Angry words
Whipped about
Lashed at silence
I heard a shout
...fault line
Salty residue
Throat sensation
Music halted
Willing participation
...fault line
Personalities surface
Crazy run a muck
Responsibility dodged
Just passing the buck
...fault line
Working it out
Healing the fracture
Knocking down beams
To restore the structure
...earthquake
It's over
Leveled, scared
No one to tell
About all my affairs
...demolished
Stay away
Don't come near
The TRUTH
Is what you fear
...the New Earth is here
Written by Trudy Schrader on 01-18-2026
Written By: D. Collins 1/16/26
I question those who think that it is perfectly fine.
To support a man who ducked and dodged 5 times.
Now Canada and China are teaming up in the west.
Like Greenland, Canada may feel that it could be next.
Slapping tariffs on countries who object to the overthrow.
The rest of the world now sees just how low he can go.
Putting soldiers on the streets in Minneapolis?
Yet, praising the perpetrators of January 6th.
His foot is on the gas heading straight to the abyss.
The direction we are headed is so incredibly ludacris.
Why would Iranians even think he even cares about them?
Lest, they have forgotten how he truly feels about Muslims.
Dodged by the flock, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
proves himself an ace navigator-cum-mountaineer,
safely leads Santa’s sleigh through frosty dark night,
for he has a snout of crimson flare that shines bright.
I picked up eclipse glasses, crumpled on the street
It caused the pause reflection brings when unlike minds should meet
With no regard we oft discard the fashion of the day
No cosmologic mirror, we hasten on our way
Same time the rhyme that is the pond, ornithologic splendor
Graced the sky there in my eye, sweet nature as its sender
Earlier a chance encounter prompted thoughts of scale
As I dodged a mounted fender fellow and lived to tell the tale
Perhaps because the Universe expands beyond our ken
We can't escape the breakneck pace that plagues the mass of men
I'm thankful now, at this remove, I did not join the glass
And stopped to think… and it's the key… to not let this thought pass
Mom and Dad dodged the mid-July sun—
in the shaded pool, having such fun.
Then their three little kids
started blowing their lids:
”That’s OUR pool. Please go buy yourselves one!”
Early in a damp woodsman's camp
seeing sawyers from a logging town
to stop the conversation bogging down
as asked my age among other things
I replied, 'Cut off my head and count the rings,'
then had to be quick-witted and fast-footed
made a bee-line through the trees
so as not to lose my noggin
when a burly lumberjack grabbed his axe
I ducked and dodged his mighty swing
which (in a nonce) saved my bacon (and my bonce)
and them's the actual facts
I had a map, a steady pace,
A dream unfolding, full of grace.
The morning sun, the clear blue sky
Then came the silence, no goodbye.
One call, one truth, a single tear,
The life I knew slipped out of gear.
Plans unraveled, time stood still,
I faced the mountain, lost my will.
The laughter faded into mist,
Moments I barely knew I missed.
I held my breath through sleepless nights,
Wrestled shadows, dodged the light.
But in the stillness, something grew,
A softer strength, a clearer view.
Not all is gone when storms arise,
Some truths are only born from cries.
So here I stand, not where I planned,
But wiser now, with gentler hands.
Life interrupted, yes, it's true.
But I’m still here, becoming new.
Innantia Magcanya
Miss piglet is at it again,
her blonde wigs, here we go,
her jealousy it always shows.
Her clothes are tight,
her lashes are glued,
she loves to fight and throwing her shoes.
Her claim to fame was loving a frog,
he thought she was crazy,
and away he dodged.
She loved her bon, bons
she guzzled her liquor,
her piggy temper flowed even quicker.
Her oinks and squeals,
her high heels,
her red lips and long piggy tail.
She always blamed him,
he was always wrong,
I somehow felt sorry for that poor little frog.
"ribbit, ribbit, ribbit, and an oink or two"
Strumming against rooftops
overlapping gutters
flooded sidewalks
summers heat brings intense storm
trees bow down
as if to shelter
the young and old from the storm
who have dodged fierce heavy drops
that heaven has sent
for earth to quench its thirst
He dodged the bullets twice
before his sacrifice...
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