There's a teddy bear with his feet in the air
in the middle of the cat's soft bed.
It was his favourite toy, his pride and joy,
'til he decided to rip off it's head.
If you believe as I've come to believe,
that reincarnation, by design,
brings serial killers back, who continue to attack
in the form of a fuzzy feline.
He has a skill for the hunt and the kill.
You just know he's been at it forever.
But the new disguise -those whiskers, those eyes -
well that was damn well clever.
Sept. 5, 2026
Long and sad goodbye at the airport.
Both struggling with health issues.
Undoubtedly last time these friends would meet.
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
You’re in a fine mess.
Admit it and embrace it.
This is the result of your obsession.
It’s time to deal with the consequences.
You’ve been avoiding reality way too long.
Lying to everyone and especially to yourself.
Sure you managed to fool people temporarily.
You even bought yourself a little time.
But it’s all been a worthless illusion.
You lost more than you bargained for.
You came way close to losing everything.
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Do not go gentle into that good night but rage,
rage against the dying of the light
—Dylan Thomas
sunny outside, not
cloudy inside; out
of my mind, mindless
wandering and wondering;
fine - fooling myself?
days tedious, no drums.
no inkling of a violin,
even to suffer with.
May be smoking hot,
but red skin is turning white.
falling up, failing to feel sorry
for oneself. calls limited
to a free for all. Fall
can’t come soon enough
with its brisk breeze,
booming colors, activities.
still, I will rest. I rest
in the curve
of the Almighty’s arm.
the arrow is set
in the string of the bow.
my smile longs
to jettison on the wind.
a windy day, to feel
the joy of friendship,
to fill my quiver
with euphoria.
still, we all must give up
a bit of ourselves,
not to be too full
of ourselves.
my puppy is lying on his back
wallowing around on the floor
the other two dogs give him strange looks
they are fooling no one here.
We know they used to do this when they were puppies.
They just forgot.
Who's Fooling Who?
Bloody murder, wild sex, torture and slime
Scammers and pushers and heinous crime
It's too much to bear
All the evil out there
Except for cable TV at prime time!
8/1/22
no-fooling-flowers
sprung up overnight, giant
stalk ~ Jack’s tiny seeds
5/2/2022
I let you see who you want me to be.
You give me that look, which tells me I’m doing great.
You are fooled into sharing your deep secrets.
Because I look like that kind of listener.
I am not, but I want you to think I am.
You are so grateful to my fake listening eyes
That you spill your guts into my lap
I covertly shake them out onto the floor
And stomp them thoroughly but secretly
So you keep talking, thinking that I care.
I am a master at not sharing any of my real self.
I was taught years ago that people take their cue from your eyes.
“The windows of the soul” some say.
Mine are on auto-pilot, slammed shut.
The hurricane shutters are tighter than those you buy at Home Depot.
But you look into them and you are completely fooled.
I am the master at showing you a false me whom you readily believe.
Saving the real me for someone who has never arrived.
April Fools is on the new horizon
When the next time the sun rises
There will be innocent fibbing and lying
Is it a prank, a joke?
Or just a forum for one to stand up to insult?
It is a whole day dedicated to giving
Laughter an opportunity to make a better living
Hopefully the day will be relaxed
And nobody will face the issue of being sacked
Beware of the pen
With the exploding ink it could send
Then there could be an alluring call
That rings inside the working stall
Look at things closer
Especially if the reading is off the informative poster
All in all a good little spook
Could end up as a romantic hook
And as time carries on
From the flirty spring fling con
He could walk down the aisle to say ‘I do’
Allowing her to reply, “April Fools on you”
The time had gone by
The days were shallow
The years were passing by
The counting had begun
It was too late
Tears rolled around the cheeks
The misery was unbearable
The plan had fallen apart
The truth was coming out
And to her, the riddle was solved
The sin was waiting
For the sinner
The evil deeds were disclosing
The murderer
All accomplished in a day
A thousand needles
with sharp shining points
cutting harshly in
tender soft flesh
burning hot needles
searing as they go
piercing deeper in
with every painful step
ripping caring agony
muscles ripping apart
in agony collapsing
on ground so very hard
weakly grasping lifting
strength and vigor gone
lifting climbing upward
unsteady standing barely
burning hot pain searing
piercing through tender joints
gasping sharp inhaling
bright shining tears appear
foolish belief blooming
desperate hope within
somehow just imagining
none is actually real
Insane self deceiving
imagined feelings are
unknown reasons fulfilling
unreal everything is
Couldn't hide his coy smile
He definitely had something up his sleeve
Mischief was on his mind
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Some birdies really...
Can be so unkind
All day pecking
Only gripes and whines
It's not hot enough
So she ups and flies
Down to Miami beach via South Carolina skies
She probably thinks... Oh Lord
I’m a Dodo bird
Maybe it's a secret lover, tell me, have you heard
Whoever it is...don't say
I don't bother mind
Blue Jay’s staying over and it’s tweeting time
Don't try me, I will see through,
If you cross that line, I will play the fool,
I'll make you believe you've got the upperhand,
I'll do it on purpose to see your true man,
If I think for a second your looking down on me,
I will study you dude, and your routine,
I will let you believe for a time I'm not onto you,
To watch your course of action, the next step that you choose,
It's far from deceiving, I guard my heart well,
I'll be damned if you think your gonna put me through hell,
So when I laugh n make jokes, and your think everything's ok,
Or when I make light of the conversation and smile and walk away,
I don't mind sharing my heart because I'm confident in me,
I don't need your validation, I'm already set free,
So unless you know yourself and I see your intentions are good,
You'll only be getting half of me, are we understood?
In black hot hue
Let the volcano spew
Everything changes
Every aggression is spent
Every narcissist disappears in himself
Mayhem in the bookshelf
Nothing is immutable
Neither space nor time
Nor sun nor moon
Let alone the focus on
Sovereignty and singularity
A monolithic spree
However omnipotence
It may exude
The presidency itself
Is an interlude
Within a boundary
Of brittle ego
With tenuous commitment
To democracy
Some say angel
Many others say wretch
Time smiles
Makes a sketch of the Statue of Liberty
Dwarfing the height
Broadening the expanse
In an egocentric trance
This time is crazy
Making the rainbow hazy
However formidable
It may sound and look
Bereft of imagination and color
In future
Even the demurely looking women
Will eventually wonder aloud
And their support they would disavow
Until the sovereignty blossoms from the nucleus
Of lovely apples
Born of the flowers of the rainbow nation
November 1, 2017
For the Contest: Eight Word Challenge - 5
Sponsored by John Hamilton
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