fastidious Freddie Farnsworth forever finicky,
favored fourteen fixed formulas for fur-making.
Foregoing fantastical features, fiendishly finagling
fine-tooth-comb formulas, flabbergasting a five-star
fleet of flim-flam fellows from Finland.
He stood there looking cool.
No rush, he'd catch the next cab.
He rather enjoyed the rain.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Death walks slowly down the street
with the hood pulled way down low
ain't no sound no not even his feet
his hourglass ready to go
are you ready hey are you ready for this
are you sitting on the edge of your seat
out of the doorway the soul-scythe rips
the end prepare to meet yeah
'bomp' 'bomp' 'bomp'
another goes to the dogs
'bomp' 'bomp' 'bomp'
another falls off his log
and another one gone and another one gone
another one down the bogs
hey I'm gonna get you too
another one pops his clogs
With apologies to Freddie Mercury (1946 – 1991) & Queen
Bright orange lobsters pointed their claws at their brother
When someone asked who had cut the cheese
The audience began to have a bit of a laugh with their mother
For they were outing each other, with a bit of ease
Who cut the cheese? Asked the magistrate again.
They pointed at each other; the sorry chaps
They probably both did it, said their truthful cousin Win
He had spent some time in their house during naps
Freddie made Queen famous
put them on the charts
made trans and crossdressing feel okay
wore the tightest smallest striped shorts we had ever seen
enlightened us
made Queen
Queen
Freddie, tipsy, and it showed
Freddie lived across the road
Freddie knew she would explode
Freddie was a big, fat toad
Frannie waited in the bog
Frannie worried ‘bout the fog
Freddie, out and drinking grog
Frannie was a fretful frog
Freddie thought he had the jump
Freddie launched off from the stump
Driver didn’t hear the thump
Now poor Freddie’s not so plump
My tears were all for Fred.
My brother has already died;
My mother and my dad and then
The Tom to whom I had been wed.
Through it all, I'd been dry-eyed.
(They stalk me at night in bed.)
The phone call came that Fred had died
And a bomb went off in my inside!
I howled, I pounded things and cried!
I still don't fully comprehend;
I heard he was a real good guy,
But I hardly knew old Fred!
Kitty Cat and Freddie Dog were on a merry jaunt
They were always together, a compatible pair, jocund
As they strolled along, they had found
In one corner of the compound, a raised mound
Curious to know what was hidden underground
Freddie Dog sniffed and smelled all around
He started digging by and by and had found
A mouse living silent, home bound
Freddie persuaded him to come out to the ground
But seeing kitty cat, he was afraid to come around
He thought they were planning to surround
And feared, cat would jump on him like a hound
To dismal thoughts, his mind was bound
And in terrible agony he was drowned
He knew a cat was a rat’s enemy, renowned
Right at that critical moment, their master did descend
To take them home, not allowing them to hang around
Mealy mouse so relieved retired to his home underground
Placed First
April.21.2022
Nursery Rhymes . 3. Poetry Contest
Sponsor- Eve Roper
amphibian
family ranidae
as tadpole dart&play
then losing gills& tail
metamorphosed
frog-thumbnail
one to our small
pond arrived
leaped& to the bottom
dived
so friendly so tame
Freddie
became his name
never sure why he
chose our place
to sejourn
his summer base
mornings sleeping
'neath the reeds
siesta in sublazed weeds
by night
dining on slugs&snails
by dawn
back without fail
when summer
drew to a close
hibernating
somewhere near
in dormant pose
Freddie the frog with the lopsided hop
would travel in circles 'til he tired and stopped,
then jumped into the pond with a giant kerplop
as the bullfrogs laughed and croaked 'til they dropped.
It mattered not where Freddie was bound,
even when swimming he went round and round -
amongst all the pollywogs he was renowned
for going and going and not gaining ground.
Poor Freddie had no trouble just staying busy
but circling and circling made him so dizzy;
he lived in a pond he never could cross
but one thing's for sure, he never got lost.
So no matter your problems, or where you start,
you'll always get home if you just trust your heart!
A nod to Theodor Geisel
Freddie the furlough
Sat there with his Merlot
Watching the sun go up and down
While his body got tan and brown
They said they had full control
That is what Freddie the Furlough was told
Sitting in his cubicle one day
They came over to say, ‘you are still going to get pay’
Are you asking me to take an absentee leave?
Despite my hourly wages having not much of a fee
It is time for you to go
They repeated to Freddie the Furlough
You do not need me
I do see
Without a tear
Freddie the Furlough got up having no fear
Tired of all this shtick
Considered office tricks
Freddie the Furlough knew he performed his tasks
Honestly not needing to hide behind any corporate flask
Resulting in wearing the afternoon mask
Freddie the Furlough did not fold
Instead he was pretty bold
In dealing with this feeling of cold
From this job they thought he loved
And in reality the one he was ready to shove
Freddie the Furlough
Finished his Merlot
With enough cash in his tin
And knowing that the day was a win
Entitling Freddie the Furlough to a Jimmy Buffet happy hour fin
bending my mind around his words, makes me feel like a contortionist
For Bobby May’s contest “Who Flips Your Trolley?”
Mercurial freedom
Beyond sexuality
Love trumping weakness
—truth beyond lies
(Villanova Pennsylvania: October, 2019)
Farrokh Bulsara a.k.a. Freddie Mercury
British singer, songwriter known universally
Confirmed he had AIDS and then died the next day
His music through Queen still rocks us all the way
Fast Buck Freddie,
Was an interesting guy
He could sell you a bakery
When you needed a pie
He could hustle a jacket
In the middle of summer
Or unload a pool
When you asked for a plumber
And as he was also an amorous fellow
The ladies had better be ready
For nothing seems to cramp the style
Of the infamous Fast Buck Freddie
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.