Gray hair aged she dog
Big Nose has very few reads
No one interests in her everyday barks
And gruff ugly sound
A dragon, in waggin' his tail,
Unleashed a vast torrent of hail.
Though friendly enough,
If overly gruff,
He sure made it tougher to sail.
Originally published in Out on a Limb, an Anthology for Friends June 2020
Little dogs,
To show how “big” they are,
Growl and snap in a mean gruff bluff;
And “little men,”
Yell and beat their chests and their wives
To prove they’re big, rough, tough.
But when truly formidable challenges
Finally come their way,
Three guesses.
Who’s first to run,
And which dog has his day?
N egative messages
O n going harrassments
Tensions unending start
Miraculously bullied intimidated
Endless referrals
Basically stocked yet non retaliate
Execrable in so being left-alone
Iow grade honorable cowardice
Now likely to defend themselves
Gentle forbearing acceptance now easygoing
Guilting into shame
Resting now tolerant patient indulgent
Undemandling compromising forbearing
Friendly now in full repentant acceptance
Falling out of intimidating coercion arm-twisting constraint
10/12/2023
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2023©
The story about the Billy Goats Gruff
At best, we partially know
So let me tell you the rest of the story
But, just mainly, about the troll
You see, the billy goats don't really matter
Under the bridge is where we'll start
And I guess that everyone noticed
That the troll just wasn't that smart
He was kind of short and ugly
Cause trolls are pretty small
Did I mention this troll has a sister?
Yep, his twin, is my mother-in-law
They almost look identical
But she has a fuller beard
I knew my life was over
The moment that she appeared
Ok, I'm sorry, enough about my pain
So I guess we'll just move on
Anyway, the goats were all three brothers
But the troll was not alone
When the last billy goat charged him
And he suddenly began to fall
They forgot about his sister
Remember? my mother-in-law?
In truth, the goats were killed that day
And before you start to assume
Their heads are hanging on the wall
In my mother-in-law's living room
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