can you guess which pumpkin is mine? Barbie says to us.
No idea, lies Auntie Mame, Uncle Henry and my dog Gus.
I roll my hazel eyes at their pretensions, for next to the sink
lies a gorgeous long-lashed-eyed pumpkin completely in pink
sirens sound serious tonight
accident on I-70?
motorcycle that has been run off the road?
cows on the entrance ramp?
pigs running wild after a hog truck spill?
the corn princess’s convertible overturned?
By now you may have guessed, I originate from Iowa.
I soar to great heights but then I fall,
When all’s said and done, I’m the greatest of all.
I can light up the sky on the darkest of nights,
For such a small package, I’m full of delights.
I’m packed in a box, and I give lots of pleasure,
Come and watch me perform, I’m here for your leisure.
I’m the largest in there and shaped like a tube,
Some of my friends are shaped like a cube.
Im made up with powder with a short dangling fuse,
Those that come to see me. I know I’ll amuse.
I’m kept at a safe distance, away from the crowd,
It’s more for your safety, but also I’m loud.
I’m touched by a flame and my fuse is then lit,
I can tell by the crowd,I’ll be a big hit.
All of a sudden, with a fizz and a spark,
Get ready to see me, I light up the dark.
With one last push, I will dart to the sky,
You will barely see me, as I’m climbing that high.
Then a sudden explosion, like a badly wired socket,
You’ll know it’s me, because I am THE ROCKET!
commodious cave
room after room after room
culture disappeared
hundreds of theories
anthropology studies
merely guesswork
Somewhere back there, along the road
I made a wrong turn
Now the lord has sat me down
Cause it was my time to learn
Life's been a series of harsh lessons
I care less to pass every test
The blocker of my own blessings
Why do I settle for less
Less than what I deserve
Less than what I'm destined
You live my life while I observe
Plagued by second-guessing
Self-medicated to avoid
The pain that came with stressing
As a result, it only feels like
It's been days since adolescence
How is it that one changes directions
After trekking the wrong path
Knowing nothing fruitful awaits
In the rearview of your past
Moving forward only makes sense
How long did it take before you discovered
There's no sense in looking back
Only putting one foot in front of the other
What do a Jeep, a Ford and a Chevy have in common?
Wheels, air, heat, dashboard, chrome, bumpers, seats,
Steering wheel, headlights, tail lights.
I start to wind down on my guesswork.
He does not nod so I start up again.
Tires, hoods, knobs, door locks, door handles
Keep going he says
Engines, carburetors, windshield wipers.
I can see him shaking his head no
Go on, he says.
But I do not want to.
I don’t speak, I write.
I don’t bark, I bite.
Though I don't meet your gaze,
You're in my mind all of my days.
Notes I send each night,
Is your response to my delight?
You make me think, oh babe,
Is this a game you've played?
Was it me, or was it not?
Thought it was me, but it's not.
Your actions, they confuse,
Why treat me special if I'm not the muse?
How long should I guess,
Should I write and confess?
Can't even meet your eyes, how can I hear your lies,
Oh boy, was it me in disguise?
Make the first move, can you?
I can't, but I might respond to you.
Who wouldn't want to be pursued,
By someone they've treasured and valued?
As a cartoonist, I can play a bit with my students.
I like drawing a bit at a time, letting them guess.
The little girl guessed a puppy, kitty, panda bear.
Finally, alligator which was close after I drew scales.
Her last guess was a dragon – a cloud dragon.
I realized then that I had decorated the beast with clouds.
Which I do automatically, not thinking about it usually.
Guessing game about fruits can bring delight:
What's that puzzling fruit with diet's insight?
...or name the musical fruit
not actually a fruit...
I'd rather have grapes; thanking God; that's right!*
*Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
August 28, 2023
5th place, "A Fruity and Funny Limerick" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Tania Kitchin; judged on 9/3/2023
I often open the curtains to let the heat in, but there’s no sunshine today.
While sat in a chair that’s versed and infirm, blistered brown, bitter and solid as the surrounding bricks.
Was it a daydream of fortune. When a breeze, shimmered with animals within a contorted tree. Behind a typhoon of blue.
An open curtain can warm the room, until ordinary shades of disturbance advance.
Providing unspeakable gloom, I return to bed, for an extra day. When its raining, life surrounds a flower upon the windowsill. When you nothing, there only themes of nothingness.
I also can open the curtains to let people inn, forget the wasteland of silence
People are coloured peeks and cure the reflection of my grey.
This morning, there's no sunshine, a small glint of a cloudless glow. I did nothing but waste moments. Everyone seems no brighter than me, as a breakthrough smile appears upon my laughing face.
This word or that word,
the length of the line
The meter, the rhythm,
to rhyme or not rhyme
Each voice comes unsettled,
new phrases diverse
Is it this way or that way
—when penning the verse
(The New Room: December, 2021)
Quit the guessing game, ego spawned
Exit game of shadows
Has not as yet, love and light dawned
Rapture that bliss endows
To voice of God agree
In carefree, joyous spree
Setting soul here, now free
Seek not fleeting fame
Quit the guessing game
19-November-2021
Quietus
I’m always second guessing
Never really knowing
If anything I’ve done or do
Are my true intentions showing
Can you tell the pain I’m in
Would you even guess
That if you asked the right question
My answer would be Yes
Would I stay or would I go
I really do not know
Do I love you, do i want you
I cannot answer this for sure
Do i speak up and let it out
Should i just play along
Act like im ok and fine
When inside it feels all wrong?
So scared to leave,
Terrified of regret
Once i go,
IF i go,
So easy to forget
Realize i settled
Im owed so much more.
That what ive taken for myself
Is what ive settled for.
What i want now is more than i can have
If only i could have it
Im driving myself mad
Never thought it possible
I never think it through
Second guessing myself is something
I always seem to do.
Guessing Game
My first is in bat and It's also in ball
Second is seen in fell but is not in fall
Third is in lover also in desiring
Fourth is in my rhyme, my rhythm and my rhyming
Fifth is found in cloud and in silver lining.
My name is a gemstone seen biblically
It is the real me that no one can see
The reason is kids at school made fun of me
So I shortened my name and think you'll agree
The one I use is more complimentary.
11th August 2021
O Lord, our God
Blessed are You
Mankind so sinful
Blessed by Who?
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