Sultry red,
yellow pillow sky,
teased tandem,
with citric,
shades afloat oe’r waking town,
mirror bubbly folk in lane
jubilant,
trademark burrs catching,
glad echoes,
urge urban,
tableau of chalkmarked gold stamp,
where sheer pluck triumphs
buses swerve,
rapid rail steel track,
squeaky noise,
hoot … toot…. cabs,
en route symbol’s “jaunty” march,
co migrant orbit
Roadrunner, desert sprite so fleet,
left Wile E. Coyote in perpetual defeat.
No trap could catch that blur of speed ~
he just zipped past shouting his jaunty beep, beep.
If I liked to be poked and was fond of needles
I might entertain the idea of a tattoo
a tiny green dragon wearing a jaunty tam
an orange mushroom house with pink flowers
a 1959 navy blue Cadillac with red leather seats
But I do not like to be poked and I am not fond of needles
jovial jackleg lawyer was no jewel
pro-bono sounded good until we met this fool
he had a jaunty way, but jaundiced jibber jabber
We sent him packing and hired Flim Flam, a flibber flabber
F.F. was a jellyfish full of jovial jiggery-pokery
Jocundity justice was now playing with my kinfolk from Muskogee
she came into sight in a couple of smooth porpoise strokes
Probably the sea witch of sea shell fame, as reported by blokes
Sailors who had seen her way out in the middle of storms and such
Hi, she said, I have admired your sailboat very much
This surprised me, for I had been told the sea witch did not speak.
She splayed her fingers up by her eyes and gave me a sharp peek
Do not believe those sailors, they exaggerate so, they practically lie.
So saying, she gave me a jaunty wave, and a merry good-bye.
Oh March
You subtle bully
Boisterously stiffening flags to attention
Tipping your hat to those chasing theirs
Making wind chimes of dangling diamonds
Hiding in the wooly warmth of your alter ego
Soft sun on crisping snow
The trickle of laughter beneath it
A jaunty Jonquil ready to declare its claim
Ah, March
The last of Winter’s lover’s
Seeking a gentle way to exit
While slamming the frosty gate
In “love’s” painful howl
As April’s smiling hope
Draws you closer
…To Spring
Warlock owl with your wise amber eyes
wearing a jaunty gentleman’s hat, no surprise
I wonder about you as I walk under your tree
Will you speak to me? Will you speak to me?
The owl knew exactly what I said
I could tell by the brilliant turn of his head
But his eyes did not blink and he did not speak
Just darted down to grab his prey; I gave a squeak.
Death is always with me, at my elbow
sporting a jaunty beret and a fake French accent;
at dinner, making judicious remarks on the wine;
playing cat’s-cradle with cobwebs on the bus;
baffling me at chess with unheard of gambits;
strumming his mournful guitar with a pick of thorn;
and snatching flies that vanish into his fist.
He's almost the only thing I'm going to miss.
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Buxomly bright Betty and her beige burly bear
Bounced through their days with nary a care
Expecting no special treatment, but it was there
Because they both were enjoyable with a jaunty air.
Frosty the Snowman wore a jaunty hat,
He danced on the lawn and tipped his old cat.
He said, “I will melt, but not today!”
Then he slid down the hill, or so they say.
turquoise tambourine tingling around
a sassy scintillating silvery sexy sound
jaunty jubilant dancer leaping from the ground
queen of the jazz festival, she is quickly crowned
dancy prancy burly bear
shaking his booty in the air
playing bluesy jazz music fit for a king
thank goodness he did not whistle or sing
the crowd was clapping hard in over time
humming a jaunty tune, a perfect rhyme.
A crisp, cold morning in Hyde Park,
and he is waiting for his date.
As joggers jog and poodles bark,
the girl's unconscionably late.
He paces London's crocused heart,
as traffic booms in Piccadilly:
he's practicing that English art
of seeming calm, while feeling silly.
One final tryst beside the lake,
in front of the Eternal Boy:
a parting kiss, for old times' sake ...
she's stood him up? Or playing coy?
The hotel clerk purrs sympathy
when summoned on the mobile phone.
By now, she'll be in Duty Free.
Well, there it is. This Bird Has Flown.
He tries to feign the jaunty airs
of a striped suit on a sandwich sortie,
but doing drily debonaire's
not easy when you're fat and forty.
He tramps the lonely, flat green mile
to Green Park Tube's unlovely portal,
but perks up with a cheeky smile -
well, for a week he was immortal!
Autumn brings cool days even falling green,
mingled with red, yellow and orange leaves;
until all the branches are bare though still serene,
but the beauty of the dancing leave is sublime-
Halcyon intricate jaunty kaleidoscopic leaves,
swirling, twirling, whirling, leaping, flying;
all that beauty so divine in time interweaves,
'til decay ... and the winter trees remain-
Abrupt breezes chilly days even frostbitten gloves,
oh, farewell to my beloved garden;
goodbye roses, tangled vines, my herbs and foxgloves,
rest beneath a blanket of snow my loves-
Mother's name only peeks quiescent,
all else is hidden beneath the pure white;
kneeling ... I leave a bright bouquet iridescent,
oh, dearest rest beneath your snowy quilt 'til spring-
An old-time poster caught my eye
In an antiques shop where I like to browse.
On seeing it, you might ask why,
So I’ll tell you, long as rhyme allows.
First, the colors pop and its retro look,
With a smiling man in an old-style hat,
Made me grin and that was all it took
To think, “Gee, I’d like to purchase that.”
It’s a transit ad from a dry-clean place
Where, for sixty-nine cents (don’t be shocked!),
You could bring in your hat and within that space,
It would be not just cleaned, but also blocked.
There’s a come-on, too, with a jaunty phrase:
“Perk and pep-up that old Fedora.”
Now, perhaps you will get all the many ways
That I love it - need I say more, uh?
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