An Aardvark
an aardvark is a curious animal
that passes himself off as a mammal
with rabbet ears and pig snout
he is unusual looking no doubt
on ants and termites, he does feed
but not so much on centipedes
he hides by day in the ground
and comes out at night to walk around
the aardvark is an odd looker for sure
but for some he holds a strange allure
A dinosaur, two tons or three,
Heard tell from a mammal quite wee:
“Why, one day your tar
Shall burn in a car
That’s driven by creatures like me!”
On the twelve days of Christmas, West Texas gave to me
twelve tarantulas creepin’,
eleven javelinas diggin’,
ten jack rabbits jumpin’,
nine skunks a stinkin’,
eight mantis prayin’,
seven snakes swimmin’,
six mountain lions,
five sunny days,
four mockingbirds,
three hoary bats,
two horned toads,
and a cowbird in a mesquite tree.
On the twelve days of Christmas, West Texas gave to me
twelve oxeye creepin’,
eleven acanthus flamin’,
ten willows twistin’,
nine cholla jumpin’,
eight tumbleweeds rollin’,
seven shin diggers stickin’,
six purple thistles,
five sunny days,
four mountain laurels,
three ruby muhly,
two hawthorn,
and mistletoe in an elm tree.
sea soliloquy
a harp accompaniment ~
predatory notes
What’s in the grass and what do I know?
There are creepy and freaky things below.
All sorts of insects and crawly creatures
are among grass’ most fearsome features.
I wonder what else is in the grass,
seeds and stems in a crevasse?
They sprout and spread en masse
creating a soft sinking morass.
I believe there are secrets we’ll never see
perhaps some magic that’s in its esprit.
Maybe a fairy goddess or two
to order the chaos amid the fescue.
Who directs traffic so there’s no collision?
Who wields the power for that decision?
What and when do they celebrate?
There must be one they adulate.
Whatever is there I leave to that realm.
I won’t interfere or overwhelm.
I’ll welcome fresh grass in the spring
and wonder more, at what it may bring.
beach day
I play
no turf
go surf
offshore
no oar
ocean
motion
I took
a look
I saw
a maw
sharp teeth
unsheathed
bright white
large bite
shark bait
my fate
I swam
I scrammed
faster
faster
faster
passed her
freestyle
sea mile
achieve
reprieve
ashore
before
dispensed
past tense
some fun
I'm done
Soalas are listed as, critically endangered
They are found in the mountains, of Laos and Vietnam
and are known as, the Asian Unicorn by the Vietnamese
and were only discovered in 1992, as something brand new
The Soalas meaning, is “spindle horns”, in Vietnamese
and they resemble a Antelope, with a white marked face
They are a rarely seen mammal, but now they stand out to please
and they are the first new mammal, for the scientist’s database
Humans are encroaching, into the land of the Soalas territory
to deforest and build, plantations, agriculture and infrastructure
Soalas get caught in snares, that protect crops from other mammals
so let’s stop the human invasion, to protect these amazing animals
I am stuck
in the dust
surrounded by the grime
during time
in the dirt miraculously I am bound
no water no air
but yet I breathe
I am alive synthetically conjoined inhabited by the wave
First breath from God
placed inside a mound of soil
mixed with moisture blood clear runs red
Vegetable fed
Fleshly heart beating soul
Spirit born in encased in dusty-soil
Temperate boil created by all mighty God
Soul I trod
I am called
Mammal
10/6/20
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2020
red sky above
silver crested waves
full of seagulls
breaching dolphins
grey arches.
Gassy globular leap
splendor in chromatic tone
golden brown hues race,
leaping waters of delight.
Beneath prolific waves
A humpback whale
birthing.
A newborn rocked
in mother earth as womb,
discoveries come as sands shift;
The timeless sea has secrets,
she shares with only her offspring.
1-18-2020
STRAND any form any theme Poetry Contest
Brian Strand
This cute little creature trundles along,
He cannot speak, nor sing a song,
He cannot run, for love nor dime,
Nor decipher day from the nighttime.
To labor the point, he can barely see,
He only wishes to be free.
He asks no money, nor food or drink,
For he cannot like us think.
A worm or two is all he seeks,
He’ll forage alone, he’ll forage for weeks,
And yet we poke him, just for fun,
Laugh and joke once the deed is done.
His spikes intrigue, we cannot help,
The sad thing is he cannot yelp.
He cannot cross the road in time,
For we see the evidence of our crime.
What has he done? He does not deserve,
This precious creature, we must preserve.
He cannot ask to let him be,
But if not, the hedgehog, we may not see!
I am a mammal. She is a mammal. He is a mammal.
I have flippers, she has flippers, he has flippers.
We all have a song, and we at birth were a car-length long.
I am a mammal. She is a mammal. He is a mammal.
I sing, she sings, he sings; we communicate this way.
Our babies get fed milk from mamas one year and a day.
I am a mammal. She is a mammal. He is a mammal.
I swim, she swims, he swims, we swim just right.
We have humpbacks, we live in the ocean, where fish see us with fright.
What are we? Do you know? Can you look us up?
Have you seen us? Humpback is our best clue, ‘tis true.
I would look under whales, if I were you.
M-ongoose fights cobra,
A-iming to kill the fierce snake,
E-ating the latter.
R-odent runs away,
E-vading the smart mongoose,
Y-et rat is consumed,
E-ven the earthworms and birds
S-eem to be afraid of him.
Topic: Birthday of Mae Reyes (March 19)
Form: Acrostic Haiku-Tanka
Wettest summer in Ontario in the last twenty annuls
Turning quite aquatic, could swim the English Channel
That used to be a big deal
Now it's lost it's appeal
I'm really no hero, just an over-the-hill mammal
Though the eagle needn’t worry,
For its place is still secure,
A new symbol has been chosen
And expected to endure.
Now the huge and shaggy bison
Has been picked to represent
This great land of ours where thousands
Grazed and wandered, quite content.
Since the bison is a mammal
And the eagle is a bird,
Both may symbolize our nation –
All the feathered and the furred.
But who stands for all the reptiles
And the fish with shells or scales?
Maybe there should be anointed
Some symbolic newts or snails?
I have nothing ‘gainst the bison;
It’s a fine majestic beast
But I wonder who decided
That our icons be increased.
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