Living Together
The small mouse crossed the floor,
fleet of foot, and fearful for her life.
She did not want to wake,
the farmer,
or his wife.
She simply wanted to feed,
her family, and go in peace.
The cheese was waiting on the wood platform.
The metal bar, also... waiting.
Now only steps away from fate,
the tiny creature realizes there are cookie crumbs,
left on the floor from the grandchildren's visit
late yesterday.
What a find, how kind...
The animal changes her path,
and gathers the leavings...
gratefully.
Then she turns and is gone.
No one, not even the cat,
noticed her passing.
The farmer's wife was only a little surprised,
when she woke up to find,
clean kitchen floors,
all the way up to the small
mouse door,
in the wall.
Held close to the heart this metal bar,
Over time underwent ultimate change.
With thoughts and prayers reached the outraged range,
In sick minds and in wrong hands - bizarre.
April 210, 2021
rhymed couplets
Advice from the oldest in the pasture,
former race horse, derby grandmaster.
We are not losers let loose in the fields;
we horses tell how effortless "wild" feels
No jockeys here, no brutal whips.
No metal bar between my lips.
No braids in my tail making knots,
I will never be forced into slots.
No giddy crowds, no owner's frowns,
All handicaps stayed at the downs.
Out in the field when push comes to shove?
We move aside, think nothing thereof.
Winning is running, hear the steeds confess.
Trophies and purses? We horses care less.
For jockeys, all is lost past number three;
for horses, the winning is running free.
March 7, 2020
As I sat on the cold metal bar,
the sounds of my friends faded out of my radar.
I observed the boy in the discolored yellow hat who didn't want to disappoint,
crouching with his head tilted to a certain point.
He had intense brown eyes the color of a baseball mound,
and unlike the others never made much of a sound.
On one hand he wore an old brown mitt,
which most likely had been his father's and didn't quite fit.
I couldn't tell you if he could hit or throw,
whether he was fast or slow.
If he had any loved ones cheering in the park,
or whether he had a known trademark.
All I know is he stood out that much was clear,
with his determined expression and it being his first year.
He crouched in wait the last in the player line,
hoping one day he'd have his moment to shine.
The sun glares in my eyes as tears stream down my cold face.
Through the shattered windshield I see the clouds wistfully glide by, unaffected by the horrible event that just happened.
An erie peace fills the destroyed cab, as I lie, upside down.
The searing pain of a metal bar is lodged deep within my chest.
I still hear the tires spinning, as I sit motionless,
at the bottom of the wooded hill.
I look over to see the path of devastation that my speeding vehicle just caused.
I wonder if anyone was coming to my aid.
I gently close my eyes, only for a moment...
When they open I am driving down the open road.
Such a brief daydream as I drifted off.
Only for a moment...
Standing in the center with his face painted white
His mouth moves and his feet glide
His arms move and his fingers take life and carve
Like knives flailing at an impeccable turkey
He silently guffaws into a bag that
Envelopes him like a rope
And tied to a metal bar he approaches
The runway and dissolves into black air
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