Behind a pane of vintage
glass he stands,
A silent wizard from a distant
land.
With golden turban and a
paisley vest,
He wakes to life at a coin's
request.
An iron token drops into the
slot,
And gears awaken what the
workshop wrought.
His painted eyes begin to roll
and gleam,
A sudden actor in a neon
dream.
The crystal ball lights up with
shifting fire,
Responding to the circuit
board's desire.
He nods his head and waves
a mechanical hand,
Dispensing secrets from the
desert sand.
"Zoltar Speaks!" his booming
voice declares,
To startled children at the
crowded fairs.
His motorized jaw clicks
open and goes slack,
Demanding that you never
look back.
A whirring motor drops a
paper slip,
Your future written on a
cardboard strip.
The music fades, the blinking
lights grow dim,
And quiet shadows settle
back on him.
He waits alone inside his
wooden box,
A trapped magician under
glass and locks.
Crossing the street in a motorized wheelbarrow.
Drops of ice cream on the road that is narrow.
Someone says I’m blocking the street.
While I’m eating my cold treat.
I found a nice spot in the shade.
At a bus stop that doesn’t allow wheelbarrows, I’m afraid.
While I innocently sway.
Like a bale of hay.
They think I should buy a ticket.
Maybe they should pay for it!
They say the bus is more normal.
But my wheelbarrow is never too full.
My invention is good enough for dirt and cement.
It’s also good enough for a person, I bet!
The passengers step around me in anger.
I’m enjoying the shade a little longer.
When my relaxation is through-
Why not stop at a drive thru?
Whether they laugh or yell,
I will take my burger done well.
I might get a tomato thrown at me today…
But it’s better than paying for a car I say!
Steampunk bunny has an attitude
that can cut through a park and land on a wall
Motorized with gears that are tricky,
he is about seven feet tall.
He is a bit arrogant, but I admire his gall.
He makes decisions quickly, never does stall.
We witches in training all chose a familiar.
It was the rule at the School of the Transvillar.
I chose a gray bat with a broken wing.
Taylor selected a crawdad that could sing.
Molly picked a toad with an enormous toe.
I switched out the bat for a broken mule from Idaho.
Samantha chose a taxidermied man from Kalamazoo.
He had been stuffed by his nasty wife Little Lu.
But he’s stuffed, we argued. What can he do?
The stuffed guy said “I can out-sing and dance most of you.”
Apparently he had been motorized.
But asked Taylor “has he also been sanitized?”
Traveling cosmos in a star-crossed house at rest
She watched for dreams, catching only the best.
How the house was motorized is anyone’s guess
She traveled around the stars, our friend Ma Cress.
Mystically she was in tune with another world.
Her hopes and dreams were not unfurled.
But we were in awe of Ma Cress for sure.
Her dream state was decidedly totally pure.
Cami is an inventor, a genius, a marvel said the witch
We let her do things her way, never used a belt or a switch
She grew up knowing she was the best of the best
School was nothing to her, she out tested every old test
We let her come home and spend time being a tinker
She is a philosopher too, a model creative thinker
Cami is on her way now with things from an estate
She said she has found the best spell book to date!
So are you all witches then? I asked the old hag.
Shh! She said to me. I do not disclose my doctor’s bag.
Cami rode into the compound on a motorized bike.
Pulling a trailer full of books, and birdcage by Mike.
She is a unique figure, no nonsense, knows what she is doing.
Cami soon had an enormous bonfire and cauldron both brewing.
I sneaked away, but not before giving the satchel a quick look.
She has her hands full now, for she has a witch doctor’s book.
Little white paws, running thru my halls,
opening all the closets, chasing red balls..
Little white feet on the window sill,
studying the birds as they hop and trill.
Hoping to go out, zero in for a kill,
devour a little birdie and leave it's bill..
Little white feet avoiding the puddles,
hates to get wet, prefers warmth and cuddles..
Little white feet awaiting their massage,
likes the motorized tool, not my effleurage..
Little white feet perched for a treat,
awaiting some temptations or marshmallow so sweet.
Little cat feet now groomed and neat,
at rest in my lap and quietly asleep.
She rocks her miracle baby
And sings a soothing song
Today, rest in peace
Because tomorrow, comes alarm
...and we're gonna rock around the clock
His little boy is his heart
He holds his hand with swelling pride
But by ten, daddy's unforgiving anger
Applies the razor strap to hide
....tomorrow, tomorrow, the sun will come out, tomorrow
They build temporary shelters
For false gods of glory
Increasing in riches and fame
Weaving a tantalizing story
....the Love Boat soon will be making another run
Out in the land of the free
Where children dream of motorized play
The rich attend immortalized theme parks
Caring not that savage beasts will pay
...let's talk about sex, baby, let's talk about sex
Lazy gardeners look at their purchased land
With disgust and rebellion at the mess
Shaking the fist at the CREATOR
Saying, "I will never clean up and confess"
....amazing grace, how sweet the sound
....hush little baby, don't say a word
......daddy's gonna buy you a mocking bird
Written by Trudy Schrader on 01-17-2023
Tic tic tic
Tic tic tic
Tic tic tic
My life is reckoning
parallel to the ticking
and the clicking
sounds of my heart beating
the clock is crying
I can hear the hollow wheels spinning
the spinning spirals the intricate wires
the ticks functioning mechanisms
I understand this is the motorized transcensive mark
a check the sounds of a series of ticks
Those clicks the klacks
Tic tic tic
Tic tic tic
Tic tic tic
My heartbeats
the sound of KaBoom dynamite the sizzling
of the detonation cord primacord explodes
that is attached the stick of dynamite
Sounds of bacon in a pan
Ticking sizzling
the call of the swallow of the birds the robins in the trees
The crickets rubbing its leg
such a perfect sounds to my ears
are yet ringing as I hear
the text the bee humming
the smoke a hearing sounds of the motor the humming the ticking
Tic tic tic
6/30/21
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2021
I met a guy in the dairy section of my local grocery store
He was carrying an over-the-shoulder, leather purse
He had a purple scarf around his neck, what could be worse?
The fellow was driving a great big, black funeral hearse!
A buxom young lady was shopping in the produce aisles
I could have sworn she had had extensive lipo-suction
Her enormous biceps were a work under construction
She had three children with her, an obvious deduction.
I moved on to the meat department and stood watching
An old lady maneuvering an enormous motorized grip
Ordered a butcher to cut her a three-pound New York strip
While she was waiting she did a perfect backward, reverse flip.
Tell me, before I go stark raving, mad-as-a-hatter crazy
I am jumping too quickly to unwarranted conclusions
That after what I saw I should immediately go into seclusion
It only seems that way; clearly, I am victim of my own delusions.
Written March 18, 2021
Submitted to Kai Michael Neumann’s
“It Only Seems That Way” contest
Do It Again
When I was little I fell down.
We all did that.
When, we were little.
Later, I fell off…
A ladder, a motorcycle, a cart, a bike,
several other motorized vehicles commercially,
and non-commercially constructed by
back yard engineers of extremely high standing…
at least in Our Corner of the World.
The one common denominator was “get up.”
Get back in it, on it, under it, or where ever you ride it…
and do it again… maybe not that way… however.
Today as I went out to pick up something,
I was not motorized, but there were wheels involved.
Get the mail, get a trash can or other thing…
Bring it back to the house.
That I had done…
ten thousand times before.
Instead I found something new…
Flight.
I also found pavement.
Hard and unyielding,
completely rearranging…
parts…
of me…
A bruise, a scrape and I know an angel limped from the scene.
There were at least a dozen white feathers…
Nothing broken, except my pride.
That is okay. It is useless anyway.
Rio Grande Over All the Land
Much regarding Rio Grande never knew about,
And yet still, things about it do remain in doubt;
A rushing river which flows around every bend,
Until Pacific Ocean is where it will have to end.
Went on walk along it and saw windblown sand;
Out of sight it ran and would continually expand;
Had to ride over surface in motorized vehicles;
Then others braved trip by using their bicycles.
Roads may be paved over the wild countryside;
While being there from sun was no place to hide;
When all this away beleaguered breath did take;
After viewing a slippery spider or slithery snake.
Temperature started dipping into teens at night;
Uncomfortable area no friend would I ever invite;
Excoriable, Incredible cold was beyond our belief,
And from the horrible weather in site was no relief.
Finally Pacific Rio Grande eventually had to reach
Where we soon would rest on bright sandy beach;
Watery beauty found there was beyond compare;
Suffering caravans of people found it hard to bare.
Jim Horn
Al Gore Jr. set out to save the world
His plan to stop climate change, he unfurled --
But since stopping emissions
Depends on politicians --
He's selling motorized scooters instead
After knowing a certain individual for the past little while
I come to the realization that there are people just like me
People who appreciate just the simple things in life
Like a sweet conversation with someone that loves life too
Who's not always ready for combat verbally or otherwise
Someone with love overflowing and a joy for living
The simple things like taking Rover for a walk
Watching kids playing a game of baseball at the park
An old man zinging along in a motorized wheelchair
To me, these simple things bring a tear to my eye
Enjoy it while it lasts, these precious moments are gone in a flash
Except for those yahoos at the top, why must it be so
Ninety-nine percent are peace loving law abiding folks
Only want a happy life with family and friends
Call me a dreamer, been like this since I was wee!
SPRING DAY
the park is full
of green grass,
hula hoops,
labradoodles with their people.
shoes on rocks and sand,
alongside the creek.
motorized toy car
splashes through water,
under wood plank bridge.
a flower here, a flower there
on the root infested path.
parking lot flooded
with our car and theirs.
infectious drum is beating,
everyone is greeting
this loveliest Spring day.
4/29/2018
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.