Death came by night and took the light
of one much loved by me.
A man still in his prime was he
filled with integrity.
Four decades now have come and gone
and we have all moved on,
yet memories he left behind
come sometimes to my mind.
I think of all our midnight chats
and how we had no spats.
He was so kind I always felt
that he in God's love dwelt.
Inspiring others with his joy,
this scrawny red-head boy,
with confidence lived zestfully
while blessed with empathy.
Our family had one last time
when we were in our prime
our picture taken. On my wall,
I see it and recall . . .
dear Dale so handsome that sweet day
next year would pass away.
Killed by a drunken driver, Dale
Is now behind God's veil.
I'll ruin myself for you,
Maybe I won't laugh
For a year or two.
Your smile will burn my heart,
Maybe it'll be the end of the start
And I'll ruin myself for you
Like I always do.
I crawl to you in the dark,
You're the tree and I'm the bark,
I wish it wasn't true
That I'll ruin myself for you
Like I always do.
Your opulent house
Where you live like a mouse
Under the scrawny scrutiny of your wife,
Your petty pride for your sad and silly life.
Yet you still don't care
For my love so fair,
Which is so cruel and unfair
That you dare
To neglect me so it's true
That I'll ruin myself for you
Like I always do.
Bigger than the sky is my hunger and greed for life,
Such a pity that I'll never become your bubbly and beautiful wife,
The only thing I ever wanted,
Your memories and I'm forever haunted.
If only you could see
The pure love for you in me
Flowing like roaring rivers so authentic,
Me and you, the two of us so magnetic.
Now you know that it's true
That I'll ruin myself for you
Like I always do.
intrusive neglectful
norwegian peacekeeper
spoiled
our jubilant
scrawny
sweet
dachshund
her wholesomeness
was alleviated !
(Weekly Magnetic Poetry Challenge • July 6–12, 2026)
along came a flying pig, an October sight
which is pretty much only seen on Halloween night
He followed a brook, the full harvest moon, his only light
This pig was bright for sure, I mean fluorescent bright!
scrawny witch flew by and screamed out in fright
the pig laughed at her silly nervous plight
a wizard tried to change the pig into a knight
the pig laughed again and flew off into the night
Bully
The grade school bully
Twas so fiersome
Til the scrawny
Lad came home
To show his daddy
His bruises gruesome
The two by four itchy
To be applied to the dome
Of the bully
Not so fiersome
Going about sully
With a cap for a crown
Flying over barren lands
Dried grass, withered roots,
Not a single tree stands
Even in calm weather
Wind pushes heavily
On weary feathers
The dove vows to be braver
But with the weight of the sky
Its wings start to waver
Its eyes search the earth
This bare, lifeless expanse
Lacking its prior glory and worth
Just then, a whisper of green—
Could it be . . . a tree?
Albeit a sapling, scrawny and lean
The dove soars down, coming near
As an olive tree emerges into view,
Defying the dry ground, it perseveres
The tree’s arms reach out, inviting a guest
To land in its branches—
Gratefully, the dove arrives,
Having found, at last, a way of rest.
The round table spins,
all is a roulette wheel,
now I am the favored Knight.
Yesterday I was the least,
children made sport of me,
scrawny curs snapped at my heels.
The King's favor is fickle.
The Queen shades her eyes,
her demure down cast mien
a façade, a veil beneath which
simmers a flame we both have ignited.
Today I ride ahead of the throng,
my banner tall and straight.
Tomorrow is uncertain
the table will turn again,
for what can be, may not happen,
and what may happen never be,
better to let the world spin on,
for even kings and queens know
that any gambit is just another
uncertain gamble.
This gamming table
goes around,
and just where your feet
touch firm ground
or slip
none may predict.
A runaway growth of weeds alongside the road,
greenery gone wild,
a stagnant wilderness unwinding,
seedy leaves scatter
but cannot flee. Dust bowl squalor
chokes down scrawny roots.
A gray sugar rush from speedy cube trucks sprinkles
what wiggle room is left to sweeten ameciated tongues.
You Are
a coffin lid with nails
pulled out, a quake's handrails
the paws releasing snails
a Rorschach of Swiss trails
the comb still stuck in Wales'
hair pounding on my sails
You're you when all else fails
Come walk with me
in this wind littered park,
please don't kick the skimpy rose bushes,
God is everywhere watching,
lipreading your foul words.
We can be romantically attached
to our thoughts,
share, collaborate,
speak each other's words before
we know we have.
Pond life chokes upon its own thriving.
Savage are the dunking ducks
who write nothing worthless
and yet that 'nothing'
is ignored by every city gent
whoever pissed against a tree.
Sit upon this graffitied bench,
rest your disappointment
under this scabrous oak.
There is beauty here
research yourself
there is poetry at your feet,
a hurdy-gurdy symphony
in the slimy fungus rings.
If we rest long enough
our red fanged hearts
may eat themselves.
The scrawny daffodil's
burst into prayer.
Please don't grunt so loudly,
my own windbreaking flatulence
is a natural response to your ugliness.
Our sincere attempt at urban poetry
has unearthed the buried bones
of a divine muse,
and look,
pure white doves are carrying them away!
In the city dump, God assists the raccoons
with His large, clawed paws.
Mermaid
This afternoon a mermaid swam to the shore and took flight, so you didn’t, know that the beautiful creatures who live in our seas can fly, she lifted her delicate silky wings and flew seeing me staring forlornly by the kitchen window with a dishcloth in my left hand not seeing a fairytale being I used to believe in as a child
She knocked on the window I opened up, but not much because close up she lolled like a Karen of the type saying men are useless but call you to open a tin of sausages or fetch her slippers in the bedroom Suddenly she took fright and flew away but the
knocking persisted it was my neighbor who wanted me to scrub her back, I helped her out of the bathtub, and before stood a scrawny 84-year-old mermaid
a blood-letting sun
sets as slow as an amber tear
in a shot glass
dotty is lost in oz
ruby slippers
run on a treadmill
of long summer evenings
avocados turn brown
drowned by a late light
a vein is open
watching eyes water
over a crimson gash
a gush
bleeds out
into a hoodwink
then sinks inside
a darkening cowl
an infant
wails
in a witch's
scrawny arms
none see
the birthing knife
The ship of happiness sails
Intently across indigo skies
Laughter mingled with roaring gales ,
She gleams like an autumn sunrise
Perching near fields of lingering green
Where often scrawny lads frolic ,
She listens to echoes of the roaring linns ,
And rests near houses made of mud & sticks ,
The ship of happiness sails
Amidst scents of apricot & lavenders
Through shades of rainbows
Towards unforseen adventures ,
When the ship of happiness arrives
I call her a blessing in disguise
As she brings treasures of merriment
Into everyone's lives .
I have heard of crows and crones
But these old geezers are overblown
over dressed with suits that squeak
beady eyes, scrawny necks, and beak
are they from the barnyard then?
Their necks all wrinkled to their chin
I have heard of crows and crones
But these are ugly as crawdad gnomes
it’s weird you say that said the chicken
they are abnormal roosters, hearts a tick’n
we call them Slim and Slam for fun
They walk real slow, neither can run
They appeared out of nowhere in the fall
They are scrawny and weird added pig Paul
They do not talk, whistle, peep or talk
Weird to even us fowl, added the chicken hawk.
It’s Sure not Miss Daisy
Drivin’
Ivan
The Over-Achiever
Be more
Igor
Big Eater Guy
Piggy
Iggy
The Straw Man
Flaxen
Jackson
Street Smart
Joseph
Knows stuff
Serial killer?
Gory
Jory
Would Love to hear from One
Call a
Jonah
The Extra Cautious
Wary
Jerry
So Burdened
Laden
Jayden
Get Him Deoderant
Smelly
Kelly
Being Cloned Thrice
Tripling
Kipling
This Guy Will Do
Any
Kenny
Who Needs To Weight Lift?
Scrawny
Lonny
Who DOES weigh lift?
Brawyn
Johnny
Halloween Lover
Scary
Larry
He’s got Tons of Them
Logan’s
Slogans
The Substitute
Stand-in
Landen
You’ve Got To
See my
Levi
So gross
Lucus
Mucus
More than Enough
Plenty
Lenny
Below Zero
Minus
linus
Ahh! Boy bandit and blessed are you with your big headed self you're free blinded by the glare of the eyes you so scared aw chicken head are you thinking about me
Ma lady chicken leg
Girl ya got them scrawny thin legs arms that flapping the wind and as you shake your bottom you think you're something God's gift to all men
Miss chicken leg Mistha chicken Head
11/12/23
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2023
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