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Free verse
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HOW SILLY IS THAT?
Only the Chinese/Italians could have invented
Something as absurd as spaghetti
Impossible to spell Italian words
Infuriating to get onto your fork
Impractical to get a good mouthful
And it always slips down and sways under my chin
Always leaves sauce marks on my newly-ironed shirt
How silly is that?
If the Japanese/Germans were the inventors
Spaghetti would be spelled “spagety”
And it would be made in 1.5 centimeter-long strands
With ribbed surfaces to hold the sauce
Each forkful would be of exactly 43 strands
And none would slip off.
Deliciousness and efficiency
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Free verse
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WE THE BRETHEREN
I’ve a friend, Chang, Chinese
his roommate, Chin Lee, Japanese.
Lee married Shernaz, a brunette
whose father is from Pakistan
and mother from South Africa.
Shernaz’s childhood friend is Sofia
an American…whose Russian teacher
is Spasky, Alexander Spasky from Slovakia
When we meet together so often we do,
it’s festival.
We drink, we eat, and we chat and laugh
when our hues disappear,
and our different accents tickle our funny bones.
We feed each other with our respective ethnic cuisines
and relish each other’s pleasure.
That’s when we become transparent
and find each in other.
But often we wonder
“Who’re they; the Jihads;
who are making chemical weapons
and who is grooming the economic hit men?”
We know the answers as well
“Those lunatics we ourselves,
the saner brethren have elected to rule us all.”
“There are only two classes in the world
the rulers and the ruled!”
Then again we question ourselves
“Who are we then; helpless fools
or voiceless intellects?”
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Ballad
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Drinking with Tood at StGeorge…
Lets drink to ole Tood Taylor,
who was full of it,
Prisoner of the Japanese,
had the scours just a bit,
So the Jap’s they had him a cooking ,
And the extra care he took ,
To help out with the flavour,
Squatting over the stew, the cook,
Said they thrived on his input,
It’s a bloody wonder,
cos he was sick, so crook.
then...
About as drunk as 40 cats,
We staggered from this bar,
Ole man said “that’s the mongrel get him,”
Whistleing upper cut, caused some stars,
He’d raped our old Grannie, Win,
And here he was, oh yeah,
Punched into air, his knees touched chin,
I know cos I was there,
Ole man wanted to hang him,
but we didn’t have a rope,
so he flogged an bashed the bludger,
as the Baird was sure to know it,
So we fell into the old tilly,
And then we staggered home,
Slept like the dead, King Billy,
An so I wrote this poem……..Don Johnson
Yes in the St George hotel getting paraletic, then righting wrongs on the footpath,
the Police didn't get the Baird, family said it didn't happen, and she died soon after.
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Rhyme
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Oh love of mine what can you do,
When day finds loved one soon to die,
Poor taste the joke, self-serving tears,
What gain is there when you deny?
And what exactly would you want
If suddenly the roles could switch,
Is sadness traction that you seek?
Do other’s tears your death enrich?
Think more of how your folks behaved,
They tucked you in, sheets under chin,
A kiss and smile was all it took,
And all that you need still to win.
The rough work’s done, the road work too,
Done practice days inside the gym,
You’re on the team, the die is cast,
There is no chance our love is whim.
You served us all in war and peace,
So thanks for sacrifices made,
And for the family you raised,
It seems you’re light that’s death to shade.
The morn is always on its way,
At least it’s done so in the past,
So why alarm, why the concern,
This morning’s light will be your last?
Think of the love that you have shared,
Those moments etched in heaven’s rhyme,
Love doesn’t live inside death’s room,
Is not expressed in overtime.
To honor Love, for heaven’s sake,
If you Love’s passing would adorn,
Just squeeze Love’s hand before you go,
And say, ‘We’ll see you in the morn!’
Brian Johnston
January 19, 2015
Poet's Note:
This poem exists to commemorate both the love and the friendship that Jack Stone and his wife Lucy brought into my life in recent years. Jack, a marine who was part of a landing force on three Japanese held islands during World War II, was a good-hearted and physical man even into his 80's and an inspiration to many at our local YMCA where I first met him. Though never a soldier myself, I salute the man, the warrior! Hail fellow, well met!
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Couplet
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I felt aggravation when the mouse trap didn’t work well.
That darn mouse got the peanut butter then he quickly fell
onto a sequence of old soda cans I left under the smelly sink,
life can be annoying with mice that run in a quick blink.
I have no clue as to why it didn’t work this time, I used it wrong.
It shouldn’t be such an operation to kill a mouse that doesn’t belong!
Last night I tried to spot it again as it ran under the fridge.
I put much more peanut butter this time, more than a smidge.
He was on my counter and went from apples to apples real swift,
I jumped like I had ants in the pants and fell onto the floor rift!
I thought, “there’s a five second rule, shall I still eat that apple?”
Maybe wash it down with a cold glass of Peach Snapple.
Then this afternoon I was playing Monopoly and heard the mouse,
I’m just so sick of this stupid mouse running through my house!
I grabbed five huge spoons and tried to hit him, but I missed,
I was wondering just what to do next, so I made a long list.
1.) When in trouble make a trap that is big enough to fit.
2.) Make sure it is pure perfection so it will stay in it.
3) I shall connect four posts and cover it with masking tape.
4.) Maybe put chocolate in there or an old breakfast crepe.
5.) Put a bowl of water, because I know mice can’t swim.
6.) Then on to phase 10, I’ll make sure there’s food on the brim.
Tonight, once again, I heard the mouse take a risk in the box,
I ran over there to make sure that the box properly locks.
I heard, “ker plunk!” and I thought, “maybe I got him this time!”
I have never been so excited, so utterly happy and sublime.
But unfortunately, I must have been hearing things again,
this whole time the noise was from my small Japanese Chin!
How did my dog get in there, and why didn’t I notice Safari?
So I ran over to the box and so compassionately said “sorry”.
Why can’t I catch this darn mouse so often in my house,
for he’s nothing but a sneaky fella, such a sassy lil’ louse!
“It’s 2:00 am, what’s that noise?”, Oh, my…guess who?
I finally caught him! It must have all been nothing but taboo!
I used these games:
1.) Aggravation 2.) Mouse Trap 3.) Sequence 4.) Clue
5.) Operation 6.) Spot It 7.) Apples to Apples 8.) Ants in the Pants
9.) Five Second Rule 10.) Monopoly 11.) Spoons 12.) Trouble
13.) Perfection 14.) Connect Four 15.) Phase 10 16.) Risk
17.) Ker Plunk 18.) Hearing Things 19.) Sorry 20.) Guess Who
21.) Taboo
Anyone Game? Contest
Carol Connell
March 10, 2019
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