Short Guardrail Poems

At the Zoo 

The lady in the peach cloche hat
leads the rest of us 
around the rhino into better light.

She leads us to the guardrail 
at the supper hour to watch 
the keeper reach inside  

the large glass case.
She wants us all to watch the rat
delight the python.

Donal Mahoney...

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Peach Cloche Hat

At the zoo 
the lady in the peach cloche hat
leads the rest of us 
around the rhino into better light.

She leads us to the guardrail 
at the dinner hour
to watch
the keeper reach inside  

the large glass case.
She wants us all 
to see the rat 
delight the python.


Donal Mahoney...

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The Docent at the Zoo 


The docent in the peach cloche hat
leads the rest of us 
around the rhino into better light.

She leads us to the guardrail 
at the supper hour to watch 
the keeper reach inside  

the large glass case.
The docent wants us all to see the rat
delight the python.


Donal Mahoney...

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Spray painted on the bridge guardrail
The words "Two Feathers is pok li la..."
Past and the present meet by the river
The old ways remembered by the young.

Two Feathers in an "upstream man"
Tribes of the mother river, the Klamath
Nurturing their spirit and  feeding the body
Through the ages as it runs to the sea..



Hupa, Yurok and Kurok tribes have lived for thousands of years along the beautiful
Klamath River in northern California. 
For Deb's contest....

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I reach for the mayo last night
Too late I realize it’s not right
Out of the fridge door
And onto the floor
The lid was placed on, but not tight

I like to spread jam on my toast
One thing irritates me the most
In the jam jar I find
Food debris left behind
Clean your knife between jars, that’s gross

While driving the highway we sail
But something I see without fail
Blinkers flashing for miles
And I think all the while
Are they turning into the guardrail?...

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Lately he sits on the guardrail every day
Looking as if his life has gone astray
Not asking for anything, watching traffic go by
Touching his long gray beard, looking at the sky
It may be time to ask him what he may need
Somehow bring a smile, plant some kind of seed
Or maybe this is all he needs right now
To sit where he does, ponder life, to find a way somehow
My heart still goes out to the man on the guardrail
Looking forlorn, yet he finds a way to prevail

Heidi Sands

9/9/19...

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