Short Harrumph Poems

The pond is quiet today
Bull frogs have had their last harrumph
The hum of the insects is gone
No dragonflies tease the wind
October’s chill hovers in the trees
An Osprey circles


John G. Lawless
©10/11/2022...

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Toot, Whistle, Bang, Harrumph


Short days turn into weeks
months melding into years
ever endless changes
the numbers and the fears

new things growing older
wisdom’s elders cast aside
for aging is the future
youth cannot abide.



John G. Lawless
12/29/2015...

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Everyone loves the Turtle Dove.
Our hearts thrum for the Hummingbird!
But have you heard of the Humphingbird?
With each failure and success 
He exhibits neither joy nor stress.
Whether he finds loss or triumph
He greets both with a bored “Harrumph”.
Beyond that I have naught a word
To say about the Humphingbird....

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The fish know I’m coming

Turtles line the logs
Swans parade in pre-game frenzy
Geese honk from the cheep seats
Muskrat groundskeepers tend the “field”
Bullfrog-voiced announcers “harrumph” the goings on
Dragonfly vendors work the crowd

The fish know I’m coming

The game is on…….


John G .Lawless
©6/11/2017...

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The old man made a small sound,
turned, tossed a cigarette on the floor,
in a building twenty two feet off the ground,
he seemed to pay no attention
to anyone else in the room,
fixed his tie,
and knew he was well groomed,
a young girl tugging on his sleeve,
asking where was he going,
and why did he want to leave?
He cleared his throat with a small harrumph,
catching everyone’s attention before he made his jump,
a final triumph!...

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