Tiny, my precious one-eyed ball of fluff --
with oh so sharp teeth and claws --
is disarmingly warm and cuddly but
often still quite skittish,
and stand-offish.
She purrs non-stop, contented,
when safely protected, on my lap
while being stroked. Her food and her water
bowls are clean and full
and her litter box is mostly promptly
emptied, refilled, odorless
and sanitized.
So what if she nips playfully
at my aged paper-thin skin?
Also she may snag my dressy
seldom-donned attire with those
sharp claws. But
she over-pays her board, her daily care,
with fond head nudges, and with her
unabashed preference for me
above all others, even now,
when I may no longer be,
to others, what I was.
To her, still, this outer shell
is precious, is safe,
Is reciprocated love,
is home,
is everything.
she's wild
she's prickly
distant and aloof
stand-offish
guarded and withdrawn
but i will always love her
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
SO SMART IT HURTS
Some have logic as their source of fun
But most would never think that way
Let down barriers and open the mind
It works most of the time, you’ll find
Yet always let a genius have their say
A joke about algebra and they’re done
Being brainy can be lonely for some
As sometimes considered to be a bore
But smart ones all know their worth
More stand-offish than down to earth
Rarely laughing or rolling on the floor
Nor making a joke about bubblegum
It’s a very peculiar wiring in the brain
Left and right sides are swapping places
One impulse starts just as another ends
And seeing life through a different lens
It seems the world presents many faces
Intelligence one small step from insane
She looks snobby, judgemental Linda said.
I observed the newcomer who looked a bit stand-offish.
But perhaps it is because I had not met her yet.
I ran up to tell her that I liked her costume.
She was pure steampunk all the way.
She was a lovely woman, ready to converse with a stranger, me.
We hit it off and sat together for that supper and next day’s lunch.
The convention lasted a week, and I saw her often.
She always smiled, waved and said “hello”.
I never thought my new friend looked or acted snobby.
But judgemental Linda is not as open to meeting new people as I am.
She wandered around alone most of that week, looking miserable.
I thought about spending time with Linda, but then I remembered
How judgemental she is, so I saved myself from her.
The Woman is A Danish
And married to A Scottish
But often heard in English:
Language she speaks with relish…
But the Rather Stand-Offish:
At times slippery like Fish
Or like things one wouldn’t wish,
For example Leaf-Filled Dish
To be served Vegetarian
Or Flesh to a Barbarian…
A Thief-Catching Librarian
And Confirmed True Lutheran!
Ebony fox had no idea how amazing he was.
He was a bit shy and stand offish.
I was eager to get a photo but proceeded with caution.
Gaining his trust, a tiny bit at a time
With a bite of this and a sliver of that.
It took me eight weeks, but I finally got the photo I wanted.
He ran off, and I feared he would never return.
However, he was back in two days, sniffing around for more bacon
Which I gladly gave to him.
An Aquarian Goddess with a wolf power animal
She often keens at the moon, howling her truth
Others are a bit frightened at her confidence.
Being her mother, I understand her spiritual ways.
She is an empath, needing space.
Picking up on emotions of others takes energy
The only way she can live her truth is to push them away.
Some think she is dismissive, cold, stand offish.
They could not be any further from her truth.
She keens and chants and drums her days into submission
Giving them savage glances, to fend them off….
Because she has to get rid of the sad feelings of this earth world
A world she fits not easily into
Being an empath, a clairvoyant, a Goddess of Wolves.
You knew I was angry
As we walked apart, along Spadina
Through the pungent summer air of Chinatown
Past the various sea creatures, dried or iced
And fruits I don’t know piled atop sacks of rice
I closed my eyes and let only the breeze run over me
A million particles per second
Imagining I could imagine every one
I let in the sunlight
And wondered in that amazement you only get
By thinking about everyday things
As the heat danced on my skin
And I thought about how it had been
Through eight minutes and twenty seconds of space
To land radiant on my face
I let things go and walked with you again
I felt stand-offish as you took my hand
But was in awe it was there at all
Or that you love me
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