George Francis Train
Introduced the tram to England
I introduced microwaving the sausage and bun together
To a not-very-impressed-American
We talked and talked into the night
About opera
How Norma's role was designed
For Giuditta Pasta
The weather cooled and necessitated
A dressing gown
He got up and strolled through the room
Pondering whether to purchase four-hundred pound Glastonbury tickets
At dawn, we'd moved onto chess
He advised, 'You gotta ram the pieces down their throat.'
When will I be invited to a Beverly Hills mansion dinner?
A tall fellow strolled on a beach abroad
Along a cream-like sandy shore unflawed,
He tripped on a small shell
And fell with a sharp yell,
Lying on the ground while all his teeth gnawed.
Strewn with buds upon night’s skyscape ,
we followed the hovel of an outer-world
As fluted leaves
formed a hologram of our map--
a journey granting passage
into real existence;
Where our twin- souls moved in silence.
I felt your hands cuddling a bounty of flowers
And we meet in Portugal
third instance,
Cleansing lost time in holy water.
The procession of candles brushed the air
quite sacred: white lilies unfurling petals
into hundred lights
on the shrine
of mother Mary ,
while young stars crowned us again...
was it 1918 when our eyes first met here?
Till we strolled through a monolith of statues
blessing our paths ...aligning our thoughts
In the house of Fatima, of transparent gods;
taking our silent vows
with co-owned vintage cameos...
But the vision turns into ripples;
I’m by myself ,
a lone pilgrim
trapped around a grotto...wondering
if this scene were chimeric illusion
or timeless reality...
How I longingly touch your face,
feeling those sighs , like...
like they were my own earthy breath.
There’s an animal park
A half-hour away
Where we went, for the first time,
With Henry today.
I was skeptical, but
It was worth what we paid,
For meandering paths
Lined with trees giving shade,
Led to animals you’d
Not expect to be there.
There were lions and tigers
And more than one bear.
We saw tortoises, emus
And gators and skinks,
Ponies, monkeys, giraffes
And chinchillas (no minks).
Varied tropical birds,
Porcupines, foxes, sheep,
Pumas, jaguars and vultures,
With many asleep.
Still, we strolled and enjoyed
Creatures far from each lair,
Likely wondering how
They had ended up there.
We were on a side quest. I wanted some cool, fresh
cherries to savor as we strolled hot Saint Tropez.
So we were in a grocery store, in the township,
I was pushing a shopping cart along the frozen food aisle
when suddenly my feet flew out from under me and I
took a hard, embarrassing, backward spill.
Peter was shocked - “What?!” He exclaimed.
One second I was up and the next I was on my back.
It was like a lightning strike or a film edit, I was like WTF?
I was in flip-flops and there was a puddle of water.
I was fine, if scuffed up - thank god I wasn’t in a dress.
I got right up, I mean I’m not a 90-year-old lady.
And after a second we walked on, only to be swarmed,
a moment later, by the store manager and his minions
- “Are you ok?” He asked, scrubbing his hands.
“Yes, I’m fine - no, I don’t want to fill out a report”
My left big-toe was swollen and bleeding - so no running
along the beach this morning - now THAT seemed weird.
I guess it was more of a back-side quest.
.
.
A song for this:
Helter Skelter by the Beatles
Trouble Me by 10,000 Maniacs
In the future, a time not so far.
Mankind stands near a distant star.
With times of war far in the past.
Working together the future came fast.
Individuals, while doing their own thing.
Each offering what knowledge they could bring
Working together they went far.
Dreaming of reaching a far off star
Humankind worked on a common goal.
A thing hate and fear stole.
Their faith in mankind.
Strong in their mind.
Strolled into tomorrow.
The real land of no sorrow.
Spread mankind seed.
Part of the creed.
Spreading our wings we did fly.
Just had to be willing to try..
We reached beyond the sky.
Traveling ever so far.
Ended in the system of a distant star.
Mankind lives on forever.
End of time comes never.
Just need to step beyond hate.
To change our fate.
It is not to late.
I strolled onto a forest glade
to hear a bird in concert serenade,
but when I heard him speak,
this issued from his beak,
"I'm not the bird you seek.
Some birds with pretty voices sing,
while those of broken heart and broken wing
have no worm on which to snack.
Some birds wear colors, bright,
and look so beautiful in flight,
while the hapless hit a wall and..."smack!".
But, I'm no such bird. This inky crow
(while there are birds that don't know which way to go,
in this world of birdy woe)
won't sing like Perry Co-MO,
or flaunt the colors of the rainbow.
I am the bird in black."
Written: May 6th, 2026, for contest sponsored by Sara Kendrick
1st place contest winner
*****************
Soft silver sky-foam shimmered as I strolled,
seeking a sly, star-stitched secret to behold.
A sprightly breeze sang stories through the trees,
its sibilant sighs designed to soothe and tease.
I met a saffron cat with a mischievous gaze,
She sashayed past with svelte, superior praise.
The sunset spilled its syrup on the well,
a molten gold incandescence cast a spell.
Somewhere a seraphic laugh began to swell,
so sweet, a spell only stars could tell.
The swales grew soft beneath my wandering feet,
each step a sacred syncopated beat.
And in that scarce scene of dusk’s caress,
I felt the world spinning into happiness."
Written: May 5th, 2026, for contest sponsored by: Natasha L Scragg
1st place contest winner
*****************
1. Cinderella
There once was a Fairy so frazzled,
whose magic was sloppy and dazzled.
She meant to make gowns—
but turned mice into clowns—
Cinderella left early, bedazzled.
2. Little Riding Hood
Red met the big wolf on the trail,
who said, "I'll eat you!"—quite the detail.
But Red, being sweet,
said, "Please—after you eat,"
and the wolf felt too guilty to prevail.
3. Goldilocks
Goldilocks strolled in with a grin,
But the Bears had installed a new PIN.
She tapped and poked and guessed—
Papa Bear was impressed—
And they adopted her in as kin.
4. Jack and the Beanstalk
A Giant cried, "Fee-fi-fo-fum!"
But softly—his courage was numb.
He whispered instead,
"Please don't steal my bread…"
And Jack hugged him and called him "my chum."
5. Snow White
The Queen asked her mirror one day,
"Who's fairest?" in her usual way.
It sighed, "Well… Snow's cute,
but you've got better *suit*—
maybe focus on *fashion*, okay?"
Eleven years ago,
while rambling in my car
along the bank of Iril river
at Kongpal Moirangpurel,
a serene countryside
I spied Ureirom plants growing there,
their flowers blooming.
Long ago in our agrarian society
their fruits dyed women’s clothes pink -
done indigenously in every household
by the womenfolk.
Now the old art has faded
year by year with time
and the plants, once grown
in abundance are no longer seen.
Next day, in scattering showers,
with a camera I went there
and captured photographs
of the plants long unseen,
wondering how they grew there
while absent elsewhere.
Today, after eleven years,
when I strolled there again
the ureirom plants were gone
among the riverbank’s weeds -
Once women’s favorite,
now out of fashion,
neglected, nowhere to be seen.
I strolled out to my favorite fishing hole,
with my knapsack and my fishing pole.
The fish I caught, gave me a flipper wave,
and asked, "How are you doing, Dave?
"I'm doing well, but if it's all the same,
how the heck did you know my name?"
He said, "if you don't mind my saying so,
you'd be surprised what a fish can know."
It's confounding, difficult to believe,
just what a top-shelf fish can conceive,
but what chills me to the very bone,
is the other things that trout had known.
I usually hold my cards close to the vest,
but it wasn't long before I confessed.
Pretty soon, the sheriff dragged the lake.
I told the judge it was a bad mistake.
it was raining today but I still went for a walk
suddenly the wind took my hair blowing it all about
but it felt
sublime and
divine
as I strolled beneath majestic old maple trees
their leaves came t
u
m
b
l
i
n
g down on me
red, burnt orange and yellow falling, swirling, twirling
it was a perfect moment in time, so
I gathered many to press within the pages of my books
but sadly, they crumbled in my hands
so, I let them f l u t t e r away . . .
Millie was flattered by the whistling of men
But her friend, Tillie, told her to think again
"They're just catching their breath
but are as pale as death.
It's healthy ones, Millie, for whom we should yen."
"Well, darn it, girl. You know I'm hard of hearing
I thought those guys were speaking words, endearing.
"That noise is their wheezing,
and their looks aren't pleasing!
Let's move along now, Millie. Please stop leering."
Millie looked back but off fell her eyeglasses
She stopped to rip toots and expelled her gasses
"I know that really stinks!"
She laughed, "I'm such a minx."
Don't tell me I should take etiquette classes!"
They strolled until Tillie had to take a seat
for she was feeling a bit faint from the heat
Millie started to scold,
"Tillie, you're gettin' old."
"Not too old to kick your walker to the street!"
"I'm only saying those guys were old geezers,
not the sexy kind we once called 'strip teasers!"
And at that thought, Tillie smiled
In younger days, they'd been wild
"They're not what we'd ever call 'woman pleasers."
My therapist recommended journaling.
Why not - I've tried everything.
I stopped in the pub, just to have a wee drink.
I smiled at Molly, the bartender, and gave her a wink.
It was late on a drear afternoon
as I read in the paper, "Tonight's a full moon".
I politely asked Molly, "Gimme another",
as in strolled Jekyll, my mercurial soul brother.
That brew made me feel I was turning inside out,
as the hair on my arms began to sprout.
The only thing I could say then was "Sheesh -
woe unto me, sitting here with no leash".
My friend, Dr. Jekyll, said with a wry grin,
"I know the kind of trouble you're in".
It wouldn't be long before I began to trip,
looking for fresh meat or a face I could rip.
I stopped in the pub, just to have a wee drink,
nary expecting to end up in the clink.
I strolled through swamps and muck
I climbed the mountains in the air
I untangled from stuck
revevrted to the now and here
I so wanted to hope
and to learn how to cope
To exit the trap, mope
I strolled through emotion
and bled through devotion
but didnt stop the ocean
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