Oh man alive, at sixty five
I’ve something to confess:
I never thought I’d find myself
such a befuddled mess.
It started out so innocent
inviting her to lunch;
the convo stayed mostly on track,
but then it swerved a bunch.
See, feeling coy, this stupid boy
thought he’d get cute and flirt.
From winsome one to two left feet,
a face plant in the dirt.
As I hit send, the doubt set in:
were those the proper words?
Whoever thought I’d be like this?
A grown man, how absurd!
The seconds pass like hours
as frets bloom full regret;
she’ll likely think the worst of me,
what do you want to bet?
And so, confused, I sit and stew,
increasingly perplexed.
But wait! I hear a joyful noise:
in came another text!
It doesn’t matter what it says;
she ended with a smile!
Thank goodness, I‘m still in the clear,
‘least for a little while!
FLORIDA PLEASE COME
ARIZONA ARE NOT SCUM
CANUCKS GIVE THE THUMB
Technology has done much good,
but can’t cure the common cold,
it can keep you looking young,
but not from growing old.
'Let your fingers do the walking,'
used to be the plan,
nowadays, it's all thumbs and emojis,
as smart phones dumb down man.
When online, doing a search,
no matter what I type,
the 'engine' always knows best
and 'corrects' my text to the current hype.
Mostly, I'm so tired of being asked,
by AI, 'How did we do?'
when, in the end, I did all the work,
now, how about you?
Love comes softly,
Like a whisper in the dark,
But it’s echo-
It clung to my chest
Long after the warmth had gone.
I bled in silence,
Counting the cracks in the floor,
The cracks in me,
Each one a testament
To the promises you swallowed
And spat back cold.
I loved you
Like a storm loves the sea
Reckless,endless,
And yet
You left me drowning
In tides I cannot name.
The hurt it isn’t dramatic,
It doesn’t shout
It lingers
In the quiet corners,
In the hollow where laughter once lived,
In the space between my ribs
Where your absence thumps
Like a heartbeat I don't recognize.
Love hurts
God ,it hurts.
But i keep the pieces,
Like shards of glass
I can’t throw away,
Because even broken,
I remember the shape of your smile.
He walks alone through the hush of morning,
dew balancing like prayers on blades of grass.
above him, a red kite wheels as geometry drawn
and for a moment,he forgets what we’ve done.
the earth is still kind,still spills blossom from trees
we’ve maimed all that is good with our distain
let rivers write sermons through concrete and spillage.
yet even now,she forgives us, the mother can be kind.
As he stands beneath a birch that grows despite the plastic
coiled at its roots his hand touches the bark there’s warmth.
Its life refusing to retreat from it greatest enemy homoerectus
the weight and menace of opposable thumbs.
I use my thumbs to pry my dog’s mouth open
when he is chewing hard plastic or a pair of glasses
they are also used when I want to open or shut doors
pull a dresser knob, use a fork, knife or spoon
I cannot imagine how worthless my hands would be without them
They are imperative to grasp turn or twist anything.
Imagine opening pickles without thumbs or
putting a cookie sheet in the oven without them
They are the appendages we rely on the most
They seem to be more valuable than the rest of our hands.
Thumbs, you are amazing, I am so glad to have you!
More grateful than ever after thinking about your value today.
Once we were hunter-gatherers
tribes grouped outdoors
before the days of yore
now we're hunt and peckers
each cooped indoors
on personal computer keyboards
and way back when
we'd communicate
banging on the drums
yes since then
we've progressed
today we're all
fingers and thumbs
Roger Joseph Ebert
on film judging was an expert
so, upon his review
would he give two thumbs up to my clerihew
Thumbs
I look forward to
the morning when
I
wake up with
box-shaped thumbs.
The rich get the cake,
The poor get the crumbs,
Hungry children sleep,
Sucking their thumbs.
Of all the inventions
whose time has come
There is only one
that will raise your thumbs
All the way up, and then some ...
As I'm sure you'll agree, wholeheartedly
'twill resonate with every copy-machine owner
the day I announce my new discovery
~ Forever Renewable Toner! ~
Each finger performs forthwith
the assigned functions freely,
aware that interference imposed
and the suffocating attire slipped in,
can be unpleasantly chaotic,
disturbing the digital harmony,
for the fingers feel stifled.
The garb of glove desensitizes
their discerning dexterity,
the hand dislikes.
The cathartic outfit of ease,
the mitten encases the fingers,
strengthening the fiber of comaradarie
that fosters the spirit of togetherness,
except for the odd one,
solely signaling thumbs up,
the hand appreciates.
_________________
January 18, 2023
Contest : Of What Use Are Gloves To Fingers
That Only Understand Mittens
Sponsofred by : John Lawless
Today
I saw the west wind
………thumbing a ride back home
©1/7/2022
Our ability to fight climate change,
May well depend on the number of green thumbs,
We vote for, to lead the charge.
This may lead to thumb printing all candidates,
For all positions to check if they are truly green,
In this we should not hesitate.
All children should be exposed to grass,
That is green,
And to have planted at least one tree,
By the time they are three.
Foster parents should be selected,
On the basis of thumbs that are green,
And given gumboots for free.
Lastly all prisoners whose thumbs that are green,
Should be given reduced sentences,
And free gumboots on release,
Plus a packet of seed and a spade,
As well as their own vegie plot.
Schools should be funded on the basis,
Of thumbs that are green,
And children with green thumbs,
Should be given priority of entry.
University entrance,
Should be subject to a green thumb test,
Without hindrance.
Research into maximising,
The number of green thumbs,
Should take priority.
Takes the form of a human,
an animal lies beneath
for what are we anyway
escapologists from the trees
Maybe we’re special, intelligent,
if still a little dumb
outgrown that inbred purpose
to breed and thrive
Humans need satisfaction,
a journey, fantasies and thrills
Always just beneath a willingness to kill
Content, we are under control
happiness is to be free
adrenaline keeps us awake and alert
My god they’re all chemical signals,
highs and lows passion, depression,
just imbalances of the mind
The illusion we’re so much more
is insane, and true
It’s forbidden to overtake evolution
but we did yesteryear
exceeding the laws of nature,
left the animals behind
So what now,
we’ve outgrown natural selection
one small step was never our threshold
next the forbidden one giant leap
Perhaps we don’t see it coming,
inexorable and inevitable as it is
We’ll never stop, never be satiated
we only ever had one goal
to become god.
By David Kavanagh
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