squirrel sees danger
barks and twitches tail from tree
cat peeks from hosta
Shadows tightly folded
into the hour of noon.
Clock hands clasp
and time stands as the stork does:
unmoving and going nowhere.
Venerable old men,
anchored on park benches,
idly stare in hagioscopic squints
at panting patrons
of sidewalk cafes.
A fly buzzes,
decelerates,
comes to rest…
The dog twitches,
unhitches the fly,
stretches under the table.
Another glass of wine sedates thirst
in warm sips.
A waiter trips.
The dog growls.
Time unclasps its warm greeting.
The stork repairs its stance.
The old men look the other way.
Shadows begin to unfold slowly.
And, as the last chime of twelve
hangs in the air,
only the waiters rush about
like buzzing flies.
(Premier Trophy Win)
I Totally Forgot It.
Sue Me.
Look At How Your Trigger
Finger Twitches, Purr-Former.
Not Deceptive Enough.
Is This Thing Real?
Is This Even On!?
Assume Guilt... Sassafras.
I Won't Let You Touch
My Credentials! Back Off!
Is What I Should Say.
Like A Bovine's Dewey-Eyed: Gut.
It's Lost It's Flair By Self-Attack-Chipmunk.
-Gray Squirrel
06-04-2026
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With paws so swift they blur the eye,
Magical Marv works on the sly.
Three acorns dance—now watch them fly!
(But where's the pea? Don't even try.)
The woodland marks line up to play,
their nutty savings trickled away.
Marv grins and twitches, suave and fey~
Guess right? Oh dear. You owe me. Time to pay.
A stilled moment.
As spelled the air
Intensified that felt of it:
Peace; the Saviour's.
With each touched-by-the-sacred grass
Twitches not in
Heard as what for whose praise, thereout
Grasshopper's, pours.
Rows of houses, leaves in gutters
Slanting shadows half obscuring
Borrowed light from a dying sun
Home of ghosts, papery facade
Twitches inhabit foreground air
Visible to the keen observer
More bits of nothing to disregard.
As if you could.
Assembled on a vacuum base
With faith connecting the floating visions
Which are called life.
Pray, life!
My dear wiener dog Max’s nose three times twitches
when I drop in his bowl crisp savory flitches
His tail wags ten times as he eats
his bite sized bacon doggy treats
It’s my dachshund’s annoying OCD glitches
A funny-looking bunny dropped by the other day
black white and brown fur a stray who'd lost his way
and
he let me hand-feed him with carrot tops
and spinach leaves but that is where familiarity stops
for
neither petting nor patting would he permit
this half-wild half-tame non-cottontail misfit
and when
with leaps and bounds he hopped while binking
around the garden it got me thinking
as
blink for a moment and at the drop of a hat
he'd do the disappearing trick in seconds flat
tho'
here one minute and then gone the next
with a nose that twitches maybe he was hexed
or perhaps
he's an astute old soul reincarnated to inhabit
the space and time of this cute magic rabbit
Night stampedes wind-horses.
I edgily negotiate the sharp corners
of swerving shadows.
The hind hoof of a doe
slaps the reflection of my startled face,
the Chevy twitches, plows on -
headlights rake the earth.
From a rear-view mirror
I see myself prone on the asphalt,
terrified limbs still stamping
over a shell-shocked mind.
The deer chased its bones,
disappearing into the sight unseen.
Night dropped its iron curtain.
Later,
I sleep dead-eyed
behind a spinning wheel.
I blink at light that isn’t there,
And speak to shadows on the stair.
My meals are clocks, my sleep is wrong—
I hum one phrase all evening long.
The mirror twitches when I grin,
A second self beneath my skin.
I file my dreams in numbered rows,
And tell the ants what no one knows.
I weep when spoons are out of place,
And fear the kindness in a face.
My hands repeat what they forget,
They write confessions I’ve not met.
Voices dance in copper wire,
They chant in sync, they don’t retire.
I laugh too loud at silence deep,
I wake while others softly sleep—
And swear the clouds know where I’ve been.
The pain increases every day
bit by bit, I have no say
I do what I can to ease it all
but it’s been a real long-haul
from cramping feet to head in a vice
swollen fingers, no paradise
aching hips, joints all stiff
inner workings gone skew-whiff
pins & needles, exhaustion too
I get no help, so I push through
muscles ache, it’s hard to heal
feel like perhaps I got a raw deal
Insomnia, brain fog, twitches & more
just some of the symptoms I endure
no two days are ever the same
Its wretched Fibro’s twisted game
The invisible illness no one sees
a chronic condition considered a disease
widespread pain & yet I smile
but some days wish I could turn down the dial.
"You're as beautiful as the day I lost you."
The sky is as blue as the day we said goodbye
My heart is as heavy as it was when we said our last I love you
My taste buds taste something as sweet as our last kiss
My nose twitches as it smells something as strong as your perfume
My hands are as warm as the last time I held you
My eyes are as emotionless as the last time we texted
My body is as hollow as the time I realized our chapter was over
My memory as chaotic as the time we first met
But it's not as if I miss you
I miss the warmth I once I had for you
I miss the smile that had once been reserved for you
I miss the way my face lit up when you messaged me
I miss the feeling of being alive
I'm not calling you a mistake
I'm just saying...
I miss the man I was
The one who felt whole for a few seconds
The one who was starting to put his heart on his sleeve
But...
I don't hate you
I wanted to thank you
For showing me that there's more to me than sadness and guilt.
This is no Eden
Yet the mirror is perceived
Lush tangle of undergrowth
Army of bare, crooked trees
Who formed thee in madness
Has blown fetid breath
Stirring twitches and jerks
Necromancer of death
Cold pale face a question
Bride groom of lunacy
A nightmare interpretation
Lucifer's garden fantasy
So still while I attend
Do not dare look away
From the corner of my eye
Creeping quickly to prey
Under skirt of homespun
Limbs crack, dislocate
With swift wind evil runs
pounding hooves of your mate
Turning now in retreat
Though I fear the unknown
I hear your pursuit
Bone clicking on bone
When next time that I brave
Behind me, a quick peek
You both disappear
Becoming one with the trees.
My new purchase in hand
I leave the museum
Unwrapping this art
For the pleasure seeing imparts
Driving home now, heart pounds
As every time I turn around,
The scenery changes to match
the vision through mirrors I catch
Just as in the frame
You seemed to rearrange...
And I know that you now follow me.
Phyllo
Sweet taste of baclava.
Drizzled honey.
Crunchy walnuts.
Hint of nutmeg.
Warmed to delicate crispness.
My mouth waters.
Eyes light with delight.
Nose twitches in anticipation.
But…….
Here I stand at midnight.
My kitchen a doughy mess.
Rolling and re-rolling phyllo dough
My trials and tribulations
on display with cracked
and torn doughy pieces
spread across the counter.
Exhausted, ready to give up.
The baklava seems miles away.
Time wasted proving I can’t
make phyllo dough.
I slouch in my chair.
Depression seeps into my soul.
Then, with a grin, I remember
my favorite Greek restaurant opens
in the morning.
"Gerryatrics"
She can do sumbersalts
Leg splits and twisted
Twitches but doesn't
Need to be
An acrobat
As a matter
Of fact it's
Exactly
That that
I admire
She has
A laugh
That's
Exactly
Where
It's at
And is
Where
It's I suppose
Supposed
To be
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