That Oughta' Set 'Em
All A'Twitter!!!
Wahoo, It’s AMAZING!
Nothing's Happening.
You're A Punk.
Dang.
-Gray Squirrel
10-01-2025
Play It Cool
A Cool Demeanor
Is A Novelty Form
Of Conformity.
*
Oh, I Forget, You
All Don't Hate That
Dread
Conformity Like
I've Been Forced
To Do.
Doodily-Doo.
Not Forced.
I'll Think About It Later!
*
I Haven't Been Normal
Since My Teacher
Demanded I Put Things In
My Own Words.
I'm Still Not Sure
What That Means.
NOT Gibberish.
I Just Pull A
Few Levers And
Hope For The Best.
Wahoo! Let's Take This
Uhhhh... Gfdhg Ride.
*
I Make Sure To Make Sure To:
Don't Get Too Many
Detailed Ideas From
Anywhere Else...
Just The Gist.
Then Let It Roll
Out Slow.
Stay In Flux.
*
I Don't Know...
Why Hate All The
Alternatives Of Con-
Form-ity?
Dumb Trick.
How Do You Stay Impressed
And Always Amazed
With Random New-Found
Wonder If You Do?
*
I Can't Pay Attention
And Conform At The
Same Time.
It's Probably Just
A Convenience Again
And Everybody Else Is
Fine With It.
*
Cool With It,
I Mean.
Oops.
-Gray Squirrel
06-05-2025
Say, dig what I say
Talkin’ bout a new jazz vibe/
Man, move over/
the Jazz Cookers are hittin’ their stride in the groove to stay alive/
Eddie Henderson/
Cecil McBee/
George Cables,Billy Hart
and Billy Harper/
swingin’ harder jazz be flying/
downbeat, upbeat, man, count It off/
their soul auras are in the jazz notes they play/
David Weiss and Donald Harrison are fryin’ their amps/
burnin’ the house down/
with the jazz club scene in decline/
and record labels cuttin’ back on jazz/
the jazz Cookers have to stay alive and relevant in a jazz-changing world/
so dig, be cool struttin’ as Sonny Clark would say/
you might not always get a payday but you love to play/
the Cookers boss horns are on fire/
hip tones blowin' from the stage/bro, this is the jazz life you chose and after a gig, you might be all alone/
so be in the moment and improvise on your jazz note phrasing/
you’ll find the rhythm and meaning knowing you can play the same note gig after gig night after night/
but different every time/
are you hip to the Cookers?/
they will have you finger poppin’ and blowin' your mind/
wahoo that’s a whole lotta jazz
Crackpot Dream
Instead of a Blessing,
I'd Like to Propose A Toast!
SOURDOUGH!
Wahoo!
I Love Sourdough
An Underestimated
---TANG!---
Better Than No
Irritation.
No Really...
Stop Making That Face...
---crunch---
It
Had a Mother,
YOU KNOW.
-Gray Squirrel
11-09-2024
Running to escape
running from trouble
Pick up the pace
quick, on the double
Sweat pouring down
feet pounding the ground
Second wind comes along
now sprinting headlong …
He broke the tape
in record time, wahoo!
What he's run from is clear
~ but what’s there to run to
Delusional
We share the same
Birthday!
Wahoo!!!
But William H. Macy
Is NOT
Willam Defoe.
Thank God.
-Gray Squirrel
03-13-2024
I've heard it all my life: Wahoo!
"Sticks and stones may break your bones
but words will never hurt you."
It’s all in the accents and tones.
"A toodlerump! Jonathan Blasterscripp!”
yelled a classmate on the playground.
I’d slid in home on my rear, what a trip!
(At least, I was safe all the way round.)
Then when I won the spelling bee, I heard
loud whispers returning to my chair.
"Jon's a pricklesmart, a witwhit, a nerd.”
(They couldn’t spell those names on a dare.)
The restroom was the worst place to be
with a bunch of junior-high boys.
"Liptonlips done drunk too much tea.”
Or “Turdtumbler’s in there making noise!”
(Sometimes, that one fit the occasion.)
Girls were just as gross - those snotty sisters
in little cliques trying to smear or shun.
“Cankerwarf’s got new fever blisters!”
*****
In governmental circles as of late,
name-calling has become quite the trend...
Dubs like Crazy- and Crooked- clearly state
that jealousy and arrogance are at wits' end.
November 25, 2020
Daddy, Are You Sleeping?
Long car rides, or late night movies.
Piggyback rides down our long hallway,
then, you to pour me into bed.
Daddy, are you sleeping?
Newspaper glued to a thin, stick frame.
I feel like the Wright Brothers
as we soar through the skies.
Daddy, are you awake?
Birthday surprises, educational lectures,
daily encouragement in every direction,
and only us two sharing weekend donuts.
Daddy, rise and shine.
You trust me with your tractor and truck.
Mom thinks I’m trying to kill her.
Thank you for bragging on us, saying how beautiful I am.
Daddy, are you up yet?
A favorite Saturday breakfast, then teasing laughter
‘cause you have the biggest stack. Your 5 o'clock shadow
grows as we watch the Astros, Oilers, Chief Wahoo McDaniel.
Daddy, it’s time to get up.
You glow pride of place when you deliver me to my dorm.
I hear words of advice as you and mom wave me off:
“Don’t forget you are here for books, and not for boys”.
Daddy are you awake?
I want to cover you with a blanket,
keep you warm and safe, as you do with us.
Mom places your wedding ring upon your starched white shirt.
Daddy….Daddy, please get up.
Buckaroos wave in the wagons into a corral, circle of
Conestoga wagons mixed with covered wagons 100 count,
Next to the butte, a springer delivers calf alive; compadres cheer wahoo!
Exuberance looking at large remuda, choosing each a horse to mount.
Morning sun illuminates camp as mozo helps secure on a horse the rig,
Saddle up with aparejo and alforja to work on the range, the keen
Vaqueros mill the running cattle into a circle, and bulldog the doggie
Pulling down the calf to avoid the barranca deep ravine.
Noontime hot sun heats frijoles, huevos rancheros, and beef or lunch,
Cowboys drift cattle slowly ranch side, buckaroo pulls in the doggie stray calf,
Moving away from the coulee ravine towards the crick,
Dragonflies zoom near as waddys punch cattle herding,
resounding a hooray laugh.
Evening warm summer sun lights adobe viga roof beam end rustic,
Acequia irrigation canal greens the bolson flat arid valley,
Olla earthenware pot full of water complement hoedown and dinner,
Ramada shelter branches on roof give rest to camp, peaceful tally.
Success. By definition, it means a favorable or desired outcome. Funny, that doesn’t denote a positive or negative act. It only states a favorable outcome, the accomplishment of an intent. Good or bad, attainment of a goal is a success.
Competitions... Exams... Deadlines? Does a trophy feel the same as money?
Success is addicting, right? When we achieve success, we want to repeat it. If we did it once, we can do it again. Fall? Get back up and try harder. How many people have ever said, “Wahoo, I lost again!!! I hope I score last place next time!!!”
Winning a title brings with it a prestige... Honor... Something many strive for. Second place, third place, anyplace. It doesn’t matter. When it matters enough, we get back up and try harder with the hopes that we will be... A success - a favorable or desired outcome.
What success are you known for?
Bob’s accident was not "too" bad;
young lady with both legs broken.
Driving on drugs, he’s ultra rad;
“Go to Rehab,” judge has spoken.
Meanwhile... she goes to rehab too;
Bev learns to walk again, wahoo.
When laws and legs guys freely break,
what’s “legit” walks off the pages.
Their lawyers give this bellyache,
“We don’t put addicts in cages!”
Meanwhile... last time Bob tests a tort,
Bev appears as lawyer in court.
written May 26, 2018
Went for a haircut, forgot to say “a trim”
Nearly got scalped, ticked me off to the brim
Kids yelled wahoo
Big rocks I threw
Next time I'll tear 'em apart limb by limb
The suns bright rays,
they tickle my nose
make me sneeze,
ACHOO!
The feather so soft,
it tickles my toes
makes me laugh,
WAHOO!
The hand so gentle
it tickles my soul
makes me say
I DO!
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.