something is under the wheelbarrow today
It moved up in the air in a weird way
a monkey? a squirrel? tiger or bear?
a faerie queen with gobs of sparkly green hair?
the wheelbarrow moved ever so slightly
whatever it is, can I afford to take it lightly?
what if it is a kitten, a bird or a large puppy?
a whale? a shark? or perhaps a teensy guppy?
the green wheelbarrow started to shiver and shake.
this is a real story, true all the way through, not a bit fake.
a column of red fire ants paraded out, a thousand in all.
proud and fierce, all puffed up, with lots of gall.
Then a snake, a whale, a dolphin, and a baboon.
They brought with them a storm and a little monsoon.
I stared at it amazed, wondering what else would come out.
My husband was the last one, and he gave a big shout.
I thought I needed a wheelbarrow
Ordered a blue one and was cleaning up my yard piles
When I discovered the identical one, I had purchased last year
The perils of being a spendthrift!!
Crossing the street in a motorized wheelbarrow.
Drops of ice cream on the road that is narrow.
Someone says I’m blocking the street.
While I’m eating my cold treat.
I found a nice spot in the shade.
At a bus stop that doesn’t allow wheelbarrows, I’m afraid.
While I innocently sway.
Like a bale of hay.
They think I should buy a ticket.
Maybe they should pay for it!
They say the bus is more normal.
But my wheelbarrow is never too full.
My invention is good enough for dirt and cement.
It’s also good enough for a person, I bet!
The passengers step around me in anger.
I’m enjoying the shade a little longer.
When my relaxation is through-
Why not stop at a drive thru?
Whether they laugh or yell,
I will take my burger done well.
I might get a tomato thrown at me today…
But it’s better than paying for a car I say!
Hillbilly Bobby shared his snack with a chickadee
The bird gave out some sounds a toot, a peet and a twee
His relatives came by and wanted bird seed too.
Bobby called in relatives to see what they could do.
They baked up cornbread and threw it onto the ground.
The smell of ham, beans and onions wafted all around.
They ended up feeding the entire chickadee nation.
Now this is an annual October harvest celebration.
Wheelbarrow cat was the garden overseer
Sitting above the plants year after year
When buyers got closer, she would disappear
Her owner never put her seat into gear
She loved the butterflies with their wings so sheer
Tried to bat them away when they got near
Garden gnomes let out a thunderous cheer
When the Germans brought out their exotic beer
I've built up such a thirst
keeping it on course
ripping words from ink stained pages
Wil doth shake
Charlie just a dick end
I wrote whit i want
Bleed your tortured visions
Blur your softest word
The Bring out your dead
cart is back
Dexter John, baby calf was tuckered, he had been playing all day.
He laid down in the Kansas grass, brown enough to be harsh hay.
His fifteen-year-old human cousins picked him up without a peep.
Placed him in a green wheelbarrow, comfortable enough to sleep.
His mother was comfortable resting her teats for a little while
The sun came out and filled the sky for a delightful country mile.
Dexter John snoozed loudly, his dreams of barley, oats and hay.
He was being weaned from his mother, and this truly was the way.
Bull Daddy came across his wife, with no calf youngster by her side.
Where is Dexter John? He snorted, for Dexter was his loin-filled pride.
He’s in the barn, taking a snooze, giving me a little breathing room.
When he gets ready for some milk, he’ll be back out, probably quite soon.
The teenage boys heard Dexter John bellowing for his tasty mother.
They gave him pats and set him on his feet and he ran to join his brother.
Why did they put you in the green thing? His twin asked, was it a dare?
It was not so bad, Dexter John replied. I napped. It was kind of fun in there.
The old red wheelbarrow is still standing there
right next to my Grandfather’s fixed rocking chair.
Though neither has moved in a good many years
their presence revives former laughter and tears.
As children, my Grandfather placed us inside
the bright red wheelbarrow and off we would ride.
Down rough country tracks to the orchard we’d go
returning with plentiful apples in tow.
I once asked my Grandfather why it was red,
‘That was your Gran's favourite colour’ he said.
And red were the roses he laid by the side
of the grave where he mourned for his beautiful bride.
When Grandfather died, I just hadn't the heart
to cast on the scrap heap his rusty red cart.
And so by his rocking chair it shall remain
to take me on journeys down memory lane.
06/08/18
For Your Poetry Journal Dear Heart a.k.a. Broken Wings
Walking down with my red wheelbarrow,
I spied a blue jay and a brown little sparrow
Flying across the golden fields;
I went behind them on a path narrow
To collect my flower garden's yields;
Now, inside my red wheelbarrow,
You will find some marigolds yellow,
Pink roses, violets and white carnations,
Green olive leaves and some fresh hedgerow,
All gathered for my sweet home's decorations.
08/06/18
Contest: For Your Poetry Journal
Sponsor: Dear Heart a.k.a. Broken Wings
The red wheelbarrow
with its cement smudges
and rusty scratches
dwarfs the white rabbit
nibbling young lettuce
covered in morning dew
next to the flowering
crepe myrtle.
So much depends
Upon
a black coffee
cup
faded with use
steam
into the faces
of us all
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