Fuzzy fluff is in style
Yellow chicks yellow smile
Eating worms so wild
¥ ¥
••
(((((()))))//
Snuggle down and cuddle up
For the nights are drawing in.
Listen! Worms are burrowing
Deep down to below the frost line
To the black damp
Sweet damp Kingdom of the earthworm.
Six feet under
In subterranean chambers,
These humble sinkers,
Tunnel to the hum and pulse
Of the seasons.
Dragging and pulling,
Loaming and ploughing
A mosh of decaying debris down
Beneath the overburden,
Into the clag and quiet crush
Of the dark soil.
Worms, the intestines of the earth
In endless toil turn the world
Over, and over, and over.
In the cosy of my blanket
I hug my cup of tea,
And I look out above and beyond me
Up to the autumnal skies.
A twilight of stars
Flung far across the deepening violet,
Twinkle old light.
I ponder the nebula -
Neighbouring planets with their own histories,
And stories of water.
What became of their worms?
Venus worms, Mars worms,
Jupiter and Saturn worms -
What fate awaits the Earth worms?
Our dormant earthworms
Sleeping cold tight,
Deep down, away from the light.
Earthworms coiled spherical
In their protective sheen of dew,
Patiently waiting springs anew.
built a nest out of twin twigs
instead of a camp fire fire starter
laid eggs away from threats
instead of posing for bird watcher enthusiasts
brought home worms for babies' consumption
instead of baiting them for fished
flying against rural strong wind
instead of the resistance from urban polluted air
got printed on educational books
instead of having place in the world.
WET PLAYGROUND
The falling rain stopped.
Happy worms came up to play:
Hungry birds came down to join:-
The earthworm molds the earth
Canker worms feed slowly
The truth in nature confirms
You may think you decide
but no, it is this way
‘cause the worms say it is so
SPIRIT ANIMAL Poetry Contest
Gary Baldwin
Sept. 25, 2025
Truth comes in one golden droplet.
You wait like a blind baby sparrow.
But mom can only bring a rubber worm.
Eventually the sweet droplet meets
the soul's red parched beak.
A lie frequently comes in buckets.
An endless deluge of infinite confusion.
A black thorned brackish delusion.
But a lie will collapse under its own weight.
Transparency always devours opacity.
Worm sliding round back of house,
Met, by chance, tiny soft mouse,
"How's all that dating stuff?
Dating the one is enough,
Worms stood the test of time,
Power to all our slime!
Worm love keeps us forever young,
Hermaphrodites have the most fun!"
Blue worm eased into his warm tea bath with love
The balmy weather was as lovely as the sky above
He soaked his tail, and he drank a bit of ale
A worm who was used to a sauna, without fail
Maggots and worms, maybe snails
look forward to them after death
Consider that whenever
you take a deep breath
A fish stood up in AA.
Oh boy, what he had to say!
" Hi. I'm Mister Yearns,
Stay away from worms,
I got hooked after one day!"
the ripe red elite tomato made a sweet slice
decay and mold nowhere, it truly was nice.
garden knew it was the tomato’s time to reign
fat juicy intrusive tomato worm plead insane
carrots sat by watching as silently as sheep
their alarm bells going off, but not very deep
garden crone came by and cast a freshness spell
you decide if she is a witch, for you know her well
inside her trunk was her cat familiar, a ready alarm
ripe and eager to pound her paw and use a charm
I found myself too scared to take another peek or drink
sweat poured out of my hair holes; my face was pink.
on the tree trunk fence a master gardener’s chart
next to it sat a rhubarb pie, that is close to my heart.
do not put me into the trash barrel the tomato worm plead.
you are in a scrape I replied, for I want you dead.
Tom tom drums call men unto war
The Euphrates dries in preparation
Of a Third world war as Gog and Magog
Start a Cataclysmic war that unchecked
Will lead to an outright world war
Russia is on the offensive in arms against
A colleague of the Russian federation
By name Ukraine is daily bombarded
Carpet bombing NATO names it
As they western powers Arm Ukraine
And dogs of war, by name Mercenaries
Are shipped in droves to support the underdog
The Big USA uncle Sam as they call Her
Peddles her weaponry to the downtrodden Ukraine
As rumors of war abound.. They call it war propaganda
There will be wars and rumors of war but the end is not yet
The end comes when the Beelzebub Prince makes peace
With the Holy Land.. Ooh JERUSALEMA.. why am I reminded of ACRE
I saw a great many worms today
As they came out in the rain to play.
I said, “in this party, don’t partake -
You are making a big mistake.”
Like a feather, flaky and light,
Suspended in the air against the golden hue----
With blades of lemon grass beneath, tall and sharp
You burst forth in my mind,
Spilling colors of ecstasy
In the aching heart.
Like a story untold, unwritten, unsung---
You stream a melody of once upon a time.
A glimpse of you, splash liquid delight.
And send thousands of glowworms in the garden of dreams.
No matter where you are, however, you shine,
I still have you, who once was mine.
A photograph of us
tucked into an old paperback.
We took the book to Rome
long ago.
I left it on a bus.
Most likely
it has been destroyed,
by riffling thumbprints.
Paper rots,
the bus recycled into,
spoons and helmets.
The book was once
a romantic novel,
now it’s a ghost story.
Book worms rewrite history -
a very natural process.
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