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A few poems I've published recently.  Funny, a bunch of them seem to involve animals!

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Mantis

A green stick on a stalk, he waits
alien head swivels - hesitates -

eyes set wide as a hammerhead shark's
fix, unseen, on fluttering marks -

soundless snap of slender tongs
the mantis feasts! Blends back,

belongs.

as published in the San Diego Poetry Annual 2019
The Night-Shark

 

 stirs in its kelp bed

 moonlight gleaming on its gills

    then slides, 

      a one-fish waterfall,

      into the shallows 

    of the hall

 

    where the water’s cool and quiet

  and as dark as fresh squid ink;

the only sound, 

 of soft-tipped fins,

   carving through the 

      murky, midnight drink,

​

   as the creature advances,

  a sub at full sail,

   building bubbles and speed 

      with each switch of its tail;

         flipping salmon and sand-dollars,

         still deep in dreams;

       slicing thick schools of fish into 

    right and left streams –

​

   the night-shark leaps!

      A spectacular sight:

         it crests, 

         twists suspended,

      in frothy starlight;

    grins a familiar,

   faint crescent-toothed grin,

    eyes the soft reef of my bed,

and dives in.

to be published in the Journal of Undiscovered Poets, Vol. 4, 2023

rumpled bed.png
Beware: Wild Animal Sleeping!

 

By day, she’s a quiet,

polite kind of child,

but beware: when night falls,

the kid goes hog-wild,

and as soon as she’s sleeping

she tosses and kicks

like a grumpy old donkey

with nasty new tricks,

 

or a slurpy swamp creature

who mutters and mumbles

then roars like a jaguar,

a queen of the jungle;

then jabs out with elbows

and bashes with knees

as she swings through the bed

like a monkey through trees!

 

​

She snuffles and drools

like a crazed armadillo –

like the absolute last thing

you’d want near your pillow –

then she wraps herself 'round you,

a strong silly snake,

which starts out quite charming –

till it’s too much to take...

 

...and then, in the morning,

the creature awakes

stretches cute as a kitten,

gives her lamb’s-tail some shakes,

yawns out a sweet little yawn,

maybe two, and says

"I slept great, Mom –

how about you?”

to be published in San Diego Poetry Annual, 2023

Where Did All The Towels Go?

 

On Sunday, I washed towels,

washed them clean as pure white snow.

By Thursday, they had melted away –

 

where did all the towels go?

 

I swear, I stacked a dozen right there!

Hung two or three more, down below.

Did they fly off, like terry-cloth ghosts?

 

Where did all the towels go?

 

I finish my shower. I’m dripping and cold,

I reach for a warm, dry towel... oh no.

You can imagine, just how hard I hollered:

 

WHERE DID ALL THE TOWELS GO?

This poem hasn't been published yet... it's the title poem of the kid- and family-inspired chapbook I've been working on! This poem is truly non-fiction:"WHERE DID ALL THE TOWELS GO?!?!?!" is a frequent holler in this busy house of five.

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