Paul Willis: Spreading Phlox
(Phlox diffusa)
Purple phlox all day, all day,
and when sun sets
I stay to watch my phlox by night
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Michael Swan: What A Language!
Glenlivet, Bunnahabhain, Laphroaig,
Knockando, Bruichladdich.
What a language!
I speak it fluidly.
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L. A. Mereoie: Clay’s Eleygy
“Eley Superb clay shotgun cartridges
provide exceptional performance.”
- Gunsmith’s website
Here rests, in pieces, one last clay
Of ‘Fifty Straight’ to shatter
Which went to make a shooter’s day
And guess who’s profits fatter.
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J. D. Smith: A Brief History of the Shakers
They never turned to forming pairs
But, celibate, hewed to their prayers.
Now but a few, bereft of heirs,
These days they’re mainly known for chairs.
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Terese Coe: Existential Threats
The more God is prankful
the less I am thankful
to be alive
in spite of his jive.
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Felicia Nimue Ackerman: The Truth About Cats & Dogs
"Although responsible airlines do their best to keep
your pet comfortable, it is true that cargo travel can
be very stressful on animals. A plane's cargo area is
loud, dark, and cluttered.”-From the Django website
It’s time for an embargo
On shipping us as cargo.
You think we're safely stowed beneath?
We're readying our claws and teeth.
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Tracy Davidson: MW Clerihew
Mary Wollstonecraft
Thought the patriarchy quite daft
And proved with her pen
Women were (at least) equal to men
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Russel Winick : Maturity
The challenges increase with each new candle,
More obstacles keep washing up ashore,
All balanced, one would hope, by how we handle
Our interactions better than before.
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Damian Balassone: Reappraising Praise
The roar of the rapturous crowd
enchanted me when I was young.
But what does it mean to be praised
if praise is from a fickle tongue?
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L. A. Mereoie: Corvine Alarm Call
The rector said: “That ancient pair
Of pines will not be axed or sawn!
Young ravens roost in winter there
And wake me at the croak of dawn.”
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Julia Griffin: The Holly and the Ivy
If they are not kept small,
The holly shreds your clothes and skin,
The ivy splits your wall.
