what kind of

specimens
crawling and creeping
digging and leaping
stay away from me!
I am here sleeping!

in the darkest of depths
of the longest of nights
what comes to greet you
what worst types of frights

what kind of evil starts stalking your soul
what kind of wind starts building a hole
what kind of madness will never abate
what kind of sadness, what kind of weight

where will you go to comfort your mind
who will you run to, who will you find
how will you reckon with memory of this
the screaming, the howling, the most wicked hiss

oh my goodness

oh my goodness
oh my gosh
I found a cookie
and want to nosh

but oh my goodness
i’m on a diet
but maybe I can
just a little
try it

oh my goodness
i gobbled it up
it was gone
so very quick

oh my gosh
i ruined my diet
maybe I can find
a bag of chips

how velcro saved the day

oh i can’t seem to find my place
said the lace to the shoe
the shoe boomed back just weave inside those little holes
do what you are meant to do

but i feel so flat and those holes are so round
what if i tangle up while weaving in?
will i always be so bound?

what do you think your life is for
you silly little laces
you are meant to serve me
you have no other graces

but what if I want to slither around
and roll into little balls
and just coil and uncoil all the day
maybe even hang from the walls

i have never met such impertinent laces
you have a job to do
here I am, flapping open
and you are worried about you!

and so the laces and the shoes
sat in brittle silence
wondering what would happen next
would the other turn to violence?

this went on for quite some time
and then an amazing thing happened
out of the cupboard jumped a pack of velcro
and before shoe knew it - he was fastened!

and so laces snaked away
to find his something more
but his story doesn’t end so well
he ended up in the back of a drawer

snuggle with your dreams

to create our imagined
life
we often find there is
strife

what if instead of a
struggle
we called it more of a
snuggle

oh i can’t seem to find
time
becomes oh i just found a small
rhyme

do you think they will
like it
turns into I hope it grows when it’s
sunlit

i’m afraid i won’t measure
up
transforms to i love being a young
pup

the words that we use, they do matter
they have the power to shatter
our dreams, our wants and our wishes
so make your words feel like kisses

come out to play

make whatever the words will allow
but whatever you do
do not take a bow

this would be hubris
and there is no thing worse
than an ego filled wordster
with ugh another verse

about how wonderful, bright, fine and deserving
oh how many words for a cheap pair of curtains
just look at them hanging there perfect and light
sorry I just thought they kept out the night

yes a lover of words can indeed be a pain
she will wear you out from being so vain

maybe instead to just love the words
to let them be silly and a little absurd

yes they have meaning and yes they reflect
but maybe it’s better to just be quite direct

to say what you mean
and mean what you say
and yes let the words
always come out to play

beating and mighty

beating and mighty
the words locked inside
comic and tragic
as with the world they collide

daddy i learned a new word just today
the word is poetaster
is that me
would you say

the kids on the playground were laughing at me
as i rhymed and made sillies and talked to a tree

you said i could do whatever i wanted
but you didn’t tell me daddy
that i might get taunted

my daughter my dear
you do whatever you want
and tell those dumb kids
to put a thumb in their rump

they don’t know yet
the power of magic
and to unlock it
you can’t be pedantic

make whatever the words will allow
write it all down and trust me somehow
we never know the story we weave
until much later, until when we leave

beating and mighty
the power of magic
to leave it unsaid
comic and tragic

crawl inside

find some space
to sit right down
and crawl inside your mind
what riches are there trapped inside
what treasures do you find

the world it keeps on spinning
no matter what we do
find some time, to step inside
ask what matters to you

Now

Now
tell me the truth

i think your friend Past has been lying to me
and it is clear that Future is a huckster indeed

but you Now
seem different
the honest of your type
not prone to lying
or building the hype

i’m asking you Now
be honest with me
help with my muddle
help me to see

i’ve grown used to leaning
on Past’s sordid tales
the reminders of screw ups
and all of the fails

and I know I am lured
into Future’s productions
the lavish environs
the zero obstructions

so easy to live in a world made of air
where i’m always perfect and there isn’t a care

i wish it was like that
i guess
if i’m honest

I wish it was easy
didn’t
feel like a contest

Now
it’s so hard to tell my own truth
i can’t really hear
i can’t get down to the root

but something about you
and your friend silly Rhyme
there is something about you
and this small little time

it feels like you have something useful to teach me
like i’ve met a real friend
who wants me to be free

an old habit

ok, i got it
i’m on to something
this is it, here i go!
oh wait, maybe not
i’m doing it wrong
better stop - not make a show

yes, finally, i can feel it now
for sure happening this time
oh, that old thing - i quit it last week
it was just too much of a climb

i aim for the perfect, for something unspoiled
so no one can say i was wrong
but this time, i swear it, i’m gonna keep going
I want to say I Am Strong.

a mumbling recollection

a mumbling recollection
as she stoops to stir the stew
storied lore heard twice before
she wants to tell to you

a fancy tale of weft and wale
and how she knit a slew
for sailors on a mighty ship
their fortunes not come through

a silly yarn of cow and barn
and how she shod a shoe
for bovines of a higher class
afraid of their own doo

a misty myth of a blacksmith
and how he made her blue
young lovers for a short time
but then away he flew

the hazy intersection
the lines of her own life
best to sit and listen
avoid familial strife

but maybe still remember
as she speaks anew
all these fables 'round the table
they might not be true