Desperado

One left the beleaguered fort
In search of reinforcements;

One lived to tell the tale

Of his departure,
No one believed him.

Vignettes

American Beauty

The knife was found
Planted in the heart

Of the rose bed.

.

gay blade

In the heart
Of the heart of the country,

Whoever sings

The body electric
Is in for a shock.

.

fodder

From the back of the class,
Sent to the front

By his drill instructor--
As in animal

Prodder.

.

not so unlikely bedtime story

All the world over, rosy-cheeked
Kids like you

Are being put to sleep;
In the abattoir,

Pallid vegetarian butchers
Count sheep.

Circe

Incredible

As it sounds,
You do not think

You hear whatever
Enters the sow's ear.

Midnight Matinee

In the heat of the night,
One cold bloodcurdling scream--

When the floodlights come on,
Melted cherry ice cream.

In Lieu of Counting Sheep

How many poems have you read
That didn't put you to sleep?

The Beginning Of My Life As A Dog As Related By My Pappy, The Cur

Smile,

You snarling
Son-of-a-bitch.



(Incidentally, my father was not a cur and my mother not a bitch!)

Notation For One Who Does Not Like Art

on
one

of
the
wires

between
the
light

poles,
two

ring-
doves

cooing,
cuing

up
one
note
down

to
the
next

and

so
on
till
they
touch

down
on
all
five,

just
like
that.