Telltale

All told 

The townsfolk sometimes tell time 
By the toll of the town clock bell; 

All save one tell one’s time’s up 
By the church bell’s telling 

Toll, toll, toll. 

After the Fall

Where the remains of the stock had come 
To rest, there no longer gathered a congress

Of crickets whose sole lot in life was 
To sing while stripping it  

Unceremoniously bare. 

Loopholes

Quick, quick, tie those loose ends up— 
You don’t want them to know who 

Those dangling legs belong to. . . . . . .

Timely Disclosure

Behind the motionless foliage of the pepper tree, 
A thin, half-hidden crescent will soon reveal itself fully— 

But wait—what folly thinking I’ll begin to see 
What yesterday evening was hidden from me. 

Poetic Vessel

Before you find yourself haplessly
Maneuvering between the two 
Black Clashing Rocks 

On the way to your next port of call, 
Stop over at one called Ithaca and stay long 
Enough to find out what it means— 

It’s either that or it’s time 
To give up the ship.