Misunderstood Muse

Year after year she wasted away 

Consuming notebook after notebook with what 
Husband and son imagined contagious nonsense— 

Having kept their distance, it made sense after 
She departed to chuck the lot in the fireplace. 



NB: Sadly enough, a true story which transpired in a neighboring village many years ago; only the roles of the spouses have been exchanged to make it and the title more “poetic”.

Double Whammy

charmer, the man 
you vooded 

never knew what 
hit him where 

it hurt 
you too. 

Lynch Mobber

I remember the times they 

Spelt nothing but trouble 
And we had no time 

To stand around pretending 
We were just 

Innocent bystanders. 

Virtual Cowboy

Whoa, there! I know 

There must be better ways 
To while away a morning than watching 

A horse grazing in a vacant lot 
Next to your house, 

But right now I feel right 
At home right here, 

Pardner. 

Metamorphosis of a Blythe Spirit

No skylark, summer found him one morning 
In an olive grove, waiting for the cicadas 
To begin their song from limb to limb; 

One evening at the end of autumn, 
Nailed to a twisted trunk, 
They found the shell of him. 

Poet's Bugaboo

Jiminy Cricket! 

Sometimes I’m afraid 

I’m past all grace when 

I feel so smug I expect 

My next feat to come swaggering 

On all six legs out from under the tongue 

Of an army surplus boot and spit 

Flush in my face. 

Speak Not Double Talk of Death

I fear all that can be said 

Has been said before, also 

That nothing has been said before— 

This nothing is what terrifies me 

More than any gibberish said before.