Was it a clash, a scrimmage or an attack?
The warrior was speechless; his name was Max
Did they carry armor? Did they throw you down?
Did it happen in the woods or in London town?
Were they wearing colors? Did they have banners too?
Were they booted up or did they wear a tennis shoe?
Did they wear crowns or hats? Did they carry shields?
Max ran off screaming toward Wrigley Fields.
Brutish bison stepped on my left foot today
Making me less merry, forcing me to delay
It weighed a ton, so what could I do?
I yelled “Get off of my tennis shoe!”
Skittish bison got startled and galloped away
My toe is broken, bleeding, its nail is turning gray.
So, I cannot come over for my play date today.
Maybe you should invite my cousin Jay.
When I go to school I want a double pink desk.
This is what his girl talked about, her name was Tess.
Jack wondered what double pink meant, but never knew.
Tess never explained, and disappeared in nineteen seventy-two.
The neighborhood searched, the whole city too.
Only thing recovered was possibly a red tennis shoe.
Jack and his wife split up, both blaming the missing on each other.
He moved in with his siblings, and his sad little mother.
What do you think she meant by double pink desk?
They discussed this statement, which was often made by Tess.
Jack fell in love with Marge on a fine spring day.
They got married, and moved far far away.
They have a daughter now, they call her Curly May.
She is unlike the other, but here is what she’ll say,
“When I go to school I want a double pink desk like my sis.”
Curious talk from this five-year-old miss.
Panda took a bite of the new bamboo
It was fresh and green, but there was a goo
What kind of crud is this? He asked sky of blue
Sky laughed at his consternation, wouldn’t you?
“This new bamboo is as tasty as a tennis shoe!”
He was joined by two cousins, Little Lee and Lu.
They crunched down onto the new green bamboo
This tastes horribly gummy like wallpaper glue!
Hey! Come here! They yelled to Aunt Booby Boo.
She ran right over and said “quit kidding, you!”
Why are you eating the prop put out here by Sue?
Tearing it apart, and eating out the glue?
This irritated Panda, Little Lee and unlovely Lu.
They growled and groused the entire day through.
How did we not see it was plastic? Asked Lu from the dew.
They had no answers, the other cousins, two.
When I go to school I want a double pink desk.
This is what his girl talked about, her name was Tess.
Jack wondered what double pink meant, but never knew.
Tess never explained, and disappeared in nineteen seventy-two.
The neighborhood searched, the whole city too.
Only thing recovered was possibly a red tennis shoe.
Jack and his wife split up, both blaming the missing on each other.
He moved in with his siblings, and his sad little mother.
What do you think she meant by double pink desk?
They discussed this statement, which was often made by Tess.
Jack fell in love with Marge on a fine spring day.
They got married, and moved far far away.
They have a daughter now, they call her Curly May.
She is unlike the other, but here is what she’ll say,
“When I go to school I want a double pink desk like my sis.”
Curious talk from this five-year-old miss.
the imagery is there
story line as blah as wallpaper paste
wallpaper paste that has dripped on the floor
been stepped on by a size nine Nike tennis shoe
oozing off the bottom of it now
I dive in for another peek
there must be more
the protagonist has to be a hero or a villain
we have his name, colors and attitudes
nothing stands out;
I, the reader, do not know whether to cheer or loathe him
the feelings that prance all over most stories are dormant.
lying in an old brown suitcase in my mind’s attic
uncaring, unconcerned, unmoved by this excuse for a tale
I stop reading
not wanting to waste
one more drop of time
A gargoyle fell off the top of the building and landed on my toe.
I screamed like an injured bobcat, loud, long, hard, with a glow.
The neighbors all came out and stared, but this was the city.
They turned snickering, and ran off; the scene was not pretty.
One old guy came over and said “There will be a bill for that.”
He was pointing to the cement gargoyle who had ears like a cat.
You think I pushed this thing off the top letting it fall on my foot?
I was irritated now. Also it had left a trail of ugly black soot.
Your tennis shoe is ruined; you should have known better, he said.
I knew right then that the old guy was bonkers in his skinny ole’ head.
I shoved the gargoyle off my foot and told him to shove off.
Then I noticed his ugly smile and his strange little weird kitty cough.
“Hey”, I asked this Weirdy Cat. “Weren’t you married to my sister?”
“Could be,” he replied."I married many." He is a strange little mister.
Oh, yes, I thought, this was one of hers for sure. He is so odd.
I limped off, not looking back after pushing the gargoyle off my bod.
the other dubious tennis shoe dropped
causing a splash heard round the world
thunder crashed and lions came out of gladiator's mouths
a wondrous feast in land of the lost
We are identical twins
believing in none of the same things
as alike as a tennis shoe is to a tyrannosaurus rex’s jawbone
We used to play and laugh
We had a silent laugh that creeped out the rest of the family
It could last for a month or two at a time
But then one of us grew up, and moved away.
Became a political being, whereas the other one
does not remember half the time which one is a donkey
We are identical twins
who used to have a mother and father
who kept us together, in the same car, at the same church
We used to be together on so many things
Before I realized there are other religions and other languages
And before my twin forgot who she was and became a social media stirrer of trouble.
We barely speak now
When we do we are careful
She professes to hate liberals, and I am the most liberal liberal I know.
Luckily, I also know that she does not know what a liberal is.
Some people do not have to know what “they are” in order to despise them.
THINGS WITH STRINGS
Spider's web, strings of stars,
a weaver's loom, and old guitars.
Balls of yarn, and DNA,
string bikini, and crochet.
Cats cradle, spools of thread,
Tails on kites, and hairs on head.
Theory in music, or in science,
together making a string alliance.
Yo-yo, and Pinocchio,
harp, violin and cello.
Catgut bow, and strings of cheese,
or whiskers on a prized Siamese.
Silly String, and G-string,
an strings of birds on wing.
Math strings, "No strings attached,"
a roof that's been heather thatched.
String quilts, strings of pearls,
strings that tie to locks of curls.
Music staff, and balls of twine,
and tendrils from a sweet pea vine.
Heart, balloon, and aprons too,
and laced up in a tennis shoe.
Garland, hamstring, and quartet,
strings on fingers to not forget.
Braided rings, and strings of lights,
pulling strings, and fishnet tights.
Telephone string through tin cans,
woven blankets and knit afghans.
Brown paper packages tied up in string,
needle, lanterns, and wind chimes that sing.
Drawstring, bowstring, and baby's pull toy,
string, strung, and stringing, we're all overjoyed.
By Edlynn Nau
© January 25, 2015
Tennis shoes paraded through my mind
Taking me hostage and tying me up.
With laces that seemed longer than most
They were designed with neon colors
Not one or two, but six or seven.
They were prettier than party confetti.
I was intrigued by them, for they had minds
And opinions and they held secrets.
I tried to coax them to tell, but they refused
Parading to the music in my imagination
Dancing and hopping, skipping and bragging
In a lively, happy, unconstructed way
I shall be a tennis shoe in my next life, I thought.
They are revered and loved, and they get to dance.
And hop and skip. What could be better?
Witch, warlock, goblin and vampire fine
Wearing one slipper and one tennis shoe
They all ran home at promptly half past nine.
Fine goblins, ghosts, and ebony cats too.
And a lively she devil newly born
Hid down at the corner at twenty-two
Barn owls wearing goat hats with a curly horn
Hooting their truth in October’s clean night
Eating juicy pumpkin cakes with candy corn.
Halloween witchcraft magic feels ever so right.
Come to my bed, Sweet. I’ve already turned off the light.
A funny thing happened on the way to school,
I swear I saw an alligator in Ms. Mary's pool.
I kept on walking but it looked at me hungry,
quickly I threw to him my lunch money.
Then in the tree I heard something chitter,
those noise came from a polka dotted critter.
The thing was crying, it's nest was smashed flat,
so I gave the critter my new baseball hat.
You won't believe it, but I swear it is true,
I met a monkey wearing one tennis shoe.
It made him uneasy when he swung from a vine,
I did what I could and I gave him one of mine.
I thought I could make it to school okay,
I ignored the butterflies that wanted to play.
But I met a giant and something of mine he took,
that is why I don't have my geography book.
He said he needed it for a drink coaster.
I shook so bad I could only say "sure."
What a messed up morning, I tell you true.
You would believe me if it happened to you.
The funniest thing happened when I got to school
It turns out it was SUNDAY, oh boy I'm such a fool.
For Contest: A funny thing happened
Date: 7-21-2018
from Blue to orange,
to purple and pink,
from black to white,
then back to blue,
from sparks of light,
to loud, bold sounds,
with wet cold stuff dripping down,
cold as clay, some may say,
especially through April to May,
when black with white,
we see the light,
of a falling star coming down,
They light the sky and change it to,
it's brighter than my tennis shoe!
Then overnight, it starts all over,
the changing of the sky...
The maple tree leaf
Sheens of white upon them lay....
Crystalline manna
Grass lying beneath
Sticky to tennis shoe sole....
small sounds as I walk
The diligent bee
gathering, gathering, fast....
Quiets at twilight.
INTERJECTION:
Some would not return to the hive.
Too heavy to fly,
to far to crawl.
I’m sure they will die...
Inspired by a hive of hornets, deluging
a huge maple tree in my back yard,
which is weeping sap from the leaves.
Feb 2011 Charles Henderson
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