Sit and buy me a pale ale
while I regale you with
a tale written in braille
by a man stale in jail with
no avail to raise bail.
Curtail the detail ~ suffice it to say
how a frail male whale wailed when
again and again failed dislodging
a rusty nail impaled in its tail.
Not to derail but meanwhile
across the vale, a snail and quail
hightailed it but strayed off their trail ~
Once all were put up for sale,
t’was the female who tipped the scale.
It’s not much of a tale but
thanks for the ale, it was tasty.
Inhale ~ now let's enjoy an upscale cocktail.
Lineku: 3 stanzas of 5-7-5 lines ~ each line has 5 or 7 words
she is wearing a bedraggled housedress
blue with enormously large red and yellow mums
it is faded now, but really soft, threadbare in spots
we surprise her with a new one for her eightieth birthday
she overly thanks us with this pink delight
but we never see her wear it; she wears the old one
when her estate is up for sale there are sixteen boxes
with brand new housedresses in them
none worn
people gave her new ones every year for Christmas
and for her birthday but she liked the old one.
They buried her in it.
IT’S SIMPLE, SIMON
Simple Simon met the pieman,
In the superstore.
He asked how much, the pieman said,
“Two pounds twenty-four.”
“They used to be a penny,”
Simon said with indignation.
The pieman said, “Since this was written,
They’ve been subject to inflation.”
Simon said, “I’m stoney broke,
Times are very hard.
I haven’t any cash left
And I’ve maxed my credit card.”
“I’m sorry,” said the pieman.
“That’s a very sorry tale.
Why don’t you go outside and put
Your Rolls Royce up for sale?”
I
Standing in a glass cube
As rain falls all around
The fate of the world
Is up for sale
Valkyries burst like bombs
As the forces of evil push us down
Lightning lances across the sky
And we're begging for a miracle
The great Arc sails the skies
A triumph to watch sails unfurl
Serenaded by the pegasus
Are we finally saved
As volcanoes erupt and gods awake
The glass cube begins to shatter
Wherein stands the Proprietor of Evil
For it is Hades Himself
II
Clouds part like curtain call
Fire shoots across the heavens
We're just witnesses to Armageddon
As civilization falls apart
As helpless as cockroaches
Cowering in the shadow of a shoe
Were the old feuds really worth it
As gods render earth a battleground
Sails ripped and on fire
The arc is sinking in a blaze of glory
But victory is surely at hand
As Alexander holds blade up high
Once again ensnared in a glass cube
As tears rain from the skies
Comes the death of the empire of Hades
And his fate is up for sale
Surviving with little money
Life really isn’t funny
Raining even when it’s sunny
Don’t wanna run this rat race
No chance of keeping up pace
Falling on my flat face
But this is my turf
Like nowhere on earth
This is MY place
To defend with my life, so I don’t lose face
The smell of death is stale
Living like the alpha male
Every day is up for sale
Dreading when the phone rings
Know I gotta change things
This is what my brain sings
Seeing other people’s tears
When surrounded by their fears
This is what man hears
Sadness from the knife
Affecting someone’s wife
Causing family strife
Yet another day is done
Lost a daughter or a son
Another victim of the gun
My dream escape was through song
Every day I hope I’m wrong
But I fear my day has gone
Even being told your dope
Doesn’t always help you cope
But I aint giving up the hope
Bad influences to remove
To get back in the groove
Transition is rarely smooth
Find something inside to inspire
To lift the spirit higher
To give and keep the desire
Different life it needs to be
Can I make it, we will see
Change can only come from me
A red rose am not
Yellow, pink nor white
My color is lost in between
Different shades in tone
But a rose I still am
Still beautiful to behold
Dressed up in a knot
You brought the likes of me
Across from various gardens
You sorted us out
Branded us with your stamps
Held us up for sale
And the highest bidder won us
We were torn away from families
Strangers became family
It didn’t matter our garden of origin
We had been arranged together
Each according to its looks
Beauty, strength, height and only God knows what
Hewed from my beautiful home
A spectacle you made me to be
You chose where I lay
What view I could have
When I could be nourished
As we got spent and faded
You cut us up
Others you hung up
But remember we were beautiful
Once in our own garden.
He was famous for being famous,
Nobody knew what he’d done:
But he was famous for being famous
And that was good enough some.
And he was there at every function
Party, Birthday, Bar Mitzvah, barbecue
In fact if he wasn't there
It just wasn't considered a do.
When asked why he was famous
He’d give an enigmatic smile
And the question was forgotten
In a very little while.
And then the police arrested him
On suspicion of a long past crime
And some said they’d had
Their suspicions all the time.
And then the police released him
With not stain on his name
People said no smoke
Without fire just the same.
He put his house Up For Sale
And then he was gone,
Just upped and packed his bags
And so very quietly moved on.
For weeks it was the topic
Of our quiet village life
Until a certain worthy was found
In bed with the wrong wife
He'd been famous for being famous
Nobody knew what he’d dome
But he was famous for being famous
And that was good enough some.
For sale
People's power said a few,
Minority rights said a few,
Majority decay said a few,
Your tongue said a few.
The greed chosen in our name,
That opposition is all the same,
Thoughtless brainwashed we are,
That Greek word is a losing star.
Seeing those elected brokers,
Making us clowns in a circus,
The rules we follow,
The taxes our sorrow,
Not for them in any morrow.
The fights over these corpses,
Are we losing our senses,
The power of people we pride,
Is lost with no one to guide.
We are all up for sale,
Stripped by the winner without fail,
Country sold to the new white man,
Survive people if you can.
Ramnath.A
For sale
People's power said a few,
Minority rights said a few,
Majority decay said a few,
Your tongue said a few.
The greed chosen in our name,
That opposition is all the same,
Thoughtless brainwashed we are,
That Greek word is a losing star.
Seeing those elected brokers,
Making us clowns in a circus,
The rules we follow,
The taxes our sorrow,
Not for them in any morrow.
The fights over these corpses,
Are we losing our senses,
The power of people we pride,
Is lost with no one to guide.
We are all up for sale,
Stripped by the winner without fail,
Country sold to the new white man,
Survive people if you can.
Ramnath.A
For sale
People's power said a few,
Minority rights said a few,
Majority decay said a few,
Your tongue said a few.
The greed chosen in our name,
That opposition is all the same,
Thoughtless brainwashed we are,
That Greek word is a losing star.
Seeing those elected brokers,
Making us clowns in a circus,
The rules we follow,
The taxes our sorrow,
Not for them in any morrow.
The fights over these corpses,
Are we losing our senses,
The power of people we pride,
Is lost with no one to guide.
We are all up for sale,
Stripped by the winner without fail,
Country sold to the new white man,
Survive people if you can.????????
Ramnath.A
For sale
People's power said a few,
Minority rights said a few,
Majority decay said a few,
Your tongue said a few.
The greed chosen in our name,
That opposition is all the same,
Thoughtless brainwashed we are,
That Greek word is a losing star.
Seeing those elected brokers,
Making us clowns in a circus,
The rules we follow,
The taxes our sorrow,
Not for them in any morrow.
The fights over these corpses,
Are we losing our senses,
The power of people we pride,
Is lost with no one to guide.
We are all up for sale,
Stripped by the winner without fail,
Country sold to the new white man,
Survive people if you can.????????
Ramnath.A
For sale
People's power said a few,
Minority rights said a few,
Majority decay said a few,
Your tongue said a few.
The greed chosen in our name,
That opposition is all the same,
Thoughtless brainwashed we are,
That Greek word is a losing star.
Seeing those elected brokers,
Making us clowns in a circus,
The rules we follow,
The taxes our sorrow,
Not for them in any morrow.
The fights over these corpses,
Are we losing our senses,
The power of people we pride,
Is lost with no one to guide.
We are all up for sale,
Stripped by the winner without fail,
Country sold to the new white man,
Survive people if you can.????????
Ramnath.A
They lack the programming needed to control me yet,
They plague my mind with wants and needs,
Covering up everything that's me,
Do I disappear no I just get stronger,
They may have taken much from me,
But I'm not their father,
It's like looking at husks in hell watching them scurry around,
Did you ever think your master was what goes down,
Even a devil lives to tell the tale,
A snake amongst fixtures of one up for sale,
Salesmen yes,
Hellbound no,
Because it created fancy......
We took a tour of the farm this morning,
Thinking it would be a bore in early fall.
Watched them mulching strawberry beds,
And collecting the last of summer’s haul.
The greenhouse was full of exotic plants
From all over the world, it seemed,
We sniffed and tasted colorful herbs
Learning some can be eaten steamed!
Geese, turkeys, and ducks were feeding
On corn from shocks bundled up for sale,
While stacks of bright orange pumpkins
Prompted the farmer to tell us a tale.
We saw the monarchs fluttering about
Newly born from chrysalis on fence wire,
Watching the honeybees go in and out
Made us happy we were able to retire.
written October 14, 2021
Be sure to check the pockets
When you do the children’s clothes.
Clean the lint from the dryer
And the washer’s discharge hose.
Check the pump in the basement
When you get a heavy rain.
Keep an eye on the furnace,
That old bastard’s such a pain.
Pay the gas, the electric
And the water bills on time.
You should make it through Christmas
If you budget every dime.
Put my fly rod, my golf clubs
And my shotgun up for sale.
Tell that jerk-off attorney
The check is in the mail.
I might be gone,
But I’ll never be too far away.
There’s a window needs fixing,
But I can’t remember which,
And that light in the kitchen,
Have your dad replace the switch.
Keep a good sense of humor.
Everybody understands.
Toss a salad for dinner,
Just be careful where it lands.
Lock the doors and the windows
When it’s time to settle in.
Give my love to the children.
Don’t regret what might’ve been.
Set your cell phone on vibrate,
Tuck it in and hold on tight.
I’m gonna call you and call you
And call you all night.
I might be gone,
But I’ll never be too far away
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