Author: David Wright

MINCE followed by meat in association game,
RACER by back, is that straps crossed?
BILLY, well, goat, Bob, or club-wrong spelling for Holiday,
ULCER, that one gives pause, preceded by peptic, yet succeeded by . . .? What a pain in the gut is ULCER!

CLUMPs of dirt! Call this a yard?
POUND is barren patch,: narrow kennels, narrow
AISLEs. A twitchy border collie is evolving, starting to invent:
WINCH to get everybody over the last fence and outta here.

CHAFF into the troughs–he’d be happy to have a portion.
LOWLY station, it was always his, but he was proud, blind to self,
SWORE to make his own way, live by his own lights.
PAPER scraps are a welcome find: time to write his father. Might he forgive?

DEVIL has no horns,
MURAL won’t hold his image. Only fallen boundaries show his presence.
SNEAK thief brags he got away, yet devil shadowed; more than property went missing.
LEGGY burlesque dancer can’t recall the moment devil misstated her worth.

GLAZE catches eyes on pot shards in current stratum,
FLINT and microliths wait at deeper levels,
STOOPed volunteers brush and catalog, will for years.
ABUSE kept at bay, this dig is by the numbers.

TODAY. How many left? What fixed place where I might
DWELL? How inhabit a current? Who can pause in time?
WRING a memory from today, but what will contain it?
TACIT most days: today’s a drop in a river flowing to a final sea.

SOLAR reveal, crime’s partial relief. Light of day
QUELLs misdeeds which under night’s mantle flourish.
SHUSH and shadow transfer from column coveted to column seized.
SHARE? When eyes are watching. Steal? When no gaze is sensed.

GOODY Mildred feeds the pigeons in the park,
SHAKY legs and rheumy eyes recede as she cares for creatures.
BITTY biddy is how some see her, sometimes I,
DIMLY viewing pigeon support. Yet I, too, must tune out aggravation through care.

ZESTY-piquant, forward, an inrush of taste and sense:
STICK to the bold recipes, or the deep ones, or the comfort bearing,
GIVEN care and good ingredients, flavor will burst forth.
‘GOODY’ signifies: what delights the palate, delights the spirit, is good.

TIBIA of attendant kicked by passenger asked to mask.
FLAKY pandemic effect: darkness of human nature closer to the surface.
MISERIcordia most required, yet in shortest supply. it does
GRATE: who is justified to vent wrath because another does their job?