Author: Steven Robertson

BROAD river seems calm:
BRACE yourself for speed.
HIPPO swims faster than you think:
GOOEY and tasty to him you’ll be.

BUGGY wheels bog down in the
LOAMY soil, not yet hardened by wear.
CLOSE by are thorns and stones beyond
COUNT, but seed finds the tilled earth all the same.

CLINK of spatula to pan as the cooks
SAUTE and simmer and stir;
LOCAL recipes and ingredients
BELIE the urban snobs’ slur.

CANAL forms the short path home through the
GORGE, but a mythic beast and mythic storm
USURP the reign of peace over those waters, and
HAVEN becomes the last thing believed possible.

SPAN, King’s navy, from familiar seas to
KOALA and kangaroo’s homeland;
CROWN claims for itself then ships
FERRY “adventurers” down under.

GAUZE rolls applied, they
CHAFE the skin (what’s left, anyway).
STALKing the bear along its
TRACKs may have not been the brightest idea.

DAISY petals fluttering past
PURSEd lips curving into a frown;
FLAIR for the dramatic does not translate to wise
GUIDEs or counselors.

REGAL presence:
CLEAN, noble, dignified, yet the presence of
CRONY and sycophant lead to
HASTY dismissal.

PEDAL and cable from guitar to amp wears an
ALLEY on the floor, the tunes
EMBED themselves in your brain and
TRUMP whatever thoughts you wanted to have.

TOUGH guy, packin’ heat and crackin’ knees,
PLUME perfectly set in his fedora,
DYING for some wise guy to slip up:
DOUGH has to be collected for the boss.