The
youngest SCAMP is AMONG those who have to
HALVE their SHIRTs (a bet) in order to join the
CLASH with the superior OUTGOing team:
‘REBUTting the GULCH’ is the name of this contest.
Category: contributors
Unpolished
REBUTting you: yes, I am often late, I wear novelty T-
SHIRTs, I forget to pay bills. But why cite these? Why
CLASH? I am yours, wholly loyal. I do not glorify my faults. That
SCAMP you were with before was polished-and what was he worth?
Youthful Follies
AMONG many mistakes was sliding down the
GULCH after the rain which would have
HALVEd my lifespan if I couldn’t
OUTGO my outraged mother.
Reverse Ezekiel 47
AMONG residents realization sickly takes hold: the land is dying: dry
GULCHes, reservoirs down three quarters, allotments cut. To
HALVE prior expectation now looks good. A reality so stark, you blink and blink, yet it’s still there:
OUTGO far above inflow. Praying for rain is all that’s left. And what of spiritual water? How high the levels?
Among the Hills a Bluff
AMONG the hills a bluff stands mightily,
HALVEd by an echoing
GULCH where downpours find their
OUTGO, roaring past water-worn walls that readily fall silent when the sun and river’s run have had their say.
Maiden’s Distress
STRIP loneliness from my heart, O
WOOER of mine. Turn this broken
STATE to peace; let this sheep keep the
FERAL words I hold from being spoken.
02-14
WOOER strikes out. Went for broke on big gesture.
STATEd objection: I like you as a friend.
FERAL mood walking home,
STRIPs torn off the bushes. The world is out of joint.
Mundane
STRIP away the fabric hindrances,
STATE for the millionth time our desire––
WOOER embracing, wooed embraced; love is
FERAL, tenacious in the midst of mundanity.
Repartee
BASIL’s wife is somewhat
PLUMP and he is quite a
TEASE. She answers
DRYLY his remarks, avenging
them with ease.
Passive Aggressiveness
PLUMP gourmand remarked
DRYLY that the soup perhaps had too much
BASIL, to which his wife (and cook)
TEASEd him that perhaps less soup would be good for him.