VALUEs, welter of choices for hearts to hold, some to
DEBIT–interior inclinations needing fine assay,
LOUSY judges we of questions of worth.
GRATE of eternity will admit unsplendid as treasure, catch what was prized as dross.
Category: contributors
Roach Motel
DEBIT my account, even though it
GRATEs on my nerves––
LOUSY room only has
VALUE to the mice in the walls.
It’s all in the ear
CHUTE the messenger? Don’t.
SIEVE the messenger? Do.
ADAPT the messenger and take him into your family? You’d be
DITTY not to.
Carry the Tune
DITTY started, but the singer carries the tune in a
SIEVE, the band struggling mightily to
ADAPT, but mostly just praying for an escape
CHUTE to whisk them away…
Junior Bird Men
DITTY singing (“Junior Bird Men, up in the air, upside down”), I tumble from the plane,
CHUTE opens, whistling weirdly. I look up:
SIEVE of a canopy! The thought occurs: when humans
ADAPT well, they require time plus iteration.
Whoops, science!
NINJA receives the Sceptic’s
AWARD for proving that the
OZONE layer isn’t
QUITE as holey as once proclaimed.
Close Call
OZONE smell fills the air where the
QUITE close––too close––lightning struck like a
NINJA. Me taking cover? Not so much. No
AWARD for grace or poise forthcoming.
Ruin Preferred
OZONE above might heal, last joint act before we
NINJAed away collective deeds of grace, now re-
QUITEing every impulse of care with scorn. Darwin
AWARD more lustrous than common good, ruin preferred.
Pike Place
CROOKed the foreman finger for fish to fly,
THREW the crew their catch for crowd,
SUAVEly caught and given paper wrap,
BEGINs stray custom, winds up a tourist trap.
Vogue
SUAVE, debonair, I’m sure I look; by hook or by
CROOK I thought I’d win them all over––until reality
THREW me a curve ball, and I at last
BEGIN to see it’s a funhouse mirror before me.