Blynk was cursed with a curse
That got worse and -----
---- every new thing he said.
-- could only say each word once
Before -- blanked --- looked - dunce,
Turning his sentences half dead.
Now you may think ----
This ----- --- the worst
But your fears fall flat
Because in --- end
He’ll be out of words
--- won’t have to speak again.

The finest answers aren’t as good
As the best questions understood
To make you search and seek and go
And not just sit around and know.

When told, “Pull yourself together!”
I start throwing parts away.
Now if you wonder whether
I’m aware of what’s at play?
I know it’s all knee-jerk
So that jerk knee’s the first to go!
It’s time I get to work
On giving me the old heave-ho,
Imparting parts I’m parting with
To the great beyoffd,
Farewell my subtle wit,
All you warts and frecks are off!
Gone are the larger toes
And my ability to share!
Out with my love of crows
And all this blonder hair!
Memories of my sister? Gone!
Did I ever even have a sis?
See how easy I move on
Not knowing what there is to miss?
When all this clutter goes its way
I’m lighter than a feather,
When all those parts are thrown away
I feel my most together.

Lop deserves its win,
No denying that.
But every now and then
Ded should get to wear the hat
Of victor even when
It all falls flat.
And we forget so easily
Of little middle Si.
Yes, we forget so easily
Of little middle

“Happily ever laughter,”
That’s how to end a tale.
You can keep your perfect afters
Where laughter has prevailed.

Part I

One shadow cast a person.
Some things work in reverse.
You could say that he was her son
In a turvy universe,
In a topsy twistiverse,
In a backwards esrevinu
Where it’s best to be foul cursed,
Yes, quite blessed to be called worst.
Now that we’ve dilly-dallied,
Yes, scooped out boshy valleys,
Let’s go join the cloudy owllies
With their view of what the light
Decides might be worth a bite
And what it won’t dare to taste,
Won’t even think to chase,
Would never put a tooth to
Or ever deign to waste
A lick of light upon the face
Of something self-erased.

Light sometimes sweetly misses
In a manner laughable.
The shadow’s name was Cissus,
And his child, Affodil.

Part II

Affodil and Cissus were a pumpkin of a pair,
A jack-o’-lantern really where
One would make the other flare
Up into a gourdy grin,
Then it was the other’s turn
To light the other up within
Till all the happy loving burned
Into sparking fits that earned
A firework explosion
Resulting in erosion
Of poor lightning’s confidence,
A tough and humbling consequence
For the child of the storm.
But Aff and Cis were bright and warm
And welcomed in sad lightning swarms
To join and know the fullest glow
To be found down here below
And all the woe would turn and go
And be lost to long ago.

All stories need a reason
To be told or they’ll be tossed.
This story is a sweet one
But now we come to loss.

Part III

Aff had no shadow of her own
And the danger of a wish
Held in both her heart and bones
To know the neverending kiss
Of seemingly a second soul
Thrown from her, against the light,
Against the very myth and might
Of Sun itself, a piece of night
Awake and awhirl in day’s plain sight,
Away from the world of biting bright,
A winking wave in the sea of white.
Aff dipped into a fleeing brook
That dripped down through a crack of earth
In search of distance from the hook
Of always tempting sunny mirth.
Sun would not give into her wants
For a reason no one knew,
Perhaps a grudge it held at once
Against the dark and all it grew.

The heavy world may hold much
That we don’t know could be ours.
Aff opened it with a touch
To find a buried star.

Part IV

There are no shadows in the dark
So Cissus did not know his spark
Had gone to ground to be found
Nowhere in the watchful bounds
Of searching eyes in seeing towns.
He only knew that she was gone
From anywhere touched by the dawn
And would give all to get her back
But nothing to despair.
So he chose a different tack,
Turning to the burning air
The shadow cried out to the fire,
“Stoke your flames up high and higher,
Wipe me out with all your ire
As I know you most desire,
Wipe out all shadow if you find
My one, my one, my only one,
This is now your time to shine,
Be the light of life, be the Sun.”

Loss will take more than you’ll give,
May this knowledge help defend –
“The End” is somewhat a fib,
It’s never been the end.

Part V

There are no hollows in the heart
Of one who cares to care.
Affodil had found the art
Of knowing need and want and there
Had struck a deal with that which scared
Her to her bedrock bare.
She followed fear down the stairs,
To that bedrock, to her share
Of all that courage ever dared.
Deep in the dark she found a star,
Dark in the deep was not quite far
Nor lost enough to keep her barred
From a fine starshine shard.
Aff held it in her hands,
Making shadows on the walls
That played with her but not her plans
As none were hers, none at all.
Yet she finally felt nothing was missed
And then appeared her dearest Cis.

There was great celebration,
Lightning lit and shadowed all,
They joined their constellations
In welcoming sky scrawl.

Part VI

A shadow made a child,
The child had no shadow
But she found a small star filed
In the dark, alone, aglow.
Aff held it in her wish
And then let that wish go,
But the star held onto this
Young girl as would a fish
To wet for Aff was ocean,
Letting light pass through,
Rainbowing life in motion
As around her stood and grew
Shadows of all shape and size,
From scribbles unseen by the eyes
To the darkest sides of moons,
To shadowy typhoons,
She let these shadows fly,
While one stayed always at her side,
Cissus, who couldn’t leave her if he tried.

This realm of shining shadows
Also holds much hidden light,
Sun leaves wherever it goes
Stars in and out of sight.

A shadow made a child,
The child had no shadow
But she found a small star filed
In the dark, alone, aglow.
Aff held it in her wish
And then let that wish go,
But the star held onto this
Young girl as would a fish
To wet for Aff was ocean,
Letting light pass through,
Rainbowing life in motion
As around her stood and grew
Shadows of all shape and size,
From scribbles unseen by the eyes
To the darkest sides of moons,
To shadowy typhoons,
She let these shadows fly,
While one stayed always at her side,
Cissus, who couldn’t leave her if he tried.

This realm of shining shadows
Also holds much hidden light,
Sun leaves wherever it goes
Stars in and out of sight.

There are no hollows in the heart
Of one who cares to care.
Affodil had found the art
Of knowing need and want and there
Had struck a deal with that which scared
Her to her bedrock bare.
She followed fear down the stairs,
To that bedrock, to her share
Of all that courage ever dared.
Deep in the dark she found a star,
Dark in the deep was not quite far
Nor lost enough to keep her barred
From a fine starshine shard.
Aff held it in her hands,
Making shadows on the walls
That played with her but not her plans
As none were hers, none at all.
Yet she finally felt nothing was missed
And then appeared her dearest Cis.

There was great celebration,
Lightning lit and shadowed all,
They joined their constellations
In welcoming sky scrawl.

There are no shadows in the dark
So Cissus did not know his spark
Had gone to ground to be found
Nowhere in the watchful bounds
Of searching eyes in seeing towns.
He only knew that she was gone
From anywhere touched by the dawn
And would give all to get her back
But nothing to despair.
So he chose a different tack,
Turning to the burning air
The shadow cried out to the fire,
“Stoke your flames up high and higher,
Wipe me out with all your ire
As I know you most desire,
Wipe out all shadow if you find
My one, my one, my only one,
This is now your time to shine,
Be the light of life, be the Sun.”

Loss will take more than you’ll give,
May this knowledge help defend –
“The End” is somewhat a fib,
It’s never been the end.

Aff had no shadow of her own
And the danger of a wish
Held in both her heart and bones
To know the neverending kiss
Of seemingly a second soul
Thrown from her, against the light,
Against the very myth and might
Of Sun itself, a piece of night
Awake and awhirl in day’s plain sight,
Away from the world of biting bright,
A winking wave in the sea of white.
Aff dipped into a fleeing brook
That dripped down through a crack of earth
In search of distance from the hook
Of always tempting sunny mirth.
Sun would not give into her wants
For a reason no one knew,
Perhaps a grudge it held at once
Against the dark and all it grew.

The heavy world may hold much
That we don’t know could be ours.
Aff opened it with a touch
To find a buried star.