Ibe kept Far in a jar
‘Cause Near was nigh here
And his larks were all stars
Gone there but here clear.

Because of betweens
He said he was free,
Though maybe this means
More to you than to me,

Because, for myself,
If I’m ever to fill
A jar on a shelf
It will be with the real!

The things here at hand!
Like pickles or treats
Or perhaps even sand!
(Though I prefer eats.)

It’s fair to say I don’t
Have the words to say
What Ibe will or won’t
Do this or any day.

He’s ruled by himself
In the land of the grand,
And the jars on his shelf
Fill up with wild plans.

The day after Christmas is done,
Old Santa’s again feeling young,
For he’s pulled off a feat,
A miraculous treat,
Every gift out has beaten the sun.
Now he’ll sleep for most of the year,
Till the darkest of days reappear,
Then it’s back to the task
Of impossible asks,
He’s a spirit of limitless cheer.

A cyclops has a second eye
He hides down deep inside,
So he can see himself
From every single side.

A cyclops has a third eye
For staring down the past,
His fourth eye’s on the future
To see unto the last.

That fifth eye is the one you see
Staring back and maybe through
Those biting eyes of yours
That glare back right on cue.

His first eye’s looking out
The eyes of others like a ghost
To know the lives that others live
At their noble post.

So when they tell you of the cyclops
And his single, mighty eye,
Tell them Clopse has many more
Than we ever seem to spy.

And if they tell you you’re just silly
And to leave the tale to them,
Close one eye and point out
That silly don’t mean dumb.

A full heart is a happy thing
That helps to fill up others.
An empty heart calls you to bring
Kindness in every color.

A long gone heart does not exist
So don’t think that you can
Lose yours to be mourned and missed
In empty, heartless lands.

There are no missing hearts,
Some try to hide but none are gone,
They’re one of those confounding parts
Of you that carry on.

A locked heart is the worry
So I go collecting keys
And if you find one hurry!
Send it to me please!

“I don’t have the kind of fortune,”
The eel said to the loon,
“That comes by way of wish on wings,
Yet here you are so soon.”

As he wrapped his fin around her foot
And glanced at swelling moon,
His stomach grumbled hungry groans,
Demanding to consume.

Loon said, “Beware a wish so easy got,
For they are hungry too.
I might give this a second thought
If this loon were you.”

“Every thought I have is this!”
The eel spat of his wish,
“That all the world would crawl to me
And climb into my dish!”

The eel then introduced his teeth
And made to make them known
To the calmly seated loon
Who then showed him her own.

Loon ate the eel without a crumb
Of care for wish or want
Even though the loon herself
Had dreamt of such a hunt.

The full and happy loon took flight
With moonlight shining on her back,
Guiding her from wish to wish
To wish to wishful snack.

Illustrated by DALL-E in the style of Randolph Caldecott.

With all sorts of rights and wrongs
It’s less if you’re smart or strong,
Less the mess of “better, worse,”
More live and let belong.

Life is short and life is long,
You’ll be right and you’ll be wrong,
Make the wrong the short of it
And you’ll roll right along.

Jungle Ruck

The jungle comes to a book! The vivid jungle paintings of Henri Rousseau help showcase the wild animals and wild spirit of the jungle. Come explore.

Your trash misses you,
It dreams of what could be.
You threw it all out
And thought you were free!
But it won’t let you go
‘Cause you’re all that it knows,
You made and sent it out,
Into the world it goes!
I could list it all here
But you know better than I,
And as for me –
The longer list is mine.
Goodness knows I miss it too,
I worry about my trash.
So I throw myself away
To find my lost mishmash!

(Read part I here.)

So you’ve been caught and shipped
On as a special beast?
While true that you’ve been stripped
Of nearly every piece
Of you that you’ve equipped
You’re still a beast, at least,
And when your package drops
At someone’s lucky door –
They grab it! Out you pop!
You growl! You howl! You roar!
You chase and dare not stop
Till beast is boxed once more!
Your choice has come, sharp creach.
Go free or stay, fair scup.
If you join us, fine leech,
You don’t yet know, young pup,
The beastly heights you’ll reach –
Make profit and move up.

Illustrated by DALL-E in the style of John Bauer.