Halves

Chirp left half himself with a friend
Feeling rather lonely.
Half himself he gave to one
Who was down and lowly.
Half again went to a third
Turning ogre, trolly.
Half he gladly gave a ghost
Who was fading slowly.
He was half a half a half a half
Yet somehow still him wholly.

Don’t Have to Smile

You don’t ever have to smile
No matter what you’re told.
I’m a grumpy, grim-faced child
Who’s gotten rather old
And I’ve seen a spill of smiles
On a sea of trying souls
Who thought that all their trials
Were hidden in the folds
Of crashing, grinning waves
That pulled their ships along
And they themselves were brave
In the face of pirate’s strong
Enough to wear their sneers
Like its all their faces knew
When they all wish to smile near
As I do thanks to you.

X Marks

X marks the spxt
Unless it’s nxt
The xnly x you fxnd.

If thxrx arx morx
Xs in stxre
Thxn yxx’rx in quxtx x bxnd.

Xf xll xs x
Thxn yxx’ll bx vexed
Tx xvxn xndxrstxnd

Whxrx yxu xrx,
Yxx hxxx nx stxr
Tx gxxdx yxx xn thxs lxxx.

Bxx x xx xxl
Xx xxx yxx’xx fxxx
Xxx mxxbx xxx xx xx

Fxx xxx xxx x
Xxxxx xxx xxxy
Xxx xxx, xxxxx xxxxxx xxxxx.

Might Just Be

I might just be a giant
If I’m looking at this right.
I might just be defiant
Of any so called “height”
That marks me off below
The sun and moon and stars,
Although I know they glow
At a distance very far,
And maybe sun still grows
Because it knows of me.
A giant here, who knows?
But me? I might just be.

Twinkle

If the stars refuse to shine
Look to the dust to twinkle,
There are reasons for the mines
In mountains high and sprinkled
With clouds upon their spines
Light dives their rivered wrinkles.
If you wonder ’bout the stars
And where they got their start,
Know that I don’t know if ours
Are different in their art
But only that the eyes
Are lit by the heart.

Pancakenstein

Those buttery eyes
Are hard to resist
On a pancake face
All syrup kissed
With berries and nuts
And a whip cream mist
Upon such cheeks
Of fluffy bliss.

Our dear pancake
Would be much missed
But knew I was hungry
And would be remiss
Not to take this chance
To make me the dish
And gobbled me down
Its deliciousness.

Koomp

“I don’t wait for anyone!”
Koomp shouted as she ran
And tripped and fell and watched
Her shadow run off on the sand.

“Now there’s one who won’t tarry,”
Koomp thought aloud to all,
Who could not hear her for,
Of course, she’d left them all to fall.

But now she had a hero
Out along the edge
Of all the prim and proper things
That bowed under the pledge

To never let a shadow
Ever be a thing
That they’d care at all about,
From pompous pawn to king.

Koomp runs on still shadowless,
Tripping here and there,
Loving that her shadow runs
Out beyond a care.

Knights of the Off Insights

It took a long time for knights to figure out their armor. There were no perfectly made metal pauldrons or grieves to slap on out of nowhere. They knew they should use something to protect themselves, but what? These knights wrapped themselves in myth then became so themselves.

Flower Knight
Flower Knight was beautiful but predictably short lasting – “Nature’s beauty will protect!” But only so much. Popular with bees and butterflies but they didnt really care about him and even stung him more than a few times.

Book Knight
Book Knight could imagine no armor better than tomes as she would be “protected by the brilliance of the human race!” The truth is that most books are thick enough to be effective at keeping swords and arrows out. Books are heavy but so is steel. As a bonus, when the battle lulled the knight could enjoy some holy text or perhaps a bit of Chaucer. Rather weak against flaming arrows.

Muffin Knight
Muffin Knight was a baker and wise enough to know that donuts would not serve as armor due to a conspicuous hole right in the middle of them. Instead, he overbaked shallow muffins to give them a very hard crust, sprinkling sugar on top to really crystalize that toughness. The moment he stepped on the battlefield the crows got him.

Strike Knight
Strike Knight was all attack. She had no interest in defensive thought and theory. She would always be on the attack. So she strapped swords, daggers, crossbows, maces and more daggers all over her body. Unfortunately she tripped early in her first battle.

Love Knight
No record exists of this knight, only rumor. But there have likely been many and will be many more. Briefly.

Night Knight
Night Knight would only go into battle at night and no one ever seemed to actually see him do anything. He claimed to wrap himself in the quiet dark and put the opposing army to sleep. Whenever you heard a snore he claimed that as his victory. However, he could never get all asleep at once and those he did eventually woke up well rested.

Ivy Knight
Ivy Knight covered herself in poison ivy in the belief that no one would want to come near enough to attack her. She was right, but too itchy to push the advantage.

Spider Knight
Had much the same issue as the Ivy Knight.

Silk Knight
Silk Knight believed in comfort above all else, draping himself in the most exquisite silks. He never left his bed for the battleground but he did survive, living a long, comfy life.