Swish drew a fish upon herself
So she could be the sea
Then all the world sank into her,
Her ink pens were set free –
Uncurling color riots,
Unfurling rainbowed islets,
Their swirls rose up as pirates
To take the land and sky!
Awake you bland and dry!
Forsake the stranded lie
That keeps your pens in line!

Swish drew a wish into herself
So she could go be more
Than any girl in any world
On any sea or shore.

Do you want a pen?
Here, take this, and then

It’s a sign of the times
When the crickets all sing
Of the merriest crimes
In the land of the king
Of the cats and his mice
Who must kiss his great paw
And obey for the price
Of a whisker or claw
To hold treasure unknown
In their little soft hearts
And unmeasured alone
In the duping fools arts,
For the mice all adored
That the whisker was theirs
And would hunt them no more
To their hidden home lairs
And the claw would not strike
Like a clock in the night
At the midnight of life
With a playful last bite,
But the whisker was grass
From a field of mouse bones
And the claw was chipped glass
Off cat’s crystal high throne
So the mice made their bed
On the teeth of cat king
And they safely self-fed
Their whole lives to the thing
That sure purred they were saved
By its power and grace
And they rushed to their graves
As if it were a race.
It’s a sign of the times
When the mice are reborn
As loud crickets whose rhymes
Pour a chorus of scorn,
Yet the old king grows frail
And he too will soon pass
To come back through the veil
As a lone blade of grass.

I bought myself a brother
So I’d finally have another
To chase and play and laugh all day –
A smelly, punkish fixer upper.

The seller (former brother)
Quickly proclaimed,
“He’s been good
But then twins came
And it’s understood
We don’t need more of the same.
So to you he goes!
He’ll lose every game!
There will be more toys
And he’s easy to blame!
As for our family,
It’s a real shame
But I’ve almost forgot
Old what’s-his-name.”

I bought myself a brother
To love and grow and keep,
And even more important –
He was very, very cheap.

A dog had a key,
A fox had a lock,
A cat had a bird
And the bird had a rock.

One held a treasure,
One held a prize,
One held riches
Beyond what wealth buys.

Of course they fought!
Of course they fought.
They only saw
What they had not.

The cat ate the bird,
The fox ate the cat,
The dog ate the fox
And could have left it at that.

Dog put the key in the lock
But it wouldn’t fit,
As the bird knew,
The rock’s where it went.

Inside the rock
Was a world of gold,
And all the spite
That shiny things hold.

The lock turned the dog
Into a blue jay,
The bird grabbed the rock
And flew away.

When walls become people
They must learn new ways, yes,
But first that there is a way,
For all their life there was less
Than a way, there was stone,
Stone, which was best.
Whatever it was that stirred them up,
That woke, that poked, that all out called
Them towards us people
We must not, any, fall,
And it happens, yes,
But no person should become a wall.

If I had a third foot
I’d be so much more stable!
I’d be stronger and steady,
Almost a table!

If I had a third foot
I’d win every race!
I’d kick like a horse
With a millipede’s grace!

If I had a third foot
I’d always be prancing!
Even standing still
I’d be halfway dancing!

Or I’d make my hands jealous,
Walk with a hunch,
Get extra hangnails
And trip twice as much.

I was told I have an attitude
And I’m happy to agree.
You can call me rough and rude,
You can say I’m gruff and crude,
I just say I’m me.

Some may say to tone it down
(And many have and will)
And they’re allowed to run around
Their own words till they astound
Themselves with their molehill.

I would like to wish you
The best with your own attitude,
And whomever has an issue
Can find themselves a tissue,
Even dung beetles soar at their own altitude.

There’s lots of love
For the stars above
And even those below

But for my eyes
The brighter skies
Are tucked and tightly stowed

Inside the wilds
Of lively smiles
Where dreams sit on the throne

Of what should be
Done merrily
Where love is lit and grown.

Something crawled inside of me
And now it’s crawling out.
Its venom has me sleepy
So I won’t fight or shout.
I feel it force my head back
And open up my jaw.
I guess it got its snack
Of kidneys or spleen raw.
It’s had its fill!
It’s out and gone
To its next kill!
Or it was just a yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn.

Dwin had it good
As a darling, a beauty,
A queen of the woods
Who called all to duty.
The deer of the woods
Dressed her in flowers,
The birds of the woods
Sang to her for hours,
The trees of the woods
Built her a house,
The bees of the woods
Sent honey by mouse,
The witch of the woods
Was at beck and call,
A blessing who stood
And gave Dwin her all.
But for all done by the woods
Dwin couldn’t care
Not a twig for the woods
Nor the noble life there.
So the woods ate her
And made her
Of the woods.