Perry Snickle Palloway
Was awful pleased to boast,
“I’ve never learned a single thing,
All I do is coast!
You learned your lessons,
More than most.
I’ve yet to learn the toaster
To make a piece of toast!”
His feelings for the toaster
Were known all over town
Because he came and told us all
And any guests around.
But he liked buttered bread,
Warm and crunchy, golden-brown,
With cinnamon and sugar
Or honey dripping down.
Perry Snickle Palloway
Built a great machine
That plucked a piece of bread
From the finest of cuisines,
Ran it through a battery
Of baking tests to screen
Out any crummy duds
Not fit for king or queen.
Then sent it by the sun
To toast it in its rays
And finished that slice off
In a golden topping spray.
Perry Snickle Palloway,
I’ll go ahead and say,
Refused to learn his lesson
And learned so much more that way.

Once in a blue moon,
Twice mooned green.
Thrice in a chewed moon
I’ve never seen
‘Cause I didn’t chew it,
What do you mean?
My teeth have a natural
Moony sheen!
Forth go the lies
About a bit moon.
Here comes the sun
Not a moment too soon.

I’m not completely unreasonable,
Just mostly, I’d say.
And I’ll ride the unfeasible
In the cowboying way.
When I’m bucked to earth
And the rattlers of grace
I’ll rattle my worth
So they get a taste
Of cactusy me
Who wears fangs for skin
Before we’re agreed
And I let them all in
To go with me west
Where the sun at last sets,
Then ride right on past
To the land sun forgets.
So call me unreasonable –
Reason’s long lost.
If I’m conceivable,
Our paths will soon cross.

The dodos went extinct,
Which really makes you think –
Are the don’tdon’ts all that’s left?
We’ll find more dodos yet.

Pike caught a butterfly
Or maybe ’twas a bee.
It bit him, stung him, loved him
And was beautiful to see.
It kissed his nose, stomped his toes,
Sang a haunting melody
With a high-pitched finch
And vibrato-wobbled flea
In honor of young Pike
Before it cursed him handsomely
And then flew on.
A beetterfly? Maybe.

Dad said, “This is important
So dress to the nines!”

I dress to the tens or not at all!
Not at all will be just fine.

You’ve made it at last
To the end of the day!
You did it! You passed
Every test in your way!
You missed the bus
And ran the whole way,
Still got there on time
At the end of the day.
You got bullied and slandered
And shamed by your friends,
You fell in your lunch
And kicked your own shins,
Lost your shorts and what pride
You had to begin
This long, dragging day
That’s at last at the end.
What a relief to be done
And not a moment too soon.

What’s that?
It’s not even noon?

Okay, just think,
There must be a way out.
Get matches and gas!
Give the devil a shout!
We’ll burn the day down
Till yesterday’s ash!
Teach tomorrow a lesson
It’ll never forget!
To move along quick
And get us through it!

Someone locked the gas up
For some reason
Since the last time this happened
I call this high treason.
And as it turns out,
The devil’s a chicken
And not coming up,
That no-good, flea-bitten –

No matter!
Let’s just go to bed.
We’ll wake up at night,
See how that goes instead.

“Grinkle, grunkle, minkle, munkle,”
Muttered Blumble to himself,
“If I could get a monkey’s uncle-
Wizened, wishsome, gruntled, bundled-
Into a humble, loving huddle
With a touch of jungle trouble
I could sell the crumbled cuddles
For double any rumpled bubble!”
Muttered Blumble to himself,
“Grinkle, grunkle, minkle, munkle.
If I could get a monkey’s uncle-“

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.

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.