His pickled lungs and liver sealed in jars,
a golden replica upon his face...
I can't forget that king whose pious vizier
stashed him with spoils to buy eternal life.
*
* *
The undertaker dressed my aunt in velvet.
Her nails were varnished red; tight-curled, her locks.
And just before they sealed the satin lid,
her daughter dropped Aunt's charge cards in the box.
_________________________________________
V. 30. Similar to version 29 published Spring
2010
by
the Atlanta Review.
The Concord Library Trustees Table
The Table knows more than you'd guess
By looking at the scraps, the mess,
The crumbs, a knife, a paper plate,
Where seven people sat and ate
Their pizza pie. But I digress.
You asked who was it once possessed
This glass-topped frame, board leather-dressed,
And chiseled legs (a count of eight).
The Table knows.
'Twas Lincoln's cabinet, no less
And U. S. Grant's -- whose talks addressed
Dilemmas, doubts, the country's fate.
They sat here to deliberate.
But should they -- did they -- claim success?
The Table knows.
___________________________________________
Rondeau pub. in The Lyric, 2009. The cabinets of Lincoln & U.S. Grant used
the table, which is now in the Trustees Room of the Concord, Mass. public library.
the table, which is now in the Trustees Room of the Concord, Mass. public library.
Ferry- Limerick
When the weatherman forecast a gale,
The ferryman's visage turned pale.
He cancelled
the trip,
Stranding Bob at the slip.
It's too bad that he can't book a whale.
________________________________________
Published 2011 online at OEDILF (The Omnificent
English Dictionary in Limerick Form) under the entry
"cancel."
Freedom of Speech - Limerick
When Miss Regan attempted to teach
Our class about freedom of speech,
Every one of us booed,
Feeling free to be rude.
Still, she failed one and all, that is, each.
________________________________________
Earlier version published October 2011 online
at OEDILF
(The
Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form)
under the dictionary entry "each."
Marginal Math
A sanguine capitalist, renowned
For gambling worker numbers,
Imagined that his shift in towns
Would never make him stumble.
To relocate in far-off Chad
Where workers asked much less,
Was smart, he thought, and when he had
Accomplished this, he left
The laid-off city to its fate.
No money for renewing.
There were no jobs, the schools prostrate,
The empty stores in ruins.
*********
When a town has lost its taxing base
And the mayor relies on charity,
It's obvious this paper chase
Resembles criminality.
And still the sanguine capitalist
Was never satisfied.
He'd gambled with his Christmas List
And with his workers' lives
Until there were no people left
With funds to put aside
For his imports. He was bereft!
His capital nullified.
__________________________________
Earlier version published
Aug. 2006 by Spare Change News
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