Thanks, Mom

Thanks, Mom

for throwing a wet wool blanket over my day

for stepping on my newly emerging seedlings

for blowing out my candles

You have that special way

of conveying both disappointment and apathy

in a single breath

and tying it all up

with a big ribbon of guilt

It's a gift, really

one that I hope never to pass down.

Can We Keep Him?

photo by Alex Stoddard

He was purchased on a whim from the dime store

The kids kept whining and begging and well,

you know how it is

He was only $5.99, including the bowl

No one ever imagined he'd actually live so long

The kids fed him dried leaves

and bird feathers

and sometimes forgot to feed him at all

They even took him out to play with him

and dropped him on the floor!

There he was-all covered in dirt and moss

We were sure he was dead then, but no

They rinsed him off and he was fine

He's outgrown his bowl

and 3 tanks

He's costing us a fortune in food

and he doesn't do very much

I guess we're stuck with him-

he's so big that if I flushed him now

he'd probably clog up the plumbing.

submitted for The Mag 114

Obligation

source

What obligation has the tree to the fruit

the vine to the grape?

Having birthed the seed

what is the duty to ensure it ripens neither

too soon nor too late?

And what of the vicissitude of the weather?

Catastrophe has no feeling for filial dependence

no concern with parental bonds

Storms strike randomly

ripping progeny from stem and branch, leaving

torn, gaping spaces into which

Obligation's energy keeps uselessly flowing

spilled sap

submitted for dVerse Poetics, Duty Calls at dVerse Poets Pub

Ph.Demons

A dissertation's never done

You work and work from sun to sun

You've never had so much production

But it's just the introduction!

Why did you think this would be fun?

A dissertation's never done!

A dissertation's never done

You cannot play; your friends you shun

You do not sleep; your skin is pale

You're sure that you are going to fail

Perhaps you should become a nun

A dissertation's never done!

A dissertation's never done

Advisor's near, nowhere to run

He asks you if it's going well

You want to tell him "Go to Hell!"

You stand there like you've just been stunned

A dissertation's never done!

A dissertation's never done

You think you may just buy a gun

But you hang tough and finish it

Committee says "Revise a bit!"

Don't ever think that you have won

A dissertation's never done!

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Sunday Mini Challenge, Envelopes