Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The Tale of Mr. and Mrs. Crack

She cracked a joke—it cracked him up
You should’ve heard his chuckles
She cracked an egg, ate a crackerjack
He calmly cracked his knuckles.
She took a crack at cracking nuts
He took a crack at it too
He pushed too hard and cracked
The brand new nutcracker in two.
They always woke at the crack of dawn
They cracked each other’s toes
She’d buy books and crack their spines
His job was cracking codes.
 “I’ve got a lot of work,” he said
“My boss has cracked the whip.”
He cracked open his suitcase
And went on a business trip.
The business trip went well
And he said, “Boy, I’ve hit the jackpot!”
But when he returned, and cracked open the door
He saw she’d turned into a crackpot.
“You don’t look good,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
 “Gadzoodle!” she answered. “Whack-zack!”
“Oh no,” he said, and he realized the truth:
“You’ve been smoking cigarettes.”

I Lost My Tooth in a Kissing Booth

I lost my tooth in a kissing booth
Today at the local fair
The woman wore a long, white coat
And I was reclined in a chair.
The booth had red striped awning
With cupids drawn beneath
But I didn’t have my glasses on…
They coulda been pictures of teeth.
The kiss itself was short and sweet
And gave me quite the thrill
But oddly I have memories
Of forceps and a drill.
The booth raised funds for charity
They asked for a donation
Instead of cash, they wanted
My insurance information.
Besides the booth, the fair was dull
There wasn’t much to see
Just pamphlets labeled “Flossing Fun”
And “Family Dentistry.”
As I was leaving, kids showed up
I said, "Enjoy the fair!"
They didn't smile or say, "Okay!"
They only seemed to stare.
When I got home I realized
I was missing my front tooth
I cannot fathom how
Since it was just a kissing booth.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

A Very Small Fire

A very small fire is easy to kill
You can put it right out with a lemonade spill
You can stamp it out faster than fiddlers can fiddle
Your puppy could drown it with one stream of piddle
You can starve it of air if you lay on a blankie
Or even extinguish it with a wet hankie
You can probably drown it with one squirt gun’s squirt
Or smother it simply by kicking on dirt
Yes, it’s easy to kill a small fire, it’s not hard—
And the accident that I just had in your yard
The one where I thought it would prob’ly be fine
To light matches near barrels of wood turpentine—
Caused a fire so small it was barely a glow…
Or at least it was small just a minute ago.

Monday, September 23, 2013

What Do You Reckon?

Topless, penniless, shoeless, reckless
Left with nothing but a candy necklace
Told my mom and told the cop
That darn Laundromat took my top
Took my pennies and what the heck?
Took my shoes and all my reck!

Friday, September 13, 2013

Uncertainty and the Importance of Cleanliness

Amelia Earhart, young and brave
Flew right into an early grave
Clever Plato, the ancient Greek
Lived until he was old and weak
When will you perish? It’s anyone’s guess…
Just don’t shoot your brains out, ‘cause that makes a mess.

Monday, September 9, 2013

I'm A Little Teapot

I’m a little teapot, I’ve got gout
Look at my grotesque and mutilated spout
I’ve got some fleshy warts as you can see
Won’t you have a cup of tea?

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Home

What is
……home?
for the goblin, perhaps, a cave
moist with cave-slime
deep in the depths of the cave, it glitters
oh, how he treasures his gold
nuzzles and licks it
what else could be home but this,
the nuzzling,
the nuzzling,
the licking
of gold?

......but maybe, one day,
on a hunt for gold,
he gets dreadfully, dreadfully lost….
ends up in your home!
ends up in your refrigerator!
there is nothing gold to lick,
nothing gold to lick!
tears
tears
tears
until…what’s this? butter?
he is home.

Crepuscular Crustacean

Crepuscular crustacean, your behavior is all wrong!
You’re not the type who should be active during dusk and dawn
You’re a walking piece of dinner if at twilight you are seen
Gobbled by a bobcat, rat or skunk--all creatures vespertine
And when you go adventuring at dawn (that’s called matutinal)
You’re likely to be eaten by a wandering marsupial
Oh dumb crustacean, don’t go out in times that we call liminal!
It’s dangerous and wrong, and some would say it’s almost criminal
Imagine if, because of you, the others turned crepuscular?
Your colony would be devoured by creatures much more muscular!
And plus, you are an eyesore, like a scrawl of black graffiti
Defacing this fine sunrise I’m enjoying with my sweetie
We’re curled up on the beach, all warm and cozy, almost fetal
And you come crawling up like some deformed aquatic beetle
Go back to sleep, you numbskull—wait ‘til night to stroll about!
Then I won’t have to see you, ‘cause in truth, you creep me out.