Snake on a Lake [Senryu]

the snake on the lake
swims with languid grace,
and i run without

Gutter Chained [Kyōka]

chained to drain grate,
a truckable truck 
averts a
Russian nesting doll
grand theft auto case

Sourdough [Kyōka]

sourdough starter --
for those thinking of 
having a child,
but who can't be trusted
with a dog or a cat

What’s in a Name? [Kyōka]

Pantropical Jumping Spider
i was brave
when facing this spider,
until I learned
that within its name
was the word, "Jumping"

Bucktoothed Monkey Mastermind [Common Meter]

I saw a bucktoothed monkey sit
on the ground all alone.
It looked the doofus - its dental-
mental shortfall shone,
but is the size of incisors
a measure of one's smarts?
Has anyone done the study,
gathered data, made the charts?

What if that dentally-outsized
primate is a dreamer-
a mastermind, a supervillain,
or just a first-rate schemer?
What if it just wants us to think
that it's a huge dimwit?
So, it doesn't show its erudition,
or its razor-keen wit.

Instead, it waits for us to be
lulled to a false repose,
so that it can show us we're all
a bunch of biased schmoes.

Ulan Bator Limerick

A craftsman from old Ulan Bator
made Genghis Khan statues by the score.
"Call me a fierce lauder,
but he's the best marauder.
We haven't marauded well since days of yore."

Horny Musings [Common Meter]

I've thought about the ideal horn.
Should it be straight or curved?
Or by a spectacular rack 
would one be better served?

Maybe one would be better off
being a unicorn.
With just way too many options,
I confess I am torn.

A huge rack would most certainly
wreak hell upon the spine,
but a unicorn must get foes
to form a single line.  

I once saw a wandering oryx;
its horns were a stumper.
They seemed optimized to stabbing
off course para-jumpers. 

Mantis Kung Fu [Common Meter]

A mantis landed on the rail,
and it put up its dukes
as one might expect of madmen
or drunken Irish kooks.

Why would one seek out a fair fight
with someone much bigger,
I shook my head and started to
engage in a snigger.

But then it did occur to me
that he couldn't stand elsewise.
So, I tried to gauge his intent,
and looked him in the eyes...

and he stomped me in my nether bits -
much to my surprise.

Half-Hearted Apology to a Reptile [Common Meter]

Apologies Mister Lizard,
didn't mean to step on you.
But you kind of blend with the rock.
It's not like in the zoo;
where there's a sign and pointing kids
and barriers, to boot.
When one looks just like one's backdrop,
it behooves one to scoot.

Sorry again about your tail.
I'm sure it will grow back.
Call it a teachable moment,
&
get an orange knapsack!

A Thousand Feet & a Foot-Long [Common Meter]

The millipede was a foot long,
but, some might ask, whose foot?
Its own feet being quite petite
might suggest Lilliput.

But though it wasn't a footlong foot,
it was long for a bug,
a worm, a beetle, a wood mouse,
a spider, or a slug.

A snake that long would be a babe,
or, at least, quite stunted.
So, now I find my amazement
being a bit blunted.