Grasshopper [Haiku]

a grasshopper 
lands on dappled granite;
becomes a statue

Infinite Snails [Haiku]

in a tree hollow,
snails multiply as far
as the eye can see

The End Times Ball [Common Meter]

A sign that hangs on down the street
proclaims to one and all
that coming soon there will be
a Lonely-Hearts Club Ball.

A dance of manic turbulence
where singles 're all & none.
You can come all by yourself, but
you'll never leave as one.

You'll be swept into unity
with undulating hoards.
Bound by bindings you'll feel, not see;
you'll never cut these cords.

So, welcome to the end of you,
as only you can know.
And welcome to the beginning
of the everlasting flow.

For an end is a beginning
of something bold and new.
And a beginning is an end:
'cause we're just passing through.

Red in the Blues Blues

Boston Centinel political cartoon (1812)
by Elkanah Tisdale
They gerrymandered the district;
got all this red up in my blues.
They gerrymandered the district;
got all this red up in my blues.
They did it all after midnight,
so it wouldn't make the evening News.

Rocky Shores [Free Verse]

a rocky monolith,
jutting from the sea,
is smashed by waves.

overgrown with moss
& gnarled trees.

battered brutally
& unrelentingly,

and yet unchanged 
& unmoved.

 birds confidently
settle upon the rocks
&
take off again,
leisurely.

Panglossian Limerick

From an 1803 edition of Candide
There was a philosopher named Pangloss
whose sole objective was to get across:
Ours is the best of worlds!
And yet, the crapper swirled
and nothing escaped but dregs and dross.

Patience: Casualty of Modernity [Limerick]

There was an old man, some called "ancient,"
who got riled everyone was so impatient.
"The world was much better
when we talked by letter,
and you only got instant replies if adjacent."

Peril [Haiku]

butterfly,
at work on a flower.
a bird circles

River & Sky [Haiku]

clouds creep 
as the river glides.
nothing is rushed

Victory Mythologized [Free Verse]

victory in the palm of the hand
(specifically, 
the winged, laurel-bearing Nike --
goddess who personifies victory)

it's a bit on the nose
as is the bent front leg
as if standing on the chest 
of a vanquished foe

as is the looming,
nothing says victory
like looming
(unless you're a weaver) 

but victory is never so 
unambiguously glorious
as it's mythologized