For an online friend who shall remain mercifully nameless here.

*****

Recorded Reading (1:06): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/c9tsztbff2qzg3ixs88vn/Silly-Stuff.mp3?rlkey=hokfxwgkatd2r8sdor1ia07gd&dl=0

*****

Silly Stuff

I’ve got a buddy in the trade
By whom as much a mess is made
Of rhyme and meter as my own

Which is to say, of course, I mean
His rhyme and meter’s awful keen
I have enamored of it grown

Enamored of its groan, as well —
For once beneath its turgid spell,
No longer reas’ning very well

Imagine it me much amuse
Replete with qualities profuse
Some other qualities excuse!

Like, just for instance, last time I
Was made to laugh his poems by
I spewed my cocktail on my skirt

For which no other reason than
An absolutely ideal man
Decided after all he wouldn’t flirt

So reading my friend’s works can be
A high risk pursuit for me
And just as if that hazard weren’t enough

Under his influence find
I’m turning to a whole behind —
That guy has got me writing silly stuff!

*****

Until removal of the stalker/targeter/vandal/arsonist following her allows her to approach any landlord ~ even for a private parking space ~ and to begin once again to create professional connections and to rebuild her life, this poet presently lives homeless and at a fraction of her nation’s poverty level.

Arts patrons may visit http://www.UgiftABLE.com , using code #72D-31S, or choose to send a personal check to the poet’s ABLE account. It takes about two weeks for the poet to be notified of your patronage.

Thank you for supporting quality in the fine arts.