story poems for d'arty kids

*
out of music, fire once born sprung soft furred creature looking like the protector
of the land, catlike only greater and more stealthy than bear by far, covered in
thought-mists golden to find present. as it were no phoenix but rather a unique
and hypothetical phenomenon, it bore great glory in how it assumed the first paragraph
and longest sentences uttered by man. unrelatedly, unleashed on future tangled now;
*     *
                                                                                    There was a stinky little skink
went rambling thru the alley and over a hedge
into the living room of some giraffes
who bent their necks, again, again, again
to inquire? may i? help you?
there were cashews in bronze boot mugs
"have some snacks" offered the giraffes
"climb on in we do" harrumphed  the unbathed skink
eating his way to the bottom of the boot.
luckily, there was a rocketship
waiting for him there
it would take him anywhere and It did
*   *   *
rabbit rode out on a train to meet the mallard delgates
there by the Of Course Lake
near a colosseum made of mallard wishbones
and wattle and daub assorted-styrofoam boat seats
they were convening to party like mockstar
quite frankly, and share grog of peat juice
their favorite colloboration
selling well in liverpool and quebec too
when along came fox in his auto mobile
wearing a scrappy smirk and a bib
"hey fellahs need a lift"
"quack off and bite my long ears"  they told Fox
he puttered off over a cliff with no impact
and rabbit and mallard entered the great colosseum
filled with giant carrot sculptures and lilly pad sofas
it was a rollicking good party
they wagered and indian leg wrestled sealed handshakes in spit and hugged,
it was a partnership of groggy prominence
and unstoppable sales potential. at the end
rabbit hopped off home under the grounds of a thousand trees
and mallard took wing with hundreds of others
to galaxies of water and nibble fish and even muskrat
                                                              is nice on thursdays
*   *   * 
tiny leopards do enormous leaps off an endless tree
they land so softly the ground signs a check
to mother nature, gravity makes marble dust freeze in time
                                                                    tiny leopards do that.
*   *   *
mice do their business down by the baseboard
under the sink and lick the dripwater and
do harvest dances wearing the regalia of their ancestors
and hold sunday school with free lunches and boxes of bellyjeans
mice form unions mice go sing bawdy songs mice
                                                             mice mice mice
*   *   *
terminator the worm gnawed a hole
thru the gas can and went to bed over a painted lovely sponge
there was moonlight thru the rustholes
he could hear cricket playing fiddle down in the bog
he could see the shadow of egret
he could be more still than an unrustable love
he could hope to go visit the full moon of no fear
or grow some wings if he was that kind of worm
and not the intergalactic robot kind
sent here to run for office, very slowly, and only
by rolling there in an okie-gypsy can
*  *   *
recall ye the salty old sailor and his unspeakable prowess
on the seas of most of his life never barfing
only barking orders thru waves of sloshy ocean stuff
at men men men used to taking it
with a smile and splinter remedy of octopi tears
they were setting net for the
gold mermaids however politically wrong that may seem now
recall the salty old sailor was a classic jerk
with insatiable prowess of which the gold mermaid
reluctantly and nervously dealt with
by stealing his sardines
what they were good at was ship wreck howards, so
the salty sailor would sign them up
for the tycoons on land too busy with hunting or war or football
who would escort the mermaids in their own
submersibles of fortune hunting caricatures
the salty sailor wanted nothing to do with anything but the
sea, but ya gots to pay the piper he says and
the accordions go wild and stupid stunts land blows
they sleep like dogs in a pile of rocking boat water
mermaids prefer to swim alongside,
telling their romantic tales and warning of octopi fans
in the mall and around strange sturgeons
but the salty sailor he has told them the nightmare to boil ya in shivers
                                                                                 make yer eyelids go peely
                                                                  have ya a blister on the nose from
                                                   laughting up a tornado of slobber
                        while learning ya the betters
if ya'd only soak it in( thats a tough sell)                       but nature makes it.
*   *   *
they were tweenage minks, looking for trouble in rainbow land
they had a truck of hot candy at the ballgame
they sold it for a thousand gazillion double helix sand dollars
they bought mink coats for their friends
everyone was their friend
they all looked like
successful
minks, as you can imagine. slender, regal, and bathed in rainbows
they made music videos, they got old and wrinkled,
they became philosophers and said really odd things
but the rainbows had permanently colored their eyes
they were So Beautiful
that is why they became President.
*  *   *
"rollerskating derbies are always fun" she screamed
going faster than the spool of candy around her mind
boys boys boys tight fast lanes
curves around the rink i don't look stupid i'm a dork i'm just
a blur who sees me sees a going faster than
the silk of a coccoon
in the most instrumental transformation
where others become right in laying at your wings
that perfume the air with grace
like a flirt that goes well but vanishes into the night with friends
everyone was laughing that look
off the ground the skate wheels slowly rotates
there are pieces of crushed boy hearts all over them
it's cute as heck
*   *   *
baby one and baby two went on a voyage
it was reckless, it was bizarre, it had the best burgers that babies can buy
and it went to a valley
baby three, baby four, baby eight and baby forty nine all
had guitars and learning disabilities
it was so far away from everyone else, it didn't matter. they
rocked like bad baby guitarists and made no one
cry. then, at the motel, they trashed the pool.
they made international news go beserk and rich
ads sold their logos on baby apparel for gangstas
wah wah and a thousand decibels
of hammered baby claw notes
they made a mess. they were babies gone mild, spilled milk
reflected the getaway stroller bent from  tantrums and digestion.
*  *   *
old turtle craweld over the vocabulary of night
in a olde waye of knowledge
riding a hammerhead and brandishing a volleyball
there for the kingdom he would visit were he able.
old turtle made merry
he sang and whistled to the oak trees
he kissed the dew instead of blinking
had three daughters of perfect turtle heritage
glossy shelled and stubborn as granite pillows
well they had gone to a dance
without him, he knew they were sure to be
courted and so olde turtle hurried his step
and quit texting while he walked
over the dictionary of day in the veritable use
of wordjewels as bricks or fire or atomic sky glimmers
olde turtle never seemed to get there
the oaks were happy his voice was as old and soft as rain
the world knew he was forever atrudge
the moss under his ears had its own wikipedia page
his nails were worn down as the basins of waterfalls
his tongue could lick flames off his eyes
were he to walk thru the middle of volcanic activity
in the alphabet of creation olde turtle
were a mighty pawn and the mover of mindsets
his pattern made sense with a stare of ten zillion smiles
so deep the ocean calls him amigo
*   *   *
hippo child in his wallow crib made a lullabye
out of sheer algae inspired delirium
he wore a scarm which no had ever ever seen or heard of
it was made of sticks vines dental floss and marsh bits
he called it a scarm but it was a bad jewelry
hippo child had no fashion sense. his daddy was
a hobo hippo on the moon, sometimes visiting venus.
hippo boy had made a good living on his own
despite his adorable scarm (kind of like a scarf
dragging across the wallow zone like an invite for ridicule
the othe hippos had a field day his lullaby over came their old fat hippo hearts one day
 we can't know how it went they were underwater
it was during a rainstorm and they were
scared, too, so it helped.
*   *  *
the fuzziest thing ever to walk on five legs
did handstands for a living and had a gig at the rodeo
there were also feats of stupid strength
the fuzziest thing could win blue ribbons all day
it didn't matter he felt like a baldy
he was the fuzziest thing:                                             ever.
it was never enough, the hall of mirrors, the extra hats.
the walking on our hands to make our hair frizz and touch the earth
it seems to fly off into space
stolen by space snipper-bots, little twerplings
INVENt your own Hair, please. the fuzziest thing
jolted the crowd, using the character acting classes
he'd learned from videos in the library trashcan
*   *   *
sometime galactic space weasels go speed to the little novas
that want to be left alone, there under
swingsets of sweet night

give us space you flippy little space weasels with no manners
and ability to blend memory into carmel soup
i know there in the hammock of celestial bodies

we see forms
creating new forms
developing perfection as a work of time carries truth

in spite of ferret looking space weasles with rabies and bad breath
that solicit one for long business deals
under the toy train nostalgia for days devoid of dumdums

skipping merrily in tandem with nonsensical
visions, germinating, washing off,
running off into the love of animal  frivolity licking growling

huffing preening cleaning dining
animal brethren all the neighbors digging
scratching hunting raising young
*  *   *
the nest gets bigger every day as the bird shaped movie star
takes every twig from the tree until only a toothpick
holds up the daydream he has made
a definition of unsustainability look like a cakewalk rigged with cakes
the cakes go every direction one can imagine
it is a real mirage
the nest glows with frosting, the diva has a party of one
its huge. he goes to work, and escapes as the salty sailor
he puts the nest in storage in a cloud
he finds the boat over where the water starts
he gets in the boat named after his favorite storm and grinds up the starter
his anchor is encrusted with valentine candy and seals
don't want to let go----they're heavy enough to sink us!
he reekingly cries in overstatement deluxe.
the actual Poseidon intervenes,
arriving on a seahorse named dolly with flames of nostril exhaust.
the sea lions consider taking on the lord of the sea
and say nope by flipping away with candy powered flops
the salty sailer gives Poseidon a hug
as the god recoils from his lacquerd smell of Land
as the ship clears the harbor the salty sailor swells up like a pufferfish
connected to a pneumatic machine run by ocean power
the sea says hello to the sailor
another day making dolphin jokes and carving narwhale tropies
*   *   *
sleeping in a sweet pile of kittens
a kitten so small
it got buried and lost
the mama found it and took it aside
with little licks
it was all better
it mewed and had milk
life made it happy
it slept and got carried
it never opened its mew in anger
it left it in the bottom
of the pile under the sweet sisters
and brothers it stayed warm with in their relativistic
digression toward modernistic analogies
involving non kitten philosopy
and cute trite tactical purrs
a kitten so small
it found a lion's share
*   *  *
angelfish eating daffodil salads, how random.
they're everywhere these days, the salad palaces we call them.
around every fishbowl on every street in american random.
raccoons try to say hello to the angelfish
but of course, don't get eaten or mauled was the golden rule
under the big dark rock. more dressing for the salad!
the bitterness calls for angel-honey
next time, give the raccoon a chance
*   *   *
skunk and toad and sallymander went on a rollercoaster
made of a a leaf stitched to a pine needle
it didn't work they waited to frolick to no avail
but had a great philosophical discussion
on the best kind of weather: dry, or wet.
toad says i love windy weather when i'm around skunk
skunk says i love wet weather to keep toad from looking like a gross rock
sallymander says i love weather whether weather seems or knots
and made the rollercoaster real
it was called The Seasons in a dream before the machines took over
and grew the nature all down
*   *   *
at the bottom of the lake the rare whale
gave a concert concerning celestial laws and omens
following which a raffle for a pile of kelp
was meant to fundraise the sewer system feeding the lake.
dignitaries were bussed in by eel fleets
there was zapping all about and a bit of extra
haze to the water if you get the drift
the rare whale had to deal with it, what else?
go park in nebraska and do husking? with these set of pipes?
if the comets and asteroids and space junk
start to look like the ocean
i'm shopping for a cryochamber swears the diva whale
the omens are fair to partly spewey with spouting
he thinks he's a elephant with flippers
he thinks the lake is the sea
he knows sewers are supposed to go out not in.
with these pipes?
*  *   *
three dandelions woke up the sun with a soft song
three robins threaded a curtain around the puppet box full of silk
three bears on their hind legs find their tiptoes on the shelf
three plinks in a pond go wide and interlap
three beetles ride three ants in a first time ever miracle
three blades of grass next to the dandelions rub shoulders
we're all in it together, all ten
*   *   *
a rodeo of snails dipped in television magic
can easily get out of the box
of control and take over the universe of comical lunacy
they can hitch rides to the moon its a bigproblemlately
it is getting slimed and their spurs leave scuffs all over
they sure know how to ride that rodin thinker brow
they have the promise of moonworm
the buck stops bucking in free gravity heaven
enter: the dragon. it has a costume, and is
allergic to television magic.
the sneezing is tragic, and much debated
by shock jocks most everwhere.
*   *   *
sorry boys boys boys
acting cool, looking great, acting tough
breaking out, feeling hurt, getting lost,
boys boys boys
denim polyester sneakers
no coat, no lunch, no comb.
boys boys boys.
*   *   *
a flight of donkeys or a coven of lemurs will suffice, pig.
get the cranberry marmalade, an olde turtle book of proverbs,
four jars of dally dally, a flowervase of pure energy,
a trough of applesauce to bathe the donkeys
a pew of pillows to pummel mid late early morning
otters may get involved, even a spare vole.
they usually have commitments, but we'll see. if i can get a vole,
you have my solemn bray, as witnessed by
retired turtle volunteers with rotten knees.

*   *   *
under the wheelbarrow, a manger of kittens, a sleeping
pile of unopened eyes only days old
i put the barrow back down
and later saw mama come back
she move them as were her wont, refugees
under a woodpile, near as good as a barrow
or better if there be mice
the pile okitties start exploring, the world
is their wheelbarrow not their crib
it isn't olde turtle's heavy shell
it isn't any more a manger it hauls catnip and smitten rhymes
now they're all in managerial positions
i. like zeus, let them go.
go my cat babies, and be feral and charm the other fearing beasts
small enough for your pounce and play
*  *   *
polar bear had a dream of climbing the stars using igloos
already full of people so he stacked men and ice
interchangably in a blind frenzy, and even a few huskies
got thrown in, and one or two oil guys, and i heard even
some missionaries but that is not confirmed, polar bear
climbed up to our first star the moon
and had a bad case o hunger
he ate the dust and even the astronauts footprints
he used the flag to hunt non food items of rocks
polar bear bounced slow over the dream stuck
on a fake star with no food
he was crushed into polar bear jelly and the moon
gave a toast to mankind
*   *   *
princess clothes on sale for free and cosmetics bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
that make you feel good about earth and shoes from recycled nouns
princess gear get it here bags and galoshes and crystal earring chandeliers
princess rides in steel pumpkins along for the
pomp and procession an animal non princess gives her a kiss
and is transformed into a rose garden
princes are invited, that is the variation. otherwise,
flipped shell game the animal was a spelling bee
*   *   *
mountains with legs stand up at night and take a stroll
no one notices they're super asleep
saint helens meets hood by the columbia
they are super huge so they don't have far to go,
with that mature base and all. legs of diamond muscle
do the trick, you'd think footprints would be found
you'd want proof, would you not?
they got a load of snow with the wettest december in 70 years
they really have to want to go out, it is no easy task
especially unseen and leaving no tracks
wearing magic slippers over feet
pure carbon squooshed together in strands brilliant
moutains with legs& foothills that know
*   *   *
wren flitted about the window of the ogre
trying to get his notice, she had a special egg to lay in his ear
he awoke from a century wide nap as the wallpaper
sagged from the still shaking plaster walls
he went to the window and lifted the wren onto his foot long finger
she gives him a peck on the cheek and hops hops into his ear
with hairy vines strong enough for pelicans to roost
she doesn't go too deep into the ear and it isn't fear
she finds x marks the spot written in neon in the ogre's eardrum
she pops an egg out so fast one must say: wow
wren is flying out of a mist of wax and batwebs and newyears confetti
she makes it to the window with a thud
the window had been closed, ogre lifts her and with his all powered
breath revives wren, she gives him the peck
on his cheek he opens the inch thick glass, breathes her good tidings
the egg and the eardrum are one
*   *   *
chattering squirrel and loon loon made a massive fort
and brought their snacks in clamshell cases
to celebrate the solstice and have a real good time
the woods were still as others were all on a cruise ship
the woods were abandoned to only chattering squirrel and loon loon
as the rain began and the rivers swelled
they went higher into the tree, saying goodbye to the massive fort
it was neat to watch it drift off until the river made it
to less chattery squirrel's doorstep
Halt he Cried! and nature complied! loon loon did a double dance
went diving off the doorstep into the murk
he came back with the cruise ship! it was inside a sealed bottle,
and all the lilliputians came billowing out like ants
following no queen but their old star codes and pre-printed
directions.
*   *   *
your dolly has old clothes your dolly has a sweet face
your tongue is green can i have some candy
your messy room your good grade your slumber party your life
is such a beautiful gift your presence
your dolly is the best your existence hath improved all reality
born of our children your perfection makes all good
*   *   *
toy nails and hammers and kites,
real steel cars, balls to kick or throw
new bike new ribbon new mirror new stuffed friend
before mom and dad wake up
a fancy huge boot nailed to the fireplace
full of candy money candy figurines
the tree what my parents call gaudy all blinking in every color they make
with chains of silver and bells of gold
and globes of shiny strange reflections i see myself stretched
eating the last cookie wearing a snow moustace i am older than santa
toy this toy that, the time and the mantle and the moon fades with morn
*   *   *
billy goat had an idea, and went to visit the wizard to share it,
so the wizard took the idea and changed it into a mouse
with human legs and a perfect set of teeth which spoke english
better than the king. mousemanking found riding on the
goats head difficult , so he made a kite and rode it trailing the goat but above.
mouse could see far ahead, that was the perfect idea
and had senses you wouldn't believe unless you visit the wizard
and your great idea allows it like billy goat can.
*   *   *
chipmunks at a comedy club, with glazed eyes and a bowl of captain grunch
they have seen this scene before, last hibernation. down in philly.
back into their hotrods, the road is exploding behind them.
industry could care less, they're at the comedy club with the seals of approval.
chipmunks come across some chimpanzees at the waterhole.
they try to shake hands but end up getting tossed into the kitchen soup tureen.
it is luckily gazpacho and they emerge most refreshed.
they laugh it off, the chimps say sorry and buy them subscriptions to acorn digest
its all good, at least better than last time, up in newark.
*   *   *
learn how to type, aladdin's mom yelled as he ran off to ali babbas cave
but got waylaid by a dreaming lion on a dune
who playing a mandolin by an oasis seemed the most brisk form of enlightment
aladdin had ever seen. by the way, the lion asked, would you like
a typing lesson? before hearing any reply his tail did a swoosm
in the polished glowing sand and it was his: perfect fingerstyle stenograpic chops
at home his mom was dazzled and said this is your treasure
that opens the world, it is never the other way around . the type learns you,
the sand and swoosm are your dream. aladdin was pretty worldly, he knew a good
swipe of luck when it brushed his dusty self off.
*   *   *
whale told a short story in long song form, it were too beautiful.
the water was moved, rippled off into space
the whale was soon dry
he inhaled half back
and ocean returned, with bits of star crumbs all over the spinning wheels.
cute as moonbeams, but not as beautiful as creation once swam.
*   *   *
frog was eating a sandwich by the lumber mill
along came beaver and his family in a cart drawn by bart simpson
ruining frog's perfect( beatrix potter) dill pickle.
start over: frog jumped in the pond with his webby fingers
full of sandwitches, and up swam beaver ready to help hold them
on his paddle above the guaranteed water.
frog loved beaver and would trust him with his very own tadpoles
so of course he tossed his halfsogged sandwichz
onto beaver's tail. why'd you do it, frog?
wasn't paying attention. i saw ralph nader by the lumber mill
and got jinxed heebie jeebied and sphinxed.
*   *   *
a buffalo stood knee deep in the light from past the sun
it made buffalo strong and lasting
in a wind of men with fired eyes and women hungrye too much to last
the buffalo rode salmon upstream into mountains unbroken
thru tree hewn rugged earth swallowing shadows
where bears fear to forage the buffalo withstood embrace of man
until a girl so small wearing only a dress and boots
grabbed herself off the bank she washed up on
and climbed the shag of the buffalo to his hump and nestled there
as buffalo went over the mountain's glaciered stone terraces
when she awoke the buffalo was gone
overlooking a metroplex
an industrial center, three quick marts, and nine coffees in two hands
*   *   *
hello lark, hello robin
whatcha doing besides the nest
laying eggs on the inside
well when you're done want to hunt worms
sure the rain makes them juicy
if the mud doesn't ruin the flavor
i'll see you by the park bench
ok unless that dogs there
thanks for remembering that or that old man with the cane
oh him well make a good strong shell and get your rest
oh yesdearie and mind the drones its xmas
*   *   *
porcupine wears the free hugs cardboard sign down at the saturday market
he waits by the elephant ear booth all the cinnamon and sugar
keeping hands occupied as porcupine goes in for his free hug
until the ballon artist is pulled in on a tractor beam
to mr pincushion its just a skit. the public is fooled.
out of the porcupine suit comes three twins in amobea suits.
they are famously known and fooled the world again,
the clapping goes on for a few months. the three twins go hang with banksy.
the fooled public goes wild.
*   *   *
nine minnows had a school under the leafy banks of
an oklahoma creek and told math stories and learned history sports
drew hook lines sinker diagrams on tablets of mica
named the various outboard motors that chop and dice who generations
nine minnows so serene with rulers and rules
with knowledge and vice and staring out the window at clouds above
passing notes two minnows in minnow love
 no teacher no principal no bells ringing just a minnow jedi
making the banks leafy making the lines break and hooks melt
nine minnows using their minds, tiny items in moving
winter streams turgid and cold for nature's way
*   *   *
the salty sailor took a hurricane speed bath out on deck
lashed to the mast as usual by his crew for wanting to go over the
sea serpent straits without any escort from the office of lucky glides
he ran into odysseus who stranded on a lump of clay
out off the coast of maine was in sore need of a clam chowder
they took him in and gave him the galoshes of the times
 and explained calendar art and as Odysseus warmed he came to sense
and went diving back off ship, the salty sailor took it in stride
and consulted the nearest mermaids who explained odyessesus
longing to return home. the salty sailor made some mac and cheese
in his microwave as the hurricane pitterpattered/ his oh whateter boat/
i have lost many marlin/ in me day /says the salty sailor
and put si racha  on his dinner to later spew back at the sea serpents
the salty sailor thinks ahead, for his ship and his crew.
*   *   *
the babysitter had eight girls, three boys, two poodles, a spaniel,
and an iphone thirtysix. they were coralled like beasts of disney.
they were aimed at a set called television which beamed
correct happy things alternating with things to fear or confuse.
babies wet each others, had fights, rolled happy drooling,
the iphone thirtysix was lonely but had fun beeping in stupid ringtones:
                                                                                              it got a life of its own.
the babysitter took a bath out on the deck
while the poodles sat the spaniel who was watching the
iphone thirtysix videomonitor the eleven assorted infantry.
the bubble bath was perfect under a blaring stereo moon
it was modest and helped out her sister's sister
all the tomcats in the world meowled at the big party on the roof
it sounded huge but was just another day in baby kingdom
*   *   *
the smore hovered over the earth lake and drank up a portion
before reappearing over the home of  the boy chosen
before time, to be there as his first zit bloomed and hold his hand
from outer space during the agony of that first zit
then it went back across veritable tarmac of time/space
in a popping motion that let loose a warpdrive
to excel at animated productions of feature programs
drinking up the attention from punts, runts, and grunts
*   *   *
bunny, bear, and horse were playing tennis at the park
when a storm blew in and ruined the game
they packed their balls and rackets in backpacks and ran home
cold and shivery. it was in the middle of the day.
there were crickets asleep under the floor boards and bread in the oven
bunny wanted a carrot, bear needed some honey, and whaddya think
horse had for lunch? honey carrots with alfalfa. they watched
the storm go away, goodbye storm hello smaller and smaller
raindrops and then no wind rather a blue crease of sky.
it was too wet for tennis, but not too wet.
*  *   *
a rowboat of glass
a totem pole on top of a chicken
a game of laughing to find the biggest and bestest friend
a tree to scale with fingers barely more open than acorns
a wave of air capable of wishing stars weren't fireflies
a taste of mom's food after hours and hours
playing ball with dad shooting hoops or catch much younger an
anchor made of sandriverleavings
a smile reaching past the laughter willing limb handles
doing skin the cat having the bed made over me
creepmouse daughters diving off my shoulders as i stand in the lake
*   *   *
acting out westerns with toy cap guns in the woods
never got me shot by the cops in real world our skateboarding
around campus wasn't hooligan behavior neither was
walking around town after midnight if we wanted playing tennis
middle of the night with all the lights on
taking the bikes down the highway to the minnow and candy store
going fishing at friends ponds for hours unattended most surely
playing sports for years playing the violin
being a semisuperhero before that drawing soldiers and tanks during vietnam
acting out acting out acting out boy boy boy
*   *   *
longhaired snowbunny with superlong feet met sasquach
under the sequoia on a planet not far away, and asked for some foot
advice: trim the nails with tools, or chew them off?
sasquatch: i never chew mine off, thats nasty. i use obsidian shears.
snowbunny: it figures
they lead a charmed and solitary existence, so their banter is often curt.
snowbunny: want to see some frozen huckleberry bushes?
sas: you mean the ones behind you stained purple like snowconemen"
up flew a cardinal as red as a jfk xmas in france, she had
a foot question too: leave your tracks in the snow, or eat them?
*   *   *
all the wee bumpkins in their iconic villager ruffles and d'arty kids
preamblin' thru a picture of america the beautiful
warts and all, horse trough handsink, lodging with foes of renown,
getting taken to sea hogtied to work for eight months
better to barter one's larder on shore for sure
free trudgingly stumbling from pal to pub to log and stove
dressed commonly in no uniformity forced to kneel
but for beknightings of treelimbs as one works ones way home
thru dense underbrush never destroyed
untamed terrains unterraced or terrorized domains
bloomers kilts& lorry sleds, the marking of america
well hitched in burlap knickers and cardigans
kept clean enuff to leave finally to the d'arty kids
*   *   *
born a pony
never once
mule by nature
ever dunce
pointed wonder
pulling weight
unicorn power
never late
*** *** ***
in the treehouse, sallyjo and buster had a pretend microwave and a box of food toys
with vines plugging the treehouse into the beginning of the morning
and the sun doing extra good warming them and making the cutlery user friendy
for four year olds, sally jo and brother buster mixed a tub of dust and twig chips
with three driblets of spit from buster and set the microwave to high
using a dial made from a soda cap nailed on, in the treehouse three feet seemed
to be in the upper clouds if they dropped pizza off the rail it took
a good minute or two to bring it back up the step with olive-rocks on top
of the mudsauce and dirtcheese boarddough, in the treehouse a binoculars
helped spy good cats and bad dogs, and rotten old neighbors, in the
treehouse there were only stick walls and a roof there was only a pretend
address and a pretend skull and crossbones chalked on the floor
in the treehouse we can leave the faucet running
door open lights on fridge open but never laugh when leaves
blow off into piles and months go by with nary a bud nor flower to mircofry
*   *   *
cheese mouse sat near the great museum and sniffed his fill, and decided to tunnel
in near the bank where it was softly available, nibble thru the melty brie exterior
into the mozzarella brick and string cheese girders, grinding parmesean concrete
to get to the aged cheddar valult, just past moldy blue security poison. 
a worm had made its way thru eight feet of soil to find a mate. everything is unrelated.
*   *   *
in a marathon race with dragonflies one better borrow a jetpack
or a da vinci kit and three d printer. the dragonflies had promised to visit ladybug
for years, but they were always busy. then, at  the kale patch, they finally
made a date and said they'd bring a game to play. instead, they brought a kingfisher
it was rather inappropriate, said the ladybug, looking up at kingfishers nice beak.
dragonfly used it as an excuse to huff off, which was fine by ladybug.
and kingfisher had laundry to do. in a long distance race with olde turtles and
salty sailors the preying mantis moves best: at once.
*   *   *
squid and kangaroo had nothing to do
 but say adieu to vous and vous
lark and crow gave nowhere a show
in view of the few born with a clue
moose and hog rolled snake and frog
to joke the hawk and others mock
lightning let loose the new caboose
squidaroo and kanga too had no hands to move
*   *   *
a mammoth would sit on this spot and feed her young
in the days not long ago, among heaps of frozen spinach
the mammoth would linger, draped in glory of popeye,
giving her baby some milk from a huge bottle
by the volcanic gloryhole birthing drinking ware for prehistory.
a mammoth would stand on this spot and watch
for lions, her mate scouring the underbrush just near.
a mammoth would live among others
their power more than just their size, as monuments
in motion they would rest on this spot
clean from the river, unhunted by life
*   *   *
monkey flew first class to the  walnut factory to buy some snark.
the walnut stumps fun to climb over in the airplane lavatory
all those stamps covering monkey
all that monkey business being made to order just with flag decals
at the walnut factory mailbox monkey did the self delivery
of finding the source of the walnuts
which was in fact a truck with a time portal in the exhaust pipe
in he went like a barrel full of explorers after nut banana pie
the stamps began to undo his motion of monkey elegance
he ripped furiously as john muir in heathen marin discovered the yeti
the stamps janis joplin wore off the jimi stamp was tuned on
walnuts didn't seem so important anymore
he wondered why he'd spent so many aeons swinging the vines of time
to get here first class in a race to stay extinct? not.
 *   *  *
undersea dolphin tribes and better places forbidden to humans
but not to kids and assorted children, they built=to order the imagination
delicate materials, gossamer hypotheticals, fantastical creatures
other things with eyes, you'll see
                                                                        undersea dolphin tribes.
***

ice baby had a popsicle dinner and went to her sled
on the steepy steep icelair she lived in during each winter
when the ice was her encyclopedia dinner.
she boarded her sled and pushed off down the mountainside she careened
as they call it, wildly careening rather carefully careening
she knew the way and even the sled knew the way, it was old hat
zigzagging thru huge cedar and pine trees past gigantic rocks
ice baby made it look easy. she glided to a stop and hung the sled under a shed
and her muckalucks went charging thru fresh thick snow several feet deep
*   *  *
the important blue boat bobbed updown awash in bubblebathwaves as the twins
loaded up the passengers on it and a sunken castle of sorts whose spires
reached from subaquatic depot of the tub with passengers in pretend tourist gear
affixed to the props, the blue boat, the castle, the minature salty old sailor,
the boat in a bubble fog and roar of dramatic licencse in re enactments
of all possibilities with 23 passengers and only deck space for three
they ride the castle off into the bubbles, the important blue boat
lands up on the monogramed towel near the door
*   *   *
baby baby bear was not small by a mile nor dumb as a brute
he was not great by dimension but he had time figured out
the smaller more tiny he tried to become it worked it worked, all goodfun
until as they say as they oftenmost should, baby bear saw his missing extra
babybearness shredding a nest at the top of tree, towering too much
for a baby babybear's reputation as they say, a binkie of pinecone, a blankie
 of goatbeardlichen he was not insignificant nor a cuddly posterchild for soap
he had a strangers egg in his paw when the lighting bolt lassoed him home
leaving mere baby bear  less innocent not to say larger in any regard
*   *   *
wild horses on a chartered tour bus of the great plains states, just easing
back in their swivel contraptions sippin alfalfa juice thru curly straws
they have the world at their disposal, but why dispose of the world when highway
just butters right over the land and rivers and mighty chasms, the wild horses
on r and r, exhausted, ready to unwind stick their necks out the bus windows
there isn't a tree for two hundred miles the sun is going down,
their hooves are so relaxed they fall off their legs and roll on the bus floor
they end up wearing each others socks when they stop for a break
looking at saddles in the shops and shaking their heads, wild horses.
*   *   *
the salty sailor woke up wearing his hammock under the nose
again, again, again but just in time to provide ones soy vases
to an actual walrus. being in his waters, it were best to grease the cogs with soy.
walrus went thru a good measure of soy in his fishy needs,
and he had extended family with extensions of other fauna and even planet.
the salty sailor was having a hard time with complexity away from his
sheer nautical prowess, which was partly hyperbole. it seemed that sodium
for brain fluid was not optimal. he began a dew diet of morning dew and
occasional late afternoon dew after scrutinizing the mildew.
he seemed to have utterly forgotten Walrus, staring at him for the past five minutes.
the salty sailor slapped his noggin and remembered his Cargo
excused himself from the ever unruffled Walrus and went to stir the lobster farm.
*   *   *
woodpecker found a new place to sharpen the beak, on a rock.
the rock was in the yard of the sherrif, but what should he care? he's at work. so
woodpecker begins grinding on the rock . he draws things. they look funny.
best of all, his beak is sharp. next day, a badger come up to woodpecker by the
rotten fence company.  how about we go fishing for termites? they bought some
angel hair pasta, eight bags of marshmallows, a zipline, and some bobbers.
woodpecker nearly implaled a rhino on the way out of the store, his beak was almost
too sharp. fortunately, the rhino was wearing his pendleton blanket collection.
they found an enormous tree, and woodpecker did a quick piece of drilling
into the termite metropolis. they came furiating out with every curse word in the
termite tongue, clutching their young, mealy and unsypathetic as they were.  they
made a truce. they gave them their collection of mildewed seeds which was legendary
among the citizens of the woods who liked such disgusting vittles.
woodpecker used his sharp beak on the seeds, and badger had his share put in a
looking glass handle, as an oddity.
*   *   *
post modern dolphin yoga, and better places forbidden to humans
but not to kids and assorted children as they create the ocean of deep space
using informed delicate materials, random mysteries, indelible vocals,
other things with eyes inside their ears, we think to smell, re-orientated.
topsy turvy poetry, understanding life in giggling pods racing along never alone
in others hearts using sonar to kiss is not uncommon
oceans full of waiters bringing waters glacial cold to re-invent the ceiling floor.
planets in raindrops on smiles of dolphins
just for you three girls, poetry is there and around all, loving.
*   *   *

sweet dreams on little girl minds
in peaceful homes protected by no jets
but the love of father and mercies of mother
big girl dreaming,
thousand idea flashes per moment*   *   *


the power you have sleeping
unleash on future tangled now

written Mt Tabor 
XMAS 2015
in 2 days, for Mesa, Isis, and Surreal, my daughters