You came at a bad time.
A terribly, terribly bad time.
You showed up the moment I couldn’t stand to touch you.
I was afraid you were never going to come.
I should have been glad you came, but why am I not relieved?
Is it that crippling fear that the moment I touch you, you fade away like a ghost?
Is it that you might be a whistleblower looking for an insecurity to use against me later?
Or is it that you are trying to distract me from tending to my garden before it dies of thirst?
I want to shout, “Why didn’t you come sooner?!”
I want to shout, “Where were you when I needed you most?!”
I want to yell at the top of my lungs, “Would it kill you to tell me what’s driving you away from me?!!”
But I am too nice. Too kind and gentle to scream and point to the elephant in the room.
The very elephant that a sorcerer pulled out of his hat and crippled both of my limbs.
I never wanted to call for help because it reinforces the notion that I should still be in high school.
I’ve crawled around all year avoiding the other teenage drama queens that worship dragons.
Seems like they forgot that dragons like to steal our fortunes and our hearts. Before they eat them.
Spending time with my open-minded little brother has planted a seed of doubt in my head.
A seed that gets me thinking that all love does to me is waste my time experimenting with false hope.
My imaginary nights with a fallen angel goes along the lines of;
“Yes, yes, honey, shower me with hugs and kisses. Oh, my love, how I yearn for you.
Pleasure me with your lust until the water in your veins runs out and you become a raisin.
Only then, will I toss you in the sun and wonder why the hell I’ve never gotten lucky.”
When will the water cycle end for the both of us?
What compels Venus to bewitch me to make bad choices?
Why else do you think independent seekers with degrees in hand avoid commitment?
Our grandparents and parents are more patient than our generation is now
Because compared to us, they tended to their gardens and their raisins.
You did a bang-up job tending to me by showering me with promises you can’t keep,
With complex wisdom about human nature, stories of your struggle to get your education over with,
And the snuggles and touches that I wished were real more than the chains I dream of shattering.
You’ve made this game look so easy, you know?
All that had impressed me about you lately is how you’ve lured me into your arms,
Only to neglect me without warning when the sun was at its hottest.
Part of me does not wish to see you go because I tolerate the pain that your absence has left behind.
You scarcely have time on your hands, but would you care to join me for a cup of jasmine tea?
It won’t take long. What I want to know next is what else is new that you have yet to tell me?
Jumbo the elephant
biggest boy on earth
drank whiskey
got way too friskey
smashed down
without a frown
the elephant barn
and now sews yarn
Jumbo went to rehab
an elephant
with alcohol scabs
he sits and prays
spends all his days
in Alcoholics Anonymous
with other drunken sailors
and green alligators
and he yawns
with a soul to pawn
giving his life to Jesus
what a creature
accepting his fate
as a Heavenly feature
reinstated
and spiritually related
got the
golden paw
and Heaven he saw
sitting on a cloud
sitting on a cloud
Jumbo is partying
with Jesus
partying with
Moses and Noah
don't you know it
Jumbo the elephant
GRATITUDE OF ANIMALS
To you at birth each animal bequeathed
his own special gift in ribbons wreathed.
The cat delivered her independence.
The hawk his detached ascendance.
Loyalty gifted by the dog.
Archer's aim conferred the frog.
Waters of life gave the camel
Nurturing from the bovine mammal.
Longevity came from the tortoise.
Love for all from the porpoise.
Squirrel: the art of storing
Mouse flexibility
Gopher tunneling
Horse speed agility
Chameleon disguise
Guinea pig lovability.
Parrot mimicry
Rabbit fertility
Bull courageous fight
Giraffe his extreme height.
Gorilla his awesome might
Swan a soaring flight.
Porcupine pen quills
Stag his antlers
Squid: ink to write
Eagles.. longrange sight
Armadillo his armoured coat.
The whale offered himself as boat.
Elephant his showering trunk
Foe repellant from the skunk.
Bear his peaceful hibernation.
Vulture her conservation.
The donkey gave her patient heart.
The monkey gave his mental art.
His suitcase to you gave the kangaroo
as the gnu was freed from the zoo.
Roaches their divine forgiving
Lark her lilting love of living.
Sparrows their simplicity
Fox detective duplicity
Endurance from the ants
Bees their direction dance
Spiders the art of weavers
Architecture from the beavers.
Woodpecker.. carving precision.
Owl her nighttime vision
Fidelity from the loons
Humor from the baboons
Paper weaving from the wasp.
Medicines.. from the asp.
Crow her entire jewel collection.
Pigs their spirit of insurrection.
Octopi their boxing protection.
Butterflies their resurrection.
(to Andrew Linzey, first professor of animal rights at Oxford and all other animal protectors)
PEAR BABIES
The pear tree has
laid her bright gold
gifts in an autumn basket of
grass..