SHEEP WALKERS

The sheepherder was herding his sheep,

which looked much

like a  white cotton ball platoon

as they mosey along

giving bah bahs

whenever there was a big shove

by the sheepherders cane.

When a young lady

from the town below

came up to the young man

and asked of him,

“Why do you push them all around like that?”

“They need to be kept together,” he grumbled,

“So they don’t wonder off

and get lost.”

“Oh. So where are you going?” She inquired.

The herder turned from her agitated

but replied sternly,

“Nowhere.”

“Oh. Well then why do you worry

about your sheep getting lost,

if you do not intend

to go anywhere?”

TWO EYES AND A HEART

 

Walking the path

in the search

their lashes

for legs

came to a halt,

“He is the one!” the two eyes proclaimed.

The  heart hopped up from behind,

“No, not him.”

The eyes argued,

“Look, he’s so gorgeous!”

The heart sighed,

“But you see,

my eyes,

I feel him to be

cold,

cunning

and caulis.”

The eyes blinked, squinted, then focused,

“No heart you are wrong,”

they declared,

“we have the sight to see!”

“But yet,”

the heart declared,

“you are so blind.”

FASTIDIOUS FATE

Once  there was a jungle boy,

who only ate frogs,
and nothing other.
Only consuming

an amphibious meal,
despite

his growing boy hunger.
Then came the day,

he had ate every frog,
that had existed

in this jungle’s milieu.
So he starved

to death,

and upon

his last breath –
still refused to try anything new.

“All he had to do

was give something else

a chance!”
Roared the King lion

in utter despair.
All the animals agreed,

although they did not seem,
to have a sound

to share.
Except

for the humble-less

self-serving

hyenas,
who laughed

again

and again,
as they feasted in delight,

without any plight,
upon the finicky boy before them.

UDDER FOOL

There was once a Guru

who told everyone

that hiked to his cave

at the top of the highest mountain

that they must find their answer

within themselves.

One day

the Guru’s young apprentice

asked of him

“Why are you a Guru,

if all you do is tell everyone

to find the answer themselves?”

The guru points to his fingertip,

“Ah young one

you see just like a fingerprint

the answer is always unique

to the individual.”

The apprentice then questioned,

“What if they look and don’t find the answer?”

The Guru smiled,

“One who can not find their own answer

is like a cow

looking for milk –

an udder fool.”

CURIOUS GORGE

Twitchy

pink nose

fluffy

wiggly tail

furry head

bobbing clockwise,

the little gray hare

tediously inspected

a colossal bush

lushiously adorned

with emerald green

heart-shaped leaves.

Slowly

the rabbit rose upright,

with perked ears,

and examined ever so intensely

the volumptious

volumes of leaves.

Closer

the bunny leaned

toward the greenery

close

close

close-

er

then

just

a

smidge

of a smidgen

closer

as the bunny’s nose

ever so slightly

barely

touched the tip

of a leaf

when

SUDDENLY

the bush opened up wide

and gobbled the bunny up.

with its leafy lips.

The oversized shrub

gulped

then began

to chortle hysterically,

and with fur flying

from its foliage mouth,

“Looks like curiosity,”

the leaves shook as the bush bellowed,

“doesn’t kill

just cats!”

15 MINUTES TO SHAME

2:02 a.m.

It is dark,

barren,

hollow,

the endless red light

incinerates my insolent eyes.

2:05 a.m.

Every guidepost seems green,

but mine.

Malfunction?

2:07 a.m.

Still red

REd

RED

the light glows.

Skimming,

I see no protect-and-serve vehicle,

no vehicle of any sort

none to the left

right

front

behind –

All is clear,

so it is then

I  chose

to pound the pedal of power,

screeching forward

the tires fight the road

when the road releases

my car flies forward

and immediately

flashing lights

inflict my mirrors –

red, blue, red, blue, red, blue .

I pull my car to the side,

place it from drive

to park

roll down the window,

ignition off

and wait,

wait,

wait.

2:11 a.m.

The officer tediously inspects my license,

then my face,

again to my license.

He leans down

triggering

a silent demand

for me

to look

his way,

so I do,

and it is then

that he finally denounces

with a tone tinged with apprehension

“Pastor

Paul?”
With eyes down,

stomach curled,

my lips first hesitate to acknowledge his quest for an answer,

then with a laden whiskey whisper

I respond…

“Yes”.
Breathalyzer,

handcuffs,

cold

hard

back-seat.

2:17 a.m.

PUSHED

Standing

side by side,

on the cliff’s

formidable edge,

the man pointed

to  the canyon’s ravine

which lie –

thousands of miles

down –

to the bottom.

It was not a sight seeing gesture

no

but rather

a heedful warning.

He told her the words,

“If you ever

Ever

try to leave me…”

She stood silent,

as usual,

but as unusual

she began to have thoughts

thinking

of  all the…

apologetic bruises,

her  sleepless nights,

the shift in people’s eyes

when their engagement had been announced.

Thinking

of all the…

warnings

from others,

friends,

family

and how she was just sure,

they did not understand

Thinking

of all the…

“never again” lies

her guilt of causing such things

She gazed at her gold band gauntlet

cuffed

to her left ring finger,

then glanced, looking, examining

his face

which scowled as if fighting with the air.

“Til death

do we part?”  She questioned,

observing his response.

He nodded,

YES,

She sighted

began to head back to the car

when then

she stopped a few steps in

thinking

of

what if?

what if she?

He made not a move

noticing nothing

and from somewhere

which seemed

from out of nowhere

she suddenly turned

charged

running towards him.

and then

just as he  turned around,

she rammed his body –

feet flew

from underneath him

as he desperately grasped for clumps of air

to pull him back

and in the moment upon knowing his fate

his face

pasty pale

with  eyes bulged

as if trying to escape from their sockets

and backwards

he fell

over

off the cliff,

Thunk

Thunk

Thudunk.

Hesitant,

she looked over the edge

where his body lay

mangled

motionless.

Her lips celebrated with a smile

then declared:

“Well my dear,

I now pronounce us…

de-parted.”

 

“THEY”

They had told her

what to wear:

those

pink

pretty

dresses.

They had told her

what to eat,

and not to make

any

messes.

They had told her

what things

would bring her

happy

days.

They told her how to act,

They told her how to behave.

Then,

one fateful day,

she fell into

the raging rivers water,

and They

They were not there

to save her.

And as this girl

went under,

her drowning thoughts

did wonder,

what would They

think of her blubbering blunder?
But as it came to be,

of this rivers

tragic tragedy

that They,

as They are,

found it better

to turn

the other way,

and with each

passing day

never  gave

one thought of her –

well,

ever.

FACED

Burning

blazed

red

oval Eyes

distended

bulging

from underneath

the creatures scaly

skinned lids

with sights set,

aimed

upon the decrepit

aged man

who now sat frozen

in his chair

no longer rocking.

THUMP, THUMP.

The beast stumped closer.

THUMP, THUMP.

It clomped

clumped

galumphed

closer

closer

closer

the monstrosity approached.

The old man

with his voice

croaked,

“What are you?”

THUMP, THUMP.

The thing let out

a hideous hiss

though saliva

that dripped

in clumps

to the ground.

“Wwwhat, what are you I said?”

The haggard man

commanded to know

but  the succubus presence

did not

forth come an answer.

THUMP, THUMP.

THUMP,

THUMP.

The fiendish beast

now

before

the mans feet,

face,

body.

The geezer

tried not to breath in

the monsters

sulfur

sour stench

as the thing

lowered down

breathing heavily,

blowing

the last couple grey hairs

on the old mans head

straight up.

“What…”

the geezer

trembling

began to ask again,

but the creature

screeched

an ear

piercing

shrilllllll.

“What

am

I?”

Seethed

the bestial tongue

with an odious hissing,

“I

 

am

 

Your

 

Passssst”

 

The old man

puzzled

tilted his head

to the left,

to the right,

then slightly leaned forward

inspecting the creature

up

then down

then up

again.

A half smile slid

upon the mans

wrinkle plagued face

as he concurred,

“Yes,

yes,”

the elder went back

to rocking in his chair,

“You must be

My past,

for you

are truly ugly.”