Category Archives: light verse
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona keeps burning, and the heat
Is brutal on the brains, and murder on bare feet.
(It’s slightly less oppressive from midnight until dawn.)
God help us all, and keep us, till summer’s heat is gone!
Poem © by Magical Mystical Teacher
Flee From the Kitchen
Flee from the kitchen, live on the porch;
August is glowing hot as a torch.
Cover yourself with rags or with strips,
Drink from a bucket, smacking your lips.
Dream of crisp apples, cinnamon toast,
A knife too dull to carve Sunday’s roast.
As the Earth turns and takes you along,
Make up a ditty, sing a new song!
Poem © 2020 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More The Whirligig #280
More Writers’ Pantry #34 at Poets and Storytellers United
A Swallow Screams for Dinner
A swallow screams for dinner,
But no one hears its plaint,
Even though it’s desperate
And about to faint.
So scream no more, dear swallow,
Though ravenous you be,
For you’re really all alone
In your misery.
© 2020 by Magical Mystical Teacher
I Am Explaining a Few Things
What I’m about to tell you may seem to make no sense,
So you may need to lean yourself against a good, stout fence.
Take a breath, a deep one; slowly, slowly close your eyes,
Then whatever leaves my lips will come as no surprise.
If sticks and stones should break your bones, do not reject the pain.
Embrace it as you would a friend—you have a lot to gain.
If Rosie and her rings come singing death chants at your door,
Fling some ashes in her face, and shout, “Begone, you whore!”
Last, if Mother Goose shows up with her flock of geese,
Greet them with some heartfelt words: “Welcome, Mother. Peace!”
© 2020 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Four Aphorisms for a Time of Plague
1
Unforeseen disasters wait
Just outside the garden gate
2
Pity those who lose their smiles
On the heartless COVID miles.
3
Comfort for tormented eyes
Is what doctors all advise.
4
If you let your lungs get wet,
You may drown in deep regret.
Rhyming couplets © 2020 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More The Whirligig #277
More Writers’ Pantry #31 at Poets and Storytellers United
Jump-Rope Rhymes
Fiction, grammar, prose, and mood—
Keep on jumping, don’t be rude!
Edit, conflict, stanza, plot—
This old rope is getting hot!
Punctuation helps the pace—
Jump up higher, jump with grace!
Rhythm makes good poetry—
Keep on jumping, and you’ll see!
© 2020 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Food for Thought
Here’s a little food for thought:
What I have, dear, you have not.
If you did, I’d be bereft—
Even now there’s not much left!
Maybe we could share a crumb.
Of my store, I’ll give you some.
Surely you’ll reciprocate;
Thus our hunger we will sate.
Poem © 2020 by Magical Mystical Teacher
More Weekly Scribblings #29 at Poets and Storytellers United
Then and Now
Once my hair was Bible-black,
Now it’s grey, both front and back.
Once my teeth were gleaming white,
Now they’re dull—it must be blight.
Once I ran a race, and won,
Now I sit and soak up sun.
Once my fist was hard as rock,
Now it’s limper than a sock.
Once I slept the whole night through,
Now I cannot sleep past two.
That was then, and this is now—
How’d I get here, anyhow?
Poem © 2020 by Magical Mystical Teacher
Blue Monday & Ruby Tuesday Too: Banderas
A street is festooned with blue banderas in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, México.
On the pavement, in the shade,
People strolling unafraid
Look up at the bright blue sky:
“Sad,” they say, “there is no pie.”
Please visit other participants and leave a comment.
Why not go over and see the friendly skies at SkyWatch Friday?
More Weekly Scribblings #26 at Poets and Storytellers United
Photo and poem © by Magical Mystical Teacher
To share your Blue Monday shot, click on the Mister Linky icon below:
To share your ruby shot, click on the Mister Linky icon below:
Blue Monday & Ruby Tuesday Too: Have Some Popcorn
Popcorn is available on the patio at Prescott Public Library, Prescott, Arizona. One photo, two memes.
When times are tough and my sadness grows
Sharper than thorns on a tangled rose,
And tears flow freely into my tea,
I look for something to comfort me.
A glimpse, perhaps, of a far-off place
(Call it heaven, or maybe it’s grace)
That gives me hope for living a life
Free of all pain, and free of all strife.
But try as I might, I just can’t find
Anything peaceful to ease my mind.
With pleasures lacking, my life’s a mess;
I need some solace, and nothing less.
Yet years of practice have taught me this:
There is a way from sorrow to bliss.
When all else fails to comfort me,
Popping some corn is the remedy!
More Weekly Scribblings #24 at Poets and Storytellers United
Please visit other participants and leave a comment.
Photo and poem © by Magical Mystical Teacher
To share your Blue Monday shot, click on the Mister Linky icon below:
To share your ruby shot, click on the Mister Linky icon below:
