Bruce McGuffin: Gene's Teeth
Gene, he was curious why he was carious,
I know his toothpaste selections were various.
Once he used jelly, and twice he used bubble gum.
That's why Gene’s teeth are all covered with yellow scum.
What I can't tell you exactly is why Gene
Never considered his poor dental hygiene.
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L .A. Mereoie: Into The Wide Blue Honda
The countryside! It soothes the brain,
So town-frayed nerves begin to mend –
Until the season’s here again
When rubber screams on some blind bend
And, racing down a narrow lane,
A tourist reaches journey’s end.
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Mae Scanlan: Bummalo
It may have, one time, been your luck
To dine with friends on Bombay duck.
You no doubt wouldn’t want to know
That what you ate was bummalo,
Which means your hifalutin’ dish
Was − euww! − an Asian lizard fish.
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Bruce McGuffin: The Dog's Apology*
Of all the things that I like doing
The one that I like best is chewing
I'm sorry your new shoe is tattered
I didn't think it really mattered.
But I'm a dog, that's what I do.
Yours was the shoe I chose to chew.
*The Canine-American companion animal with
whom I share my home has asked me to clarify
that she was not the inspiration for this poem.
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L. A. Mereoie: Sound of Mind?
Plagued by a nagging noise all day –
The kind of short sharp click
Bent knees emit when people pray−
A patient thought, “I’m sick!”
Until he heard his doctor say,
“It’s just a nervous tick.”
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Mae Scanlan: Unguiculate
Unguiculate a cow is not,
For she’s equipped with hooves.
She doesn’t think of this a lot
Before she makes her moves.
The Good Lord fashioned
Her unimpassioned.
