Jimmy Pappas: A Little Ditty for Anaximander
Anaximander’s apeiron *concept I’ve found
Is difficult for me to wrap my head around.
The hot and the dry, the cold and the wet;
An infinite universe was a safe bet.
Life rose from the ocean to reach dry land;
They crawled on their bellies and onto the sand.
And now we exist so take a good look;
You can read it all here in a philosophy book.
(*Apeiron = unlimited or boundless. Anaximander
was a 6th century BCE pre-Socratic philosopher.)
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Max Gutmann: Spineless Parenthood
(The Australian leech, helobdella papillornata,
is the first known example of an invertebrate
caring for its young into maturity, said
evolutionary biologist Fred Govedich, at
Australia's Monash University. Reuters)
The mother leech’s acts impeach
Our thoughts and speech. We’ve panned her,
Which isn’t kind, and now we find
She’s been maligned with slander.
Our view’s been hissed as prejudiced;
A scientist’s asserted
She demonstrates strong family traits,
Although her brate’s inverted.
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Philip Kitcher: Our Tariff President Discovers Soccer
(In his latest memo “Nobody Knows (Yet Again),”)
the Oaktree Capital co-founder called Trump’s
10% blanket tariff proposal a potential “own goal”
– a self-inflicted policy blunder – and drew a
direct comparison to the UK’s departure from
the European Union. – Economic Times)
My doctor said: “You’re looking roly-poly”.
His thought to take up sport made lots of sense.
Our soccer captain was a wokey goalie.
The raving nutcase put me on defense.
A rocket hit my thigh, and found the net.
It was the first time I had touched the ball.
After, I slammed them home without regret.
We lost twelve-nil – but I had scored them all!
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Paul Burgess: Early Birds and Night Owls
The early birds we've thought so wise
Accelerate their own demise,
For sneaky serpents lie in wait
To catch the birds with worms as bait.
When people say you're slow to wake,
Recall this tale of bird and snake,
And be the serpent-eating owl
Instead of early-eaten fowl.
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Tom Vaughan: Table Manners
You’re either at the table
or on it, so make sure
you’ve got a seat and make a fuss
the others can’t ignore.
You’re either wimp or winner
but if the former, don’t
expect the big shots gathered there
to grant your case. They won’t.
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James B. Nicola: NINKompoop
I have friends who are either DINK or TINK.
I used to be an OINK. Now I’m a NINK.
That’s D for Double; T for Two; O, one;
K, Kids; I, Income; N for No. None.
And yet I dote on all the K I see,
especially pre-toddlers, language-free,
strapped in and trapped for passing NINKs like me
to glimpse hope in a face where hope might be.
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Mary Hills Kuck: The Oldest in the Room
Why should I even care if I’m
the oldest in the room?
I find I’m in my prime
as the oldest in the room.
It has been quite sublime
to find a second bloom,
so I don’t really care if I’m
the oldest in the room.
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Pat D‘Amico: Compelling Presence
A ding, a dong, a little song
Or a voice that gives commands
Is coming from the cell phone
That I’m holding in my hands.
It’s part of my anatomy
And lately I have found
There’s seldom any time I’m free
From being bossed around.
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Steven Kent: Double Your Urnings
“I bought an urn for $30 to put my Dad’s
ashes in, but had to remove the original
inhabitant first” – The Guardian
To store Dad's ashes, my concern.,
Our thrift shop had the perfect urn;
That lovely vase was second-hand,
But surely Dad would understand.
I laid the thirty dollars down
And took it to my house in town.
Alas, when I removed the top,
I found another person’s Pop!
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Christopher Scribner: Post Traumatic Kale Disorder
(The taste of kale makes unborn babies grimace,
research finds. Previous studies suggest that
a foetus learns about the mother’s diet by
inhaling or swallowing amniotic fluid. – News item )
Flavors bubble there in mummy’s tummy –
there’s salty, sour, sweet, and bold umami;
but bitter flavors in a mother’s diet
elicit intrauterine disquiet.
The healthy veggies that a mama tries
ironically can sometimes traumatize –
unlike if, say, the taste of Reese’s Pieces®
were found in someone’s amniocentesis.
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John Whitney Steele: How Did They Make It To Ararat?
Think of the animals crammed in the ark.
Who had to scoop up their poop every day?
How ‘bout the lawyers who crafted the waivers,
animals signing their hoof-prints away?
Pity the scriveners shut in their cubicles
checking the numbers to bellow, bleat, bray.
How did they safeguard the lambs from the lions?
God must have given them MDMA.
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Dan Campion: Muscles Marinara
The pecs, the delts, the glutes, the traps:
those nicknames in the gym
all get a workout swimming laps,
presuming they can swim.
But if they can’t, the outlook’s grim
should you fall from a boat.
So learn a stroke or two to skim
the surface. And to float.
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Paul Willis: Blue-Eyed Grass
(Sisrinchium bellum)
Blue-eyed grass,
what do you see?
As I pass,
are you looking at me?
Golden pupil,
iris blue –
I am looking
back at you.
