Noah Goode: Good Innings
'This batsman is having a very good innings!'
Asserted the cricket announcer,
As the bowler, who'd come to the end of his tether,
Unleashed a life-threatening bouncer . . .
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E. J Hutchinson: Cacophony
Cacophony’s an ugly word.
It has an ugly meaning.
It designates an ugly sound,
Like cats at midnight keening.
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Michael Calvert: Mystery
Why is it doing things I should
so seldom leaves me feeling good
compared to all the fun I’ve had
by doing things I know are bad.
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Felicia Nimue Ackerman: They Say Full. I Say Bull!
"A death in one’s 70s is more-or-less accepted
as normal, and the 80s are widely considered
to be ripe old age and a very full life."
– Psychology Today. March 28, 2024
What’s the perfect time to die?
Any time that isn’t nigh.
Going gentle? I say nix
Since I’m only 96.
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Jerome Betts: R-Word Warning
We say of some we know, ‘A ripe old age’,
Fit, active, compos mentis, wise, a sage.
With Potus Donald Trump, his youth forgotten,
The word beginning ‘r’, now ends in . . . otten?
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Tom Vaughan: Working Time Directives?
What are the working hours in heaven?
Downstairs, I guess they’re 24/7.
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Pat D’Amico: Salvation
This lousy day
At least, is saveable
Because my dinner’s
Microwaveable.
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Russel Winick: Secondary School Retrospective
Recalling early thoughts that most impacted,
My greatest wish is way back then I’d known,
In spite of how it seemed that most kids acted,
Self-doubts were in no way just mine alone.
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Steve Diamond: A Knotty Problem
When I suggested bondage to add a little spice
I worried she would think that isn't very nice
But how she really feels I'm unable to decide
For what she said was only "Well! I'm fit to be tied!"
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Noah Goode: Unlucky for some
A talisman may be considered charming,
Perhaps a rabbit's foot to bring good luck;
Although such things are nothing but alarming
For poor lopsided doe or limping buck.
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Felicia Nimue Ackerman: Doggerel
". . . dogs are a writer’s best friend."
– The New York Times Book Review, April 5, 2026
A dog is a writer's best friend?
This folly must come to an end!
My Winston knows better than that.
A writer's best friend is a cat!
