Billy blew a bubble
With a piece of bubblegum.
Betty blew a bubble too.
Baby wanted some.
Baby chewed and Baby blew
Bit by bit by bit by bit;
The bubble grew, and grew… and grew…
Baby wouldn’t quit.
One day Baby’s got to stop
Or else that bubble has to pop.
All the sailors lost at sea
Are with the mermaid clan
Enjoying mussels by the shoals
Vacationing in far Japan.
They’ve left their brothers, mothers, lovers
Crying on the shore
For once you’ve heard the mermaids sing
You’ll come home never more.
Thomas Jefferson got squished by a train
Last month. Now the back of his head
Is all smooth, and nobody can remember
If he had a ponytail or regular hair.
Now his motto is just IN GOD
And LIBERTY is smeared out behind him
Smooth, vague, and barely legible.
You can read it only if you already know it’s there.
Reverse, his home’s half-pictured, MONT-something,
Surrounded by noble sentiments half-named:
PLURIBUS. UNITED. FIVE. The rest is gone,
Left on the rails, I guess.
I always heard a coin on the tracks
Could derail a train.
Maybe I just heard wrong. Or maybe
This is a job for Abraham Lincoln.
Hush now, child, now go to bed
Now close your eyes, rest your head
For now we end our day.
And while you sleep, the pirates creep
Into the town and up the street
To carry you away.
And you shall be a pirate king
A king of endless isles
The gentle rain shall fall on you
The lazy sun shall smile
And yours will be a bonny ship
And bonny be your crew
And singers who sing of wondrous things
Of treasure maps and golden rings
And birds that swim, and fish with wings
And the dreams that are dreamed by pirate kings
Shall sing of you.
III.
It is a dragon that swallows the moon.
A dragon delivers the rising sun in its jaws.
Knowing nothing of despair or love,
While its heart remains hidden it cannot be killed.
O spider, dear spider, why did I ever shrink from you in fright?
I am sorry now I did, for now I know it was not right.
O spider, dear spider, please watch and keep me safe tonight
Only do not come too close, please; only mind you do not bite.
II.
In the time before men the dragons ruled the air,
Spurning the ground,
Fearing nothing, not even the sea.
Evil by their birth,
They were most noble.
I.
The Chinese dragons have faces like old men
Grow stronger the older they grow
Lie by telling the truth
Can ride the slightest wind to invisible heights
Are beautiful in motion, hideous in repose.
Here's a fat thing, a bubble. Air bobs it. It flirts with light, sucks blue from the sky. It wants to wander, but where? There's no wind to show a way. Without a goal to vex it, it stays a toy, untroubled. A dog comes nosing, smelling soap, then yelps and shies. The bubble spits a rainbow as it dies.
(photos by RolandasJ, carterse)
Oh, an Octopus is just the thing
When you’re out of string.
Yes, instead of a ball of twine
An Octopus works fine.
Last Christmas Eve I got a box
Done up in Octopus-knots.
It’s nicely tied — there’s even a bow.
But what’s inside? I still don’t know.
The Octopus
won’t
let
go.
Bag of Anything 