The Thing I Am Is Everything

An Invisible Giant

2009-06-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

A Giant’s lying in the air
with both his feet in outer space…
See his colorful mustache hair?
That’s not a rainbow! It’s his face!

If My Nose Could Grow

2009-06-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

I could lay so peacefully
on the bottom of a shallow sea
if through the surface, like a tree,
my nose could grow to breathe for me.

I would sniff the salty air
while little fish swam through my hair.
Seaweed’s all the clothes I’d wear.
I’d be so comfortable down there.

Memories

2009-06-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

“When I became pregnant,” my mother said,
“I swallowed a pizza so you could be fed,
and because you were restless I swallowed a bed.”

“When you were a baby,” my mother wailed,
“you drank gallons of milk every time you inhaled…
Each time you spit up a ship could have sailed!”

“When you learned to crawl,” my mother complained,
“I must have been crazy to leave you unchained!
You got onto the roof every time that it rained.”

“When you started walking,” my mother sighed,
“whatever would break was where you’d collide.
I should have warned your grandmother to hide!”

“When you got your first tooth,” mymother swore,
“to travel downstairs you chewed through the floor.
Your hand has five fingers. Your dentist’s has four!”

“When you first talked,” my mom cried in dismay,
“the words that came out of you turned my hair gray,
and every neighbor we had moved away!”

“When you’d throw a tantrum,” my mother roared,
“it would shake and rattle my spinal cord.
You derailed a train once while we were on board.”

“When we went to the zoo,” my mom reminisced,
“even the lions trembled and hissed.
The zoo put you on its ‘Prohibited’ list.”

“When I was a girl,” my mother confessed,
“for fun I would swallow a hornet’s nest.
Your grandmother says I once ate a house guest.”

“Before I had you,” my mom said and smiled,
“your grandmother hoped I’d have me fora child…
You’re sort of like me, but not nearly as wild!”

Three Grains of Rice

2009-06-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

If I ate just one grain of rice
that would not suffice.
That’s not even enough for mice.
Ah ha, but luckily for me
I don’t have one grain,
I have three.

Once Upon a Paper Plate

2009-06-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

Once upon a paper plate
I poured a saucy stew.
I ate and ate and ate and ate
and felt the plate disintegrate!
It missed my pants when it fell through
but the stew filled up my shoe!

How to Make a Flower Grow

2009-06-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

My sister thinks her hairs are flowers.

She takes showers for hours and hours.

It takes more than water, though,

to make a flower really grow.

“You also need some dirt!” I said,

as I dumped some on her head.

She screamed. My dad said, “That’s not funny!

Now put your sister where it’s sunny!”

Science Lies!

2009-06-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

My Science teacher makes me laugh.
I would learn more from a giraffe!
“Bodies are made of water,” she taught.
This led me to a simple thought.
Because I am the classroom sleuth
I called out, “Science isn’t truth!
If it were true, then please explain…
why don’t we get fat in the rain?”
Miss Newton sighed, “Why such defiance?”
I shrugged and said, “I don’t like Science.”

Cheese Plate

2009-06-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

My mother said I overate
just because I ate my plate.
With her cheese sauce it tasted great!
I told my mother, “You should try it.”
She said, “WE are on a diet!”
I said, “But…”
She said, “Be quiet!”

The Science Question of the Day

2009-06-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

“Why do stars glisten in the sky?”
My teacher’s answer was a lie!
“Each star is its own single sun,”
my teacher said. “Yes, every one!”
I told Miss Newton, “That’s not true!
My brother told me why they do!
Here is the answer that is right…
The moon sneezed and it splashed the night!”

My Noisy Family

2009-06-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

Oh, my Dad! The way he snores!
That’s why they invented doors!

When my Mom thinks she’s alone
sometimes she sounds like a trombone…

No wonder Grandma’s ears are worn…
Her TV uses a bullhorn!

All day long my sister’s singing
sounds like an alarm clock ringing!

My brother upstairs drinks caffeine…
His floor is not a trampoline!

My other brother down the hall
has soccer matches with his wall!

With such a noisy family
it’s hard to hear myself be me!

Oh, if quiet ever comes,
then I’ll learn to play the drums!

City Breeze

2009-06-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

This summer breeze, it feels so good
blowing through my neighborhood
taking on this concrete heat,
cooling down my sweating feet.
A wind like this should never fade…
This gentle air is just like shade!
I wonder if a city breeze
is actually the ghosts of trees.

A Dog for Camping

2009-06-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

If you’re making me go camping, Dad, and you don’t want me bored
I’ll need to get a dog whose tail is an extension cord.
I’ll rub its shaggy fur to build up electricity,
and then its tail will be a place to plug in my TV.

Tree Parade

2009-06-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

It’s such a scorching, sunny day…
so hot that it’s too hot to play.
Oh, Sun, forgive me when I say,
Today I wish you’d go away!

I’d really love to find some shade.
I’d love to find a tree parade
with lemon trees and lemonade
and trees with their best leaves displayed.

I know I could keep up the pace…
I’d even win in a tree race!
A tree parade marches in place
while offering a shade embrace.

Maybe I’d see a bear mermaid,
or three snakes joined into a braid.
All kinds of things might be portrayed
within the shady masquerade!

There’s no parade, to my dismay.
A steak could cook on my walkway!
Oh, Sun, forgive me when I say,
I’ve had too much of you today!

My Great Stairway

2009-06-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

I’m building a stairway in my mind

from every stair I’ve ever climbed.

Today I only added four

but I once climbed to a thirty-first floor,

and every day I add some more!

With all these stairs that I acquire

my stairway keeps growing higher…

It spirals where it isn’t straight.

Where it’s not plain it is ornate.

My growing stairway's growing GREAT!!

If I could pull it from my mind

I’d leave the ground and world behind.

I’d peek in through airplane windows

with birds resting on my nose.

I would go where no one goes…

I would climb among the stars.

I’d climb my great stairway to Mars!

The Thing I Am Is Everything

2009-06-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

My sister says that she can sing, and that makes her a singer.
I chase her, singing, I’m a bee, and that makes me a stinger!
She hollers, You are just a thing!
I tell her, I agree.
The thing I am is everything. I'm not just a bee.
She yells, Oh be a rocket ship and blast off to the moon!
I say, I went there yesterday. Why go again so soon?
She screams, Then be a lobster! Go live on the ocean floor!
I am. And every ocean, I explain. And every shore.
She screeches, Just be quiet Mr. Big-Pain-In-My-Rear!
I whisper, That’s impossible. I’m everything you hear.
Well silence is a thing, she says. And I scratch my head.
I guess I won’t be everything, but just some things instead.

Caramel Shoes

2009-06-22T13:00:00.001-07:00

I made my shoes from caramel.
I thought they’d make my feet not smell
like feet.
But, phew, that sweet and sweaty smell
of sticky feet in caramel
is utterly disgusting and, whoa, it’s not discrete!
My one-time favorite caramel
is candy now I hate to smell…
Oh, tragedy! It’s candy that I never want to eat!
(But now my mouth begins to water when I smell my feet…)

My Unfriendly Neighbor

2009-06-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

I have an unfriendly neighbor who
never says, “Fine,” to my “How do you do?”
Sometimes he answers by throwing a shoe.

He waters his sidewalk on cold winter days.
In summer he covers it with mayonnaise.
I prefer going less slippery ways.

His mouse-fur cap wiggles and squeaks
on the rare occasions that my neighbor speaks.
When I see it happen, I’m nervous for weeks.

My friends all agree it’s unusual that
he keeps a stingray instead of a welcome mat,
and instead of a doorbell the nose of a rat.

His house has vines all over each wall
with fingers that hang from the ends of them all.
One time they stole my best soccer ball!

His lawn used to be as green as farmland
until he replaced the grass with quicksand.
Now it’s light brown, and sort of bland.

Bees blow from the tail of the car that he drives.
These bees have stingers, but they feel like knives.
I run when he’s leaving, and when he arrives.

His chimney covered our street in thick smoke
the time his fireplace burned poison oak.
I saw him laugh as I scratched at his joke.

One Halloween I stood on the street
and screamed nervously at his house, “Trick or treat!”
He opened his door, and threw pickled pig’s feet!

I asked my Grandma for this advice…
“If I want to be friends, how can I break the ice?”
She said, “Oh sweetie. Not everyone’s nice.”

An Uncommon Cold

2009-06-22T12:50:00.000-07:00

One time the sun caught a cold,
and complained, “Oh, I’m so old.
I’ve lived three billion years or more.”
The moon replied, “You’re just mature.”

The heat that blew on the breeze
of every unexpected sneeze
melted all the mountain snow,
which made the rivers overflow.

Lava snot ran in the sky,
and then the sun began to cry.
The raindrops were igniting wood
as the sun wept, “I don’t feel good!”

People gathered in a hurry.
Everyone was sick with worry.
They knew something must be done
to help cure their ailing sun!

Farmers came with celery,
onions, chickens and parsley.
Grandmothers brought cooking pots.
A rocket came with astronauts.

“Chicken Soup!” “It never fails!”
came the hopeful shouts and wails
as people filled the rocket ship
with soup for a sun-bound trip.

Though no one could say for sure
if chicken soup had been the cure
the sun got better very soon,
and then a sneeze came from the moon…

If My Hat Had Wings

2009-06-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

If my hat had wings my hair would fly,
but then my lonely head would cry.
No, it could not be left below.
Well, my neck would also want to go!
If my hat, hair, head and neck took flight
would my shoulders feel left out? They might.
But, wait! My arms can’t leave my shoulders.
They’d fall off without their holders!
Then what good would be my chest?
It needs my arms to get it dressed.
If my chest, arms and shoulders flew,
what would my topless belly do?
Join the flight (like you’d expect)
before my chest could disconnect.
My hips and waist without a doubt
would join rather than feel left out,
which would make my legs perplexed.
Therefore they would follow next.
But I would be incomplete
because I have such stubborn feet.
They’d say, “Why fly when we can walk?”
(Wait a second! Feet can’t talk!)

So Many Hairs

2009-06-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

Even though Harriet had so much hair
she thought that each one deserved its own name.
Above her left ear, she started with Claire,
and promised, I won’t name two hairs the same!
Suzie, Stevie, Jonah, John, Lisa, Fran, Francine,
Frankie, Maximillian, Nadine, Sam, Tom, Evaline,
Herbert, Ralphie, Little Pete, Big Pete, Aaron, Peter,
Bonnie, Bobbie, Tony, Toby, Stacy, Tracy, Dieter.
She named hairs all afternoon, all evening and all night.
At dawn she was past her left ear, but still far from her right…
I think I'll shave my head, she said

at sunrise as she went to bed.

One Day My House

2009-06-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

One day my house will be a tree,
one that’s not just tall, but wide
with room to build stairways inside.
Each branch will be a balcony.

Inside the branches I’ll keep things,
my soccer ball and clothes and bed,
all my toys and my dog Fred,
and on each branch a bird that sings.

The birds and I will be good friends.
They’ll try to teach me how to fly.
At night they’ll sing a lullaby,
and wake me up when the night ends.

Birds will bring me eggs for breakfast.
My tree will grow delicious fruits.
Root beer will flow in its roots,
and every sip will be the freshest.

Inside my tree, when it rains
it will sound like steady drumming.
I’ll join in with banjo strumming,
and sing songs about old trains.

I’ll hang a hammock at the top
and in it learn to smoke a pipe.
I’ll eat fruit that’s always ripe
and drink my fresh root beer nonstop.

That’s the house I’ll have one day
when finally I’m out of school
and I’ve outgrown my parents’ rule,
and all I have to do is rest and play…

Horror Right Outside the Door

2009-06-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

The time I stepped on a slug with my bare foot was bad.
And although it made me hop and curse
what my good friend David did yesterday was worse.
He was taking out the trash
when he felt a bullfrog smash.
Worse than that, he said he felt it ooze…
Dave had gone out wearing socks without any shoes!
(And although it’s been denied,
David’s sister said he cried.)

Old Smoke and the Blue Forest Line

2009-06-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

Old Smoke left the station loaded up with heavy freight.
This time that old freight train was just half an hour late.
The Engineer who drove him couldn’t help but hesitate…
No one rushed to go into Blue Forest.

It was said Blue Forest had more robberies than trees.
A sign that marked the boundary read, “We’ll Take What We Please.”
The Engineer on Old Smoke was shaking in his knees
as the freight train disappeared into Blue Forest.

Old Smoke chugged into the dark and fearsome forest shade.
In no time at all, off with its freight the robbers made.
The Engineer swore, “Old Smoke, it’s time for an upgrade!
No, we won’t be robbed again in this Blue Forest!”

The Engineer hooked a steel car behind Old Smoke’s caboose
and filled it with cannonballs for the sound that would produce
when he removed the wheels for the steel car to be loose…
a rattlesnake tail clanging through Blue Forest.

Old Smoke’s Engineer screamed, “This rattle’s how it warns!”
But robbers swarmed out of the trees answering with horns.
The Engineer swore, “Old Smoke, next time I’ll give you thorns!
Let’s see who’ll touch you then in this Blue Forest!”

“Old Smoke!” the Engineer laughed. “You parade of porcupines!”
He’d welded to each car a thousand sharpened metal spines.
Someone whispered, “That man should be selling his designs,”
as again the Engineer drove toward Blue Forest.

The robbers rushed the train this time with metal pruning shears
and cut off each and every one of Old Smoke’s sharpened spears.
A robber winked. The Engineer blinked back his angry tears,
and called, “I’ll be back again to this Blue Forest!”

The Engineer ran wire through every car and wheel,
charging up Old Smoke with high volts like an electric eel.
The Engineer laughed, “I can’t wait to hear the robbers squeal!
Oh, I can’t wait to get back to Blue Forest!”

The next day the Engineer got Old Smoke out on time.
He laughed, “Electric shocks are today’s reward for crime!”
But the robbers all wore rubber suits so Old Smoke they could climb…
and they took the freight away into Blue Forest.

When the Engineer drove Old Smoke back into the station
a Company man was waiting there with this revelation…
“We would lose less money, in our approximation,
if we built a bridge to cross above Blue Forest.”

The Engineer went to bed, but he left on the lights.
What kept him wide-awake was a tremendous fear of heights.
He thought, “I should make Old Smoke into a train that bites
so they won’t need no bridge over Blue Forest!”

By morning bridge materials already had appeared,
and to make things even worse than the Engineer had feared
he heard the crunch of boots as a thousand workers neared,
and saws were cutting lumber from Blue Forest.

The Company man insisted, “While we build this bridge
the Company won’t tolerate delivery stoppage!”
Onto the freight the Engineer loaded rotten cabbage,
and gasped, “Old Skunk! Let’s get back to Blue Forest.”

Old Smoke’s smell did not deter the robbers in the least.
It seemed their hunger to steal from Old Smoke only increased.
They took the freight while they enjoyed a rotten cabbage feast
then vanished once again into Blue Forest.

The Engineer returned to a bridge nearly complete.
He could not help but be impressed by this construction feat.
The Company man gloated, “Now the robbers have been beat!
That’s a hundred miles of bridge across Blue Forest!”

The Engineer drove Blue Forest Line with two closed eyes,
muttering, “Old Smoke, why can’t you be a train that flies?”
A tollbooth high above the trees came as no surprise…
and collecting tolls, the robbers of Blue Forest.

Toes

2009-06-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

What are toes good for but causing me pain?
They get cold in the winter and wet in the rain.
They get stepped on whenever I ride on the train.
If I didn’t have toes, I wouldn’t complain!

Directions

2009-06-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

Take the train to Sunny Lane

then walk the Smile Mile.

Step lightly because there might be icing

on the promenade along Cake Lake.

When you reach the street

with Happy Feet Café on the corner,

at the sugar white streetlight turn right

down Delightful Drive.

Skip past Ice Cream Avenue

then swing through Silly Alley

and follow the sign that says,

“Right this way to The Puppy Dog Parade!”

You’ll find behind Sweet Hugs Hotel

the Singing Daydream Stream

where Hummingbird Bridge with the honeysuckle rails

leads straight to Birthday Way.

This you'll take until the end,

then hang a left and I’ll meet you

at the intersection of Old Barf Boulevard

and Smashed Toad Road.

One Sunny Night

2009-06-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Wait! This isn’t right!
There shouldn’t be a sunbeam
shining in the night!

But it’s not a dream!
I hold sunlight on my hand
to follow its gleam…

Shadows seem to stand
and drop down as I walk by,
hiding where they land.

The Moon, from up high,
is watching like a statue
of a staring eye.

When an Owl asks, “Hoo?”
Jumping, I cry out, “Who me?”
The Owl says, “Yes You!”

Continue reading One Sunny Night

Rainy Days and Days and Days...

2009-06-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

The rain is at my ankles and still falling, drip drip drip drip drip…
If it doesn’t stop, tomorrow it will reach my upper lip!

Weatherman

2009-06-14T09:36:00.001-07:00

My Sister’s a tornado and I’m a hurricane.
Dad hugs Mom and laughs, “You’re just a little wind and rain.”

Wind is Like the Sea

2009-06-14T09:35:00.001-07:00

Wind is like the sea,
when it whispers we forget
its enormity.

Words I Like

2009-06-14T09:34:00.002-07:00

I like the words that are funny to me
like “belly button”, “snorkel”, “beanery”
“shampoo”, “noodle”, “munch”, “boogie”,
“Sasquatch”, “finger”, “linguini”,
“aardvark”, “wiggle”, “flop” and “flea”.
But there is a word that indubitably
is the funniest word to me.
Let’s all say it: One, two three…
“manure”.

Thinking Trees

2009-06-14T09:34:00.001-07:00

Maybe branches are trees thinking.
Some grow straight and some are twisting.
When wind blows some branches swing.
Others grow entwined in things.

I love watching branches grow…
I wonder what a tree might know?

Irresistible Allure

2009-06-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

There’s a wave that crossed the ocean just to lick the shore.
It took a taste and loved it and keeps coming back for more.

Turtle Island Treasure Hunt

2009-06-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

At my eleventh birthday party the adventure began

when I opened up the present from my crazy Uncle Stan

who had a wooden leg and a black patch on one eye.

He gave a wooden chest to me with a turtle inside.

Uncle Stan said, “Arrr,” and with his good eye winked.

“This turtle ye got in this chest is older than ye think!

It was born two hundred years ago, and crawled across the sand

into the waiting, outstretched palm of Pirate Black Tooth’s hand.”

I laughed at his story, as any kid would do,

but when I looked into the chest I thought it might be true.

The turtle’s eyes were ancient, blinking slowly from a nap,

and the pattern of its shell was a buried-treasure map!

After that I didn’t care for clowns or the piñata.

The candles on my cake could have been on a lasagna.

All the party was to me right then was background noise,

as much an interruption as unwrapping birthday toys.

I knew I had a treasure map, but where did it begin?

Uncle Stan tapped on the shell and whispered, “Turtle Island.”

Grateful for the priceless tip I started saying, “Thank…”

but Uncle Stan had disappeared as if he’d walked the plank.

Now, Turtle Island was a place that normal people feared,

located in the haunted place we called The Bay of Weird

where snakes would swarm around your boat, daring it to sink,

and from the pea-green water rose a fog that carried stink.

I shoveled snow all winter, even when I caught the flu,

and mowed lawns through the summer, just to save for a canoe.

I bought the boat and, white on black, I painted on the hull

two hatchets crossed into an “X” below a winking skull.

On a cloudy, misty day I snuck down to the pier

with my boat, my turtle in its chest, and a nagging fear

that I shouldn’t hunt a treasure if I didn’t have a sword…

But I put my ship into the water and I climbed aboard.

As I crossed the stinking bay through a fog with hidden snakes,

I heard a chain fall with a splash, the sound an anchor makes.

The ghost of Pirate Black Tooth’s ship! I nearly dropped an oar!

But with my turtle treasure map I rowed my boat ashore.

There were turtles crawling on the Turtle Island sand,

and right away I saw a giant rock shaped like a hand.

I opened up my wooden chest and whooped a pirate’s yell.

That same exact hand-shape, I saw, was on my turtle’s shell!

I took my turtle and I climbed onto the rocky palm.

I set my turtle in the hand, and how could I stay calm?

The pattern of my turtle’s shell exactly matched the view.

In the bay I saw a pirate ship and knew I’d be pursued!

Though I followed the map easily, I was a nervous wreck.

I felt like Pirate Black Tooth’s ghost was breathing down my neck!

With every clue I passed the turtles seemed to multiply,

and every turtle turned to stare at me as I rushed by!

When I saw a tree shaped like an anchor at a river’s bend

I knew that my treasure hunt had nearly reached the end.

The trees grew thick, the vines hung low and daylight seemed to hide

as I approached the last clue that my turtle would provide.

Finally I saw it, a cave like a turtle snout.

I knew I’d find the treasure there, but I might not get out!

In the grip of certain danger, sweat was dripping down my skin,

but my treasure map had brought me to the cave, so I went in.

Deep in the cave I saw him! Pirate Black Tooth with a torch!

He was leaning on a sword and waiting for me, of course.

His face was quite familiar in the torch’s firelight,

the same face as my turtle, but with eyes as dark as night.

“Hello,” I said. “I have your turtle if you want him back.”

His ancient voice growled, “Closer.” And my teeth began to clack.

As I walked slowly toward him, I saw with him Uncle Stan!

That’s when I knew my turtle was part of a bigger plan.

“Matey,” Pirate Black Tooth rasped. “Perhaps ye wants me treasure.

Treasure I’ll not offer ye, but something that is better…

the chance to fill your own wood chest with riches ye shall make

as I give to ye me ship, Sea Turtle, and me name to take!”

With a smile crossing Pirate Black Tooth’s wrinkled face, he said,

“It’s time that I retired from this pirate’s life I’ve led.

Winking Stan has steered me well. He’s been a fine first mate.

He’ll do ye well now too,” he ended. That’s when I screamed, “Wait!”

“I don’t need someone else’s name because I have my own.

And some day, by my own self, I will make that name well known.

You’ve got a fine old pirate ship, but I have one to match it.

Down on the beach it’s my canoe I call The Bloody Hatchet.”

Pirate Black Tooth said, “Me matey, I applaud the speech.

Keep me turtle. Let ‘im lead the way back to the beach.

There’s something else I have for ye, offered free of price…

Listen closely. I give ye a Pirate’s best advice!”

I felt my bones start shivering when he gripped my shirt.

He tapped my head and said, “Not all gold’s hidden in the dirt!

Bury ye a treasure, for it’s wise to have a secret…

then feel how your strength grows with how carefully ye keep it.”

We parted ways, he on his ship and me on my canoe.

Winking Stan cried out, “Farewell!” A lonely foghorn blew.

We watched Sea Turtle disappear into the haunted bay.

My uncle took the oars, and we rowed the other way.

A Short Conversation

2009-06-14T09:27:00.001-07:00

When the little car honked its horn it said, “toot toot toot!”
The gigantic truck next to it screamed in reply, “BA-ROOOOOT!!!”

What Makes Sense to Me

2009-06-14T09:26:00.002-07:00

I like milkshakes better than milk.
I’d prefer my torn jeans to pants made of silk.
My hair would rather be left free than brushed.
When Mom says, “Wake up!” I don’t want to be rushed.
Summer vacation superbly displays
why school should be closed on all sunny days.
I’m better off happy than when I complain,
so when I say, “No!” why must I explain?

Oh, life could be lived so easily
if we all did the things that make sense to me.

Exhausted Airplane

2009-06-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

When its tired wings began to ache
the airplane stopped to take a break.
To lie on a cloud was a big mistake.
It fell through the cloud like a big snowflake.

Learning How to Fly

2009-06-14T09:23:00.001-07:00

I decided to learn how to fly, so for help
I opened a book I’d pulled from the shelf
and pasted torn pages all over myself,
just like a paper bird’s feathers.

My first flight began on the roof of my house,
then down to the grass. I said, “Oof!” as I bounced,
but back to my feet I immediately pounced
not willing to give up so easy.

It made perfect sense that I needed my hands
to be longer so I could have longer wingspan,
so with ten spatulas and ten rubber bands
I lengthened each one of my fingers.

The next time I climbed to the branch of a tree,
but I made sure the ground was soft under me.
In addition I raked up a pile of leaves,
and that’s where my second flight ended.

I was wondering why I continued to fail
when it suddenly struck me that all birds have tails,
so with belt and umbrella I thought I’d prevail
in perfecting my bird transformation.

I was already bruised from my two flights so far,
so the next one was just from the hood of Dad’s car.
When the ground hit my head I felt tears and saw stars
and complained to the sky, “Learning’s painful!”

I figured I just needed more bird-like traits.
So I swallowed a worm, then with two paper plates
I fashioned a beak that I wore on my face,
and whistled a perfect birdsong.

This time when I jumped it was off of a chair
and again I flew down, not up in the air.
I’m just a bird who is flying-impaired,
so I’m learning to walk like a penguin.

Too Full to Move

2009-06-14T09:22:00.001-07:00

There’s a train in the station that won’t release the brake.
It doesn’t want to leave because it has a stomachache.
Even though the passengers are screaming, “We’ll be late!”
the train cries, “It’s not my fault! You all over-ate!”

Ghost Story

2009-06-14T09:19:00.001-07:00

It was a dark and stormy night
and I swore I saw a ghost!
But it didn’t jangle chains
or speak in eerie moans.
It wasn’t pearly white
or naked, empty bones,
and in darkness like a stain
it didn’t have a phantom glow.

There was a total lack of light!

The thing that let me know
that I was haunted in my brain
was that when my eyes were closed
a ghost kept floating into sight.
It was blurry, I suppose,
or it didn’t have a face,
yet its presence felt so close
in the total lack of light.

I completely froze!

I could feel my heartbeat race
and every one of my hairs rose
in an utter state of fright
that made me shiver in my clothes.
I was sure I’d go insane,
a crushing fear replacing hope.
I couldn’t breathe! My throat was tight
because I’d felt its hot breath flow!

I wished that it would go away!

And then it licked my nose,
and I knew that on this night
as the howling wind did blow
through hanging sheets of rain
outside in dark that billowed
like a million crows in flight,
and as I hugged my pillow
from a fear that felt like pain…

my dog had been the ghost!
And now I knew I’d be all right.

Big Bright Cookie

2009-06-14T09:17:00.001-07:00

Two flies
looked at the sky
and they saw the moon
and it looked their size.
One fly said to the other fly,
“We can eat that if we try.”

The two flies
before they tried
to eat the moon
buzzed some old French fries
where they saw six flies and said, “Goodbye.
We’re going to the cookie in the sky.”

The two flies
flew all night
and they lost the moon
when the sky got bright.
One fly said as the other sighed,
“Who turned out the cookie light?”

The six flies
on the old French fries
looked up at the moon
on the following night.
One fly said, “It may be slight,
but I’m sure the cookie’s less tonight!”

The two flies
at day’s last light
re-found the moon
and continued flight.
One fly said, “I wonder why
the big cookie would want to hide.”

More flies
came to the fries
to observe the moon
and discuss the flight.
One fly said, “See, they were right.
They’re eating cookie every night.”

The two flies
flew so high
on the way to the moon.
They flew out of the sky.
One fly said, “That cookie’s bright!”
They flew past a satellite.

More flies
watched each night
the slice of the moon
disappearing from sight.
One fly said on a moonless night,
“I wish I could have had a bite.”

The two flies
were surprised
when they reached the moon
and they saw its size.
One fly said with eager eyes,
“We can eat this if we try.”

Once I Climbed a Cloud

2009-06-14T09:15:00.001-07:00

I saw a cloud all alone
and all around it sunshine shone
through sky as blue as any sky I’d seen.

I’d say it was a perfect day
in the perfect month, the month of May.
I lay on grass that was a perfect green.

The cloud was sugary and white,
all fluffiness and full of light.
I thought that it looked good enough to eat.

It grew bigger all around
as if the cloud was falling down,
and not just falling down, but down on me.

Fast then faster that cloud grew
and I could have run, but run where to?
The cloud was growing way too big, it seemed.

With a Hoooosh! it softly landed
on my lawn, the cloud was stranded,
and I was stranded also, underneath.

I squeezed fistfuls of cloud and climbed.
With every reach I made I’d find
another squeeze to hold so easily.

When finally I reached the top
I lay backward with a flop.
Oh what delight! That cloud was luxury!

Everywhere was white as snow
except the sky of perfect blue.
It was the perfect place to fall asleep.

When I awoke the cloud was gone,
not in the sky or on my lawn.
I’m sad to say that cloud was just a dream.

Magic Wooden Picture Frame

2009-06-14T09:12:00.001-07:00

A magic wooden picture frame was planted on a wall
with the picture growing stories every day.
The ground outside their window would freeze in the late fall
and the kids would have to stay inside to play.

The picture had a tree and a green and mossy stone
and a mountain in the background and a stream
and a sky of such a blue that with neither sun nor moon
it was any time of day the kids could dream.

They sat all through the winter and stared into the frame
telling stories about what they saw inside.
And they were never bored together when they played this game,
going all inside the picture with their minds.

Sometimes they’d sit upon the stone, or climb through the tree,
or be chased by monsters to the mountain.
Sometimes they’d sneak by shadow to the lake that fed the stream
where underneath there was a hidden dungeon.

The stream was once alive and it dug mazes through the land
to hide magic boxes, singing books and such.
There were fish-men, kid-hunting worms, even quicksand,
but for great reward adventurers risk much.

One morning when the tree was young they planned to cut it down
to build a thousand picture frames to play in.
Then saying it was ancient they called the tree their town,
and on a branch each built a house to stay in.

They would have gladly played in the picture all the time
as long as they could always be together.
But spring comes after winter when again they’d play outside,
while the wall would hold the picture frame forever.

Outer Space Waterfall

2009-06-14T09:03:00.001-07:00

Underneath a waterfall is water,
though this would not be true in outer space
where a waterfall wouldn’t fall at all
but gather up into a ball
and be endlessly in the same place.
At least that’s what I think would be the case.

The Greatest Color Ever Eaten

2009-06-14T08:35:00.000-07:00

My mom said I made a mess with my spaghetti sauce,
but when I saw that color I could not let it get lost.
So I stuffed some in my pockets for safekeeping in my pants,
and when Mom comes to wash them I’ll tell her that she can’t.
I put some in my hair because of how it matched my shoes,
and in my underwear just because I wanted to.
I have become an artist and my shirt is my palette.
The walls would be my canvas if my mom would allow it.
But she won’t, so I’ll be a face painter instead…
starting with my own face, painted sauce-red.
I painted my brother from the sauce on my plate
as proof that I love him, though I often say, “hate”.
When I used up the sauce and my spaghetti was white,
“More, please,” I said, and my mom said, “Yeah, right.”

Moo in the Morning

2009-06-14T07:04:00.001-07:00

The cow says, “Moo!”
The boy says, “Boo hoo!”
And wouldn’t you too
if you were trying for milk
and the cow just said, “Moo!”

Fanático

2009-06-14T07:02:00.000-07:00

Arms flapping!
Feet slapping
on the bleacher seats!
I ask, “Hot dog?” Dad screams, “No!
Now’s not the time to eat!”
Fingers snapping!
Wild clapping!
Wailing shouts of “Eeeeeee!!”
I ask, “Bathroom?” Dad screams, “No!
Now’s not the time to pee!”
Here comes the ball,
I suppose,
It’s utter lunacy!
Dad just jumped up in the air.
He landed on my feet!
While I look around for popcorn
Dad screams, “Please go through!”
But I guess it didn’t
because Dad threw both his shoes!
Now here comes the ball again.
It’s mayhem all around!
Then back to the other end.
I hear a ripping sound.
Dad just tore his shirt in half
and threw it on the ground.
I look to see if there’s a clock
or something else that I can watch,
as Dad jumps on his seat and screams,
“Flamengo if you beat this team
there’s nothing I won’t do!
I’ll get a nose tattoo!
I’ll donate my son to the zoo!”
“Flamengo!” I yell, “You must lose!”
The ball is flying down the field,
a rocket through the sky.
Dad pulls on his hair and squeals.
I roar a battle cry.
A player swings his head with zeal.
I feel a thrill I can’t conceal.
The swinging head and ball collide.
Dad screams, “No! No! No! No! Why!?”
The ball shoots past the goalies hands!
And I am jumping in the stands!
My barefoot, shirtless Dad sits down
muttering, “My boy’s a clown!”
Now the ball is back in play.
I yell, “Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!”
I’ve never seen it kicked that way!
Dad cries, “No! No! No! No! No!”
Everyone is screaming
and the time is running out.
I feel like I am dreaming.
“We’re gonna win!” I shout.
When finally the whistle blows
the giant scoreboard clearly shows
that Flamengo lost the game!
No zoo for me, my life’s the same…
except, now I’m a lifelong fan
of The Corinthians!

Big Watch

2009-06-14T07:01:00.001-07:00

If the sun were on my wristwatch
I’d be too hot at noon.
Besides, to tell the time at night
I’d have to wear the moon.

There Was a Little Lamb

2009-06-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

There was a little lamb
with sharp and jagged teeth.
Instead of eating grass
he would eat the other sheep.

The sheep that were remaining
to the shepherd went complaining,
but the shepherd didn’t understand, “Baaa.”

One sheep went by hoof
alone into the hills
to reason with the wolf,
“There’s a little lamb to kill.”

While the sheep began explaining
the wolf’s teeth were not refraining,
because hungry wolves don’t understand, “Baaa.”

On the next farm over
there were only milking cows,
luscious fields of clover
and a farmer with a house.

The sheep asked him for training
in the job of milk obtaining,
but the farmer didn’t understand, “Baaa.”

They found an old bear trap
and set it for the lamb.
It triggered with a “Clap!”
but on the hunter’s hand.

With the hunter hurt and straining
the sheep offered help unchaining,
but the hunter didn’t understand, “Baaa.”

The little lamb had grown
even bigger than a yak.
The last sheep was alone
feeling like a snack.

When the last sheep, with hope waning,
pleaded, “Grass is more sustaining!”
the lamb said, “Holy moly! You speak Baaa?”

Lessons My Daddy Taught to Me

2009-06-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

My daddy said when I turned one,
“If you don’t have teeth
you can’t chew gum.”

Then he taught when I turned two,
“Don’t put both feet
in just one shoe.”

When I turned three we both agreed,
“When you’re sitting still
there’s a faster speed.”

He told me this when I turned four,
“You can come in a window
and look out a door.”

I got this advice when I turned five,
“Don’t play drums
on a beehive.”

He made it clear when I turned six,
“You can break a trombone
but it’s hard to fix.”

When I turned seven he showed me how,
“You can save your money
if you milk the cow.”

My dad declared when I turned eight,
“Even the sun can
wake up late.”

I was warned when I turned nine,
“If you’re tired
don’t sit on a porcupine.”

But my best tip came when I turned ten,
“Listen to yourself
whenever you can.”

My Car Without Wheels

2009-06-14T06:56:00.002-07:00

I had a car once without wheels,
instead it had giraffes,
and when I’d hit the Serengeti
hippos there would laugh.
They’d snort their noses,
twirl their tails,
and then they’d eat some grass.
They’d lift their tails
and blow one out,
and then they’d take a bath.
But when the grass grew very high
the hippos down below
with their short legs and short fat necks
didn’t know which way to go.
They were blind down in the grass
unlike me in the driver’s seat
of my car that had no wheels,
but instead giraffes.
The hippos could not find their way.
They could not find a path
to the water on the other side.
Now it was my turn to laugh.
The hippos with their dirty tails
could not take a bath.

Rattlesnake!!!!!!

2009-06-14T06:56:00.001-07:00

“Rattle!” said the rattlesnake
to the man who walked too near
but the man didn’t hear.

“Fwooot woot woot,” whistled the walking man
as he tried to stay awake.
It was nearly daybreak.

“R-r-r-attle!” the tail began to stammer,
and the tired, heedless man
still didn’t understand.

“Bonk!” the man stepped on a rake
on the ground next to a hammer.
His head got a Whammer!

“Sssssss,” the rattlesnake bared fangs,
but the man had a lucky break.
Those fangs had an ache.

“Wow!” the rake was quite a find
when it gave his head a bang.
“I’m a farmer!” he sang.

“Slizzzz,” the snake entwined the hammer
that had been left behind.
It had something in mind.

“La da di!” sang the farmer’s hail,
as his next morning’s meander
came again toward the rattler.

“Whunk!” said the hammer that the snake
had lifted in its tail,
and that warning prevailed!

“Oooooww!” he grabbed his throbbing toe,
then the farmer with the rake
shrieked, “Rattlesnake!!!!!!”

Unhappy Boat

2009-06-14T06:54:00.000-07:00

There’s a boat in the bathtub.
It circles round the drain.
It doesn’t want to be a boat it wants to be a train.

I Once Saw an Orange Parrot

2009-06-14T05:45:00.001-07:00

I once saw an orange parrot
try to eat an orange carrot.
He grabbed it with his orange feet
and tried to feed his orange beak.
But he had no luck.
The carrot got stuck.
Now he cannot speak a word.
He looks like a hummingbird.

Watching Birds

2009-06-14T05:44:00.001-07:00

All birds are above me as I’m lying on the grass.
I’m flying in a flock across the sky to pass the time.

No More!

2009-06-14T05:41:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard a lion roar
right outside your kitchen door?
It’s a sound that you’d implore,
“Oh please oh please oh please... No more!”

I Saw a Tree Reaching High

2009-06-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

I saw a tree reaching high
into the air
waving to the wind
to the wind up there.

I saw a squirrel climb up the tree
to the highest branch
so his tail could dance
with the bright green living dancing leaves.

I heard a bird up in the tree
whistling songs to the dancing breeze,
and the squirrel’s tail dancing happily,
and orange sunlight shimmering.

I heard the squirrel start chattering
with the bird song whistling
in the whirling whispered dancing breeze
that fluttered all those dancing leaves.

I saw a world up in that tree
with dancing tails and sun bright leaves
and chattering and whistled songs
and wind of course to hold it all.