cecille

she lived inside an eyeball
that was rolling down a hill
wore spectacles and monocles
and her name was cecille

she could see you coming
for a hundred miles or so
but if you asked her why
she would return the answer no

her symbol was the eyball
her catchphrase was "i see"
surveillance was her hobby
and the dark her agony

sound and smell and touch, she thought
each was a senseless frill
she wore a dress of contact lens
and her name was cecille

mary's hair

her golden tresses brought her joy
but also some frustration
for mary's hair was sometimes there
and sometimes on vacation

if her head was a shiny bald
many would explain
that her hair was visiting
a moustache down in spain

mary didn't even need
her brush, curlers or comb
when her hair went sightseeing
in Venice or in Rome

she drew some strands upon her head
her hair had gone to france
she made some curly sideburns from
some hair found in her pants

her hair came home, baggage in hand
but mary had flown the coop
she'd left on her own hairless trip
with a bald theatrical troupe

the burbles

the burbles farmed, but had no land
the burbles had some shacks
they grew a corn crop on their roof
and raised milk goats on their backs

they developed such a lowly bow
the townsfolk thought them modest
and when the goats began to dance
the sight was surely oddest

they raised up ladders to pick the corn
the goats were getting irked
the brother milked the sister's goats
and uncle burble lurked

and when the sun fell to the trees
they lay down sleepy heads
and as they dreamed, the goats
munched on the wheat fields in their beds

politic socks

mickey had her messages
which she didn't keep in locks
she expressed herself in her wardrobe
but kept her politics to her socks

on war, on greed, on racism
she surely had her views
but what they were, you could not tell
for her slogans were blocked by her shoes

many feet were marching
the protest did unwind
while others had signs or shirts to say
nobody knew mickey's mind

mickey got so radical
now everyone understands
she took off her shoes to unfurl her socks
and walked the parade on her hands

jason

jason wouldn't rob you blind
and didn't get in fights
he liked to zoom into the sky
and explode into a thousand lights

he didn't do this to show off
or to augment the sun
he ignited in the sky because
it was his type of fun

one year on the fourth of july
the pyro budget was low
jason rose to save the day
and became the whole fireworks show

exploding in the sky was not
the healthiest thing to do
jason went to the old folks home
at the age of thirty-two

and there he sits in a rocking chair
unable to explode
tho sometimes he will fart some sparks
or so i have been told

wet bill

bring a towel if you see bill
it will be necessary
for sometimes he is slightly wet
and sometimes he is very

perhaps he is a sweaty guy
perhaps he's prone to spill
maybe he just likes to be
or maybe he is ill

his wetness could rub off on you
and that would not be dandy
and that is why i recommend
you keep a towel handy

you'll find a smile on his visage
he is no adversary
but sometimes bill is slightly wet
and sometimes he is very

song

i'd like to sing a song
about the flower and the plate
and i'd like to sing it now
if it's not too late

i want to sing the tale
of the surfboard that went crazy
some of the wettest notes are high
but i'm not so lazy

i would like to sing the record
of the sky that fell to land
i would sing it with my elbow
so you would understand

and then i'll sing the history
of all the things i know
it comes with some dance numbers
so it's quite a show

i remember

i remember back when cups and saucers
dressed in ties and suits
and when cameras, nails and albatross
were classified as fruits

i remember, it was long ago
when birthdays came at night
and when to be wrong was easily
the only way to be right

i recall, do you, the days
when number ten came before nine
and were counted among solids
such as water, beer and wine

i think it was so long ago
remember, it was true
when north was south and east was west
and i was really you

radio breakfast

i walked into the diner
and sat at a counter chair
the sound of broadcast music
painted patterns in the air
the cook, the waitress, customers
they all had gone away
so the radio cooked me breakfast
at the greasy spoon cafe

who knows where all the others went
it wasn't plain to see
it's like they all had gone and left
the whole cafe to me
but i ate up like anybody
could or would or should
for the radio cooked me breakfast
and the food was mighty good

i read the paper as i ate
the news was pretty bad
and when i finished eating i said
what a nice time i had
no human being answered back
but that's no mystery
for the radio cooked me breakfast
and the salt shaker poured my tea

statue parade

they brought out all their folding chairs
they even blocked the street
they brought out their umbrellas
not for rain, but for the heat
they sat there all the evening
even watched the sunshine fade
but things go very slowly
with the statues on parade

they had a drink, they ate a chip
talked to their sitting friend
but still they didn't see the statues
coming round the bend
they wait a little longer
but they finally do not stay
perhaps they'll check the progress
of the parade come the next day

losing it again

i thought i could describe what's dry
but i ain't seen nothing yet
i fell into a pit of sand
and came out soaking wet

i thought i could tell round from straight
perhaps i'm not so smart
i took the straight and narrow road
until i reached my start

i thought i knew my ground and sky
but i don't understand
i rode a train up in the clouds
and flew a plane on land

i thought i knew my own true self
but i really don't know jack
i took a look in a looking glass
and saw my buddy mack

it hurts

dave goes to the doctor
doctor asks where does it hurt
dave says, doc, i have to tell you
that the pain is in my shirt

dave pays another visit
doctor asks him what's the news
dave hesitates, then tells him
that the pain is in his shoes

third visit, same old story
doc asks if the pain is there
dave tells him that it still is
but it's moved into the chair

next day, before asking
doctor knows that it is true
dave says, i still can feel it
but the pain has moved to you

concrete rain

the latest storms are frightening
and, frankly, kind of draining
heavy clouds are massing in the sky
and cement bags are raining

a direct hit ought to smash you
if one hits you, you will die
go immediately to shelter
do not look up to the sky

metal roofs are always safest
if one's in your neighborhood
falling concrete bags are prone
to puncture massive holes in wood

oh, what mischief did we meddle
to get us in this pretty fix
if conventional rain should follow
we'll be stuck in ready mix

mouse dressing

we have a problem in our house
i don't know how it arose
but mice are living in our walls
and they are wearing all our clothes

i noticed wardrobe changes
and a peculiar scratching sound
now the impacts on our closets
are really quite profound

these mice have taste for labels
like small barons and baronnesses
one lady mouse got me aroused
in my wife's most expensive dresses

it is getting so confusing
with the neighbor i discussed that
i am gong to be borrowing
his hungry cross-dressing tom cat

icicle eye stewart

stewart has his practices
and some will give surprise
he likes to stand up sideways
and lick icicles with his eyes

it feels so good, he likes to say
it kind of cools him down
an icicle on his pupil
will smile that pesky frown

but once, while he was sideways
he flexed the other joint
he held the icicle by its base
and not, as usual, from its point

the icicle was very sharp
as sharp as ice can be
stewart's eyelick went wrong that day
and now he cannot see

so let this be a moral
a lesson for your sight
if you like to eyelick icicles
just always do it right

guitar party

if you get an invitation
from a guitar, plain or bass
you must send your R.S.V.P.
you must reply with post haste

for when guitars throw a party
they know precisely what to do
they are skilled in the arts of shindig
if you go, you'll know that's true

there'll be good times, there'll be laughter
there'll be a variety of treats
there'll be music and exciting games
and comfortable seats

you can pass up invitations
from harps, lyres or banjo
but if guitars ask you to party
you must tell them that you'll go

lemmings and tv

when lemmings don't jump off those cliffs
they make their way to me
they line up in the living room
and watch things on tv

they like to watch the shopping shows
the commercials for a cruise
their favorite channel of them all
has got to be fox news

it really is a sight to see
them lit by tv flashes
reports of pain and hurricane
don't even bat their lashes

i told them to get to their cliff
i pleaded, oh, i tried
but the lemmings watched the tv shows
until they all had died

jar of sun

jill liked the sunshine very much
she put some in a jar
she took it on her trip to school
which wasn't very far

she showed the jar to her classmates
it wasn't such a hit
because the sun was slightly hot
she used an oven mitt

her schoolteacher was unimpressed
he thought it wasn't swell
so jill's jar was disqualified
from that day's show and tell

that afternoon, the sun and rain
threatened recess play
jill opened up her jar of sun
and dried the rainy day

buscycle

the buscycle came into town
it seats fifteen or so
you face the side and pedal down
and that is how you go

every rider does her share
to move this pedal bus
it barrels down the street because
in spinning legs we trust

and while you ride the buscycle
you have to keep in touch
you pass the word to stop or start
while the driver pops the clutch

don't burn the world with gasoline
to get where you must be
the buscycle can get you there
and might just set you free

talking clocking

i might be very crazy
i may have lost my mind
but the clocks are talking to me
and they're telling me the time

when i wake in the morning
just minding my own B
i hear a clock say "seven"
and it is the LED

i was just being quiet
with nothing much to do
when the wall clock in the kitchen
said it was quarter to two

and later, in the evening
when it was getting late
my wristwatch blew my addled brain
and told me it was eight

i'm on the brink of madness
i'm insane as can be
for clocks and watches everywhere
are telling time to me

when i

when i was just a little moth
i flew inside your hair
you batted at me once or twice
but i was never there

when i was just a dot of fly
i flew into your ear
i tried to make my meaning clear
but you could never hear

when i was just a piece of dust
you tried to brush me off
i settled deep inside your throat
and turned into a cough

when i was just a single cell
i divided into two
one half of me was meant for me
the other half for you

joey's pet

when joey talked about his pet
the other kids said "can it"
but he was justfied because
his pet was a small planet

it followed him where'er he went
rotating on its axis
it did not beg or fetch or catch
that never was its praxis

the other kids made fun of it
and sometimes tried to throw it
the ribbing got to be so bad
he'd hardly ever show it

of his grasp of astronomy
they shouldn't have been reliant
joe's planet was not that at all
it was a small gas giant

one day that star began to grow
it went all supernova
expanding several times the earth
and everything was ova

riding saw

i had to get to sunday school
but didn't have a car
my bicycle was broken and
my shoes won't go so far
i had to go to sunday school
for sunday was today
so i rode the saw to sunday school
and got there in that way

i rode the saw to sunday school
of comfort there was little
and when i hit a bump it nearly
sliced me down the middle
i rode the saw to sunday school
to hear the sunday speech
to cut my travel time i took
the shortcut by the beach

responsibility to roads
was that day's daily moral
i debated it inside my head
my own internal quarrel
i got to test it out for i
was stopped by the polices
they arrested me because my saw
had cut the road to pieces

president smell

an odor ran for president
and who would have expected
but when the ballot count was made
that odor was elected

it got the votes from novelty
the media supposes
or maybe cause that odor
smelled just like a bed of roses

at first its administration
went far better than you'd think
but somewhere in its second term
that smell began to stink

the days of election victory
were eventually forgotten
after that odor's policies
the whole country smelled rotten

who knows what other wonders
will be found beneath the sun
for an odor ran for president
and actually won

the weather

the weather called for sunny
and outside they were right
but it rained inside our house that day
and well into the night

it rained inside our house
wallpaper turned to guck
i kept dry with an umbrella
despite the risk to luck

it soaked the sheets and towels
messed up the drying dishes
it really bothered both the cats
but did not phase the fishes

at first i was quite angry
but then it didn't matter
it put me in the nicest mood
what with its pitter patter

that rain that fell inside our house
did not spell certain doom
and it really helped the cabbage crop
growing in the living room

2006 Pome Nr. 100

the ants have started dancing in the clubs and on TV
they have that certain insect dancing way
and whiskers are well-suited to detect approaching fronts
so cats are meteorologists today

the butterflies can flap their wings to alter world events
it is the latest thing in politics
while dogs practice their medicine with scalpels in their paws
their bedside manner manifest in licks

the hippos are now well-known for their ability to play
the music that is favored by the nation
but when they leave the stand to groove down on the dancing floor
behold the awesome dancer devastation

the colors

call out the law enforcement
inform all the squad cars
for the colors of the spectrum
are breaking all the laws

yellow and magenta
robbed a liquor store
while blue and green took hostages
and locked the bank's front door

red and cyan steal a car
and start their killing spree
the cops are on their trail
and they are caught at ten to three

but justice won't be served today
the lineup isn't right
for the victims can't I.D. the crooks
they've blended into white

words guns

first they killed a preacher
then they shot some nuns
things got very bloody
when the words got guns

the words got guns
to shoot the people dead
they don't like the way you look at them
they don't like being read

the words got guns
and some are quite insane
they may aim down at your kneecaps
but they'll shoot you in the brain

sticks and stones are nothing
broken bones do not defeat
but watch out for your very life
when words are packing heat

i got

i got a haircut
shaved on my head
i had some weeds to pull
and now those plants are dead

i walked the stairs down
i walked them up
i made some mint tea
and poured it in my cup

i went to my job
i came back home
i rode my bicycle
which helps me far to roam

first there was daylight
then there was night
now the sun is back again
so i can see the light

i have

i have a tale to tell you
of the pome that got away
i thought that it was comfortable
but that pome did not stay

i treated it so nicely
with clean paper, freshest ink
but that pome just abandonned me
as quick as you can wink

i left the window open
oh, i must have been insane
and that pome flew so quickly out
as a paper aeorplane

and now, all rhyme and metaphor
are like the snows of yesterday
for i had failed to memorize
the pome that got away