A Neon Splash
from a forgotten age
of cool and class

and jazz
palpable and complete
with curls of smoke

it's still there
you

are still there
it just takes a while

to notice what was once
so familiar so clear
and dear

Just a  speck
but I know it's there

across the sound
waiting for the tide

to recede
and the sand bar to appear

a bridge a connection
to the past

and a spark and a flame
to future enlightenment

Maybe
a scrap of paper
with a name number or address

that slipped down
river
and over the falls

memories
leaving one by one

until there's nothing left
but a hollow wind
blowing

into some glass bottles
perched
on a split rail fence

Mutant darts
or
if you prefer

cricket

the board
was your lawn
green in summer

but seriously

what were we thinking
as we launched
these big metal missiles

with plastic
feathers
on the other ends

and that's the thing

back then
we just did
and that's what made  

all the difference

toothpicks
in a bowl of milk
ready

to be lashed
together
into a raft

to sail down
a river
literary or otherwise

literally

a litany
of possibilities of where
this vessel

could go

I’m famous for procrastination;
I put things off til almost too late
And then I rush to get things done.

Well I’ve really done it this time.
The Church bake sale is tomorrow
I’ve promised them eleven cakes.

I’m famous for my Yum-yum cakes,
Rich with fruit and coconut.
They sell like hot dogs at a fair.

The ingredients are all lined up -
They only lack the blending
But my mixer just froze up and died.

So now I’m really in a mess
No time to go and get repairs
I’ll have to do it all by hand
And I will go stir-crazy.
ljm

There once was a rotten tax collector
Who combed the rich Italian sector
   He lined his grimy pockets
   By cheating those he audits
Alas! today's appointment was one Hannibal Lecter