She struck a chord although off key
She heard the beauty

So much noise like an overly passionate remix
Of a song that should have said one thing

To her there was language
In the rough off key finger press of her piano

To the rest of the band class
She was noise

Even after the teacher explained
She would never learn piano
How some people can’t be good at everything

She still showed up for music practice
With a song in her heart
So heavy
It made her consider opera
And Latin as a second language

Some of us will never learn some things
Like how to give up
When all we ever wanted
Was to make enough noise
For people to notice

So after practice
As she walked home
Her teacher picked her up

Explained to her about wasting time
Left out how secretly he wanted an entire successful band class

Explained how the truth hurts
But better learn it now
Than discover it later and feel like a failure

“You’re the only one who feels like a failure”
She said

And the next day
Her bench was empty

Though every note was perfect
And the music teacher was smiling
What happened was a tip-of-tongue beauty
Like something was missing

Even without her
They all felt a little off-key

Startoucher says things like 'thanks man',
Vic says 'roller-coasters are fun',
D.E offers wisdom and hope for us all,
Destiny speaks to us in rhythm and rhyme,
Donie could win the Triple Crown,
Unknown follows me,
Even if I'm not around,
Bala is the father I wish I had,
Vircapio Gale is a love unfound,
Shaqila incites a riot in me,
Francisco DH is a poet unbound,
Destiny scares me, so touches the heart,
P.G is awesome with opinions that smart,
Olga V. Is the first one I followed,
'I cannot hurt if I don't know
tomorrow',
If anyone is missed,
It is not by intent,
For all have provided,
My soul nourishment,
So I can say,
I grieve in that sorrow,
As all of you've said,
I don't lend,
I just borrow.

A ROMANTIC AULD EJEIT

Nat King Cole sings Autumn Leaves
on the radio - in Japanese.

My mother falls
in love with it.

I fail to find it for her
this being pre-Internet days.

So, I sing it for her
making up the Japanese words.

I sing different words
every day.

Sing she says...
"My...Donie's knee!"

Which is what we call it
after hearing it only the once.

"Share it with Yuku!"
I sing whatever comes to mind.

"Oh more each day!"
the words have a life of their own.

Now when I have grown
to be this man I am

I learn the proper Japanese
but she still thinks I'm making it up.

Now here in her dying
she says sing me

"My  Donie's knee!"

So I sing in my broken
Japanese.

She squeezes my hand
whispers softly...

"You were always
a romantic auld eejit!"

**

Phonetically speaking it goes something like this....

Ma doe bay knee
She re e yuku
Ha me kay no
Ha ray hi yo
Oh mo e day
Ha na a she ku
Wat su ra ray
Naf su no he
Key me ga oh day
Yat sa she cu
Wa tashi o
key da key tay
suki say nu ko e no
coo may o
ka tar esh she
an no hee

Willie was a home birth
during a flood of 1950.

It was a fireman cut the
umbilical cord anchoring
Willie to his mother.

He took off, out the top
window and drifted towards
Duck and Donie’s sweet shop.

Neighbours in a similar
predicament looked down
at the floating object.

Mrs Golden was first to
shout out -
“ It’s a Buoy, It’s a Buoy “.

V


Instead of having rotten tomatoes thrown at him,
or being impeached , or having grapes,
put into his Wellingtons,
Donie Trump is to be Knighted,' Arise Sir Donald Trump'
  Knight of the Garter, he pulled up his socks ,
just in time.

In one of their first unofficial unpaid duties,
Prince Harry and 'Muggins' Markle will lay the blade,
of a reproduction Chinese sable,
on each side of Donald's  transfat padded shoulders,
and declare him ' Knight of the Garters'.

Sir Donald , will be humbled by the experience,
and ask Prince Harry, if he can keep the Chinese sable,
to use it on , Gretta Thunberg, the next time he meets her.

  Holly Barrett

no encoding necessary
for you donie christine
no words exist in written language
to encapsulate the degree of your
*Pestilence *
you ****** animals
you massacre safety of innocent children
and abandon your own
you pose a friend
while you drive the dagger in
laughing all the while
total disregard as your pretense
slaughters babies and fellow humans
be proud of the total annihilation you
and you alone
Perpetrated