Poems

I had a mousetrap that was haunted
by memories of ancient vermin
each morning I'd find it, undaunted
and empty, seemingly determined
to prove that it can move -- of course
without an animating force

I'd leave it near a darkened doorway
a tasty cheese served on a platter
and then, as if it was just child's play
(at first I thought it was the latter)
the cheese is gone, trap nowhere near
I must admit I did know fear

dramatic ending to this story
no mediums were called to solve it
and it was neither sad or gory
I had no choice but to resolve it
this place is haunted by a mouse
I said, and bought me a new house

Author notes: https://allpoetry.com/contest/2795879-A-haunted-item.

Creation
concept contest
centuries condensed...
contested conception
Christ
chariots, cavalry
Caesar came, conquered Cleopatra
created classic century calendar
Claudius' centurions cut Caligula
Commodus craved Coliseum circuses
circumcised citizens called Christians
Constantine ceremoniously christened Constantinople
critical crusaders cavalierly crushed city
califs claimed creative control
centuries condensed...
Columbus, Copernicus
continents conquered
classics, Cervantes
church criticism, civil conflict
certain creature comforts
colossal church construction
centuries condensed...
Constitution
Canada
...
Churchill
...
careless China
....
Covid

Author notes: https://allpoetry.com/contest/2795872-Alphabet-alliteration-C---century---

a Hairspray inspired attire
this lady won't wear out or tire
her pinkish abode
no yellow brick road
and watch where you step, she might fire!

I asked, where we're at, pussycat?
I've got no desire for a spat
I've only one wish
that you'd give me a kish
she did, and now I live with that

I turn and look back at the cage
housing my dirtiest desires
suddenly empty, in my rage
I must have loosened its loose wires
the door's wide open and they're gone
panicked, I search before they're drawn
onto a canvas, sharp and bright
find them at last, in black and white
peacefully settled on this page
here where I'm safe, this is my womb
protected by my nom de plume

thunder bellows
without warning
fall has fallen
day is mourning
night is calling
strange bedfellows
blizzard warning
thunder bellows

Author notes: wc 19 https://allpoetry.com/contest/2795385-Brevity-Thunder-in-a-Blizzard

Punxsutawney Phil
saw his shadow
six more weeks of Covid

I choose destiny
though it pretends to choose me
free will paradox

here's a December to forget
full of lost chances and regret
the sleepless nights you spent awake
the call to Mom you didn't make

the winter solstice closing in
weighing the wages of your sin
the present that you bought yourself
your best laid plans, still on the shelf

the Christmas lights, their sterile shine
ubiquitous, the smell of pine
the smile you chose not to return
the candle doing its slow burn

here's a December to forget
December, is it over yet
now time to put on a brave face
the year is gone, without a trace

Author notes: https://allpoetry.com/contest/2796001-December-in-Rhyme-

I asked the wife: what must I do
she said thing one, and then thing two
I vacuumed and I washed the dishes
but those, alas, were not her wishes
coming home early on one day
I realized to my dismay
my neighbor without much ado
performed thing one, and then thing two

Author notes: https://allpoetry.com/contest/2796023-naughty--creative--ADULT-contest-adult

I remember how we met
didn't know that I was falling
moments that you can't forget
Death Wish Three, it was appalling
coffee afterwards, and cake
hurried date in mid November
we both thought it a mistake
I remember

Author notes: https://allpoetry.com/contest/2796024-Leigh-Hunt-Rondeau--8-line-R-M-form-

my earliest memory:

dad's semi-trailer
parked in the background
off the side of an empty road
he took us with, this time
hauling fruits and veggies
halfway across a continent

mom and I are sitting
by the campfire
a small clearing
in a sea of corn stalks

delicious corn on the cob
a pot of coffee sizzles
dad is using an ax
to split firewood
and feed the fire

a small splinter flies off
and injures him,
right under his right eye
and a rivulet of bright
crimson blood streams out

as I faint

Author notes: https://allpoetry.com/contest/2795702-Trucking

there’ll come a time
when there’s no crime
and freedom is victorious
a time that’s surely glorious

our chains shall break
make no mistake
and we shall have democracy
devoid of all hypocrisy

and all who suffer pain and fear
their time will come –
to be sincere
it’ll come, of that I am quite sure
but you and I, shall be no more