ricocheting off black marble.
Soft gentle words speak in my ear,
sharing tales of those living in the wall.
Jaunty Pirate Bunny,
eternally in profile—see his nose?
His hat?
Pirate Bunny sails the water rivulets,
down the walls,
circling the drain,
searching for carrot loot.
(He won't find any of that in here!)
Shh. Don't tell him.
Austere Rat,
Not cavalier or chipper. Nobody
likes a cheerful rat.
(Everybody likes a cheerful rat.)
Not when he's your dentist.
Moving on...
Eyes, horns, ears—
Upside-down floating cow.
(Maybe upside-down floating bison,
with the frizzy mane?)
No, upside-down floating cow!
So high.
Aliens zorped him up here,
that's why.
Happy monkey
(You sure that's not you?)
No, he is tricksy, so the confusion
is natural. Happy monkey,
(Smug Monkey)
sneaks up behind Pirate Bunny,
something clever up his sleeve.
Sad frog (Why is he sad?)
He's a sprained hopper, flies
killed his mother.
Day and night he hops
and drinks (and drinks), out for
vengeance. For meaning.
For hope.
A gust of wind, a beak here,
windswept feathers there,
The Great Gun-Slinging Ostrich.
(You can only see his head. Where's
his gun?) Look at him:
Grizzled, grim.
He's packing heat.
Bringing order, keeping
peace, his great burden
to bear.
A small wet kiss, dropped
on the neck.
Don't worry, Wife.
You're safe with me.
The childish tone of words here really sets this piece apart, making it darker and more heartbreaking. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I was going for that innocence with an edge, humor, and sauciness present in a marriage.
ReplyDeleteI do this. I look for patterns in the random. I find faces, animals and the like. You put a voice to it. Nice.
ReplyDeleteThanks. This is Husband's game; I get to play.
ReplyDeleteI love the anthropomorphising and the contrasting darkness, but peppered with such humour that I found myself chuckling. This is my favourite line though:
ReplyDelete"He's a sprained hopper, flies
killed his mother."
If you invite me to the Zoo anytime soon, I am refusing. Really glad the kiss is dropped and the angst is soothed at the end. I like how the animals started out innocently and with each stanza got more detailed and more macabre.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what you're talking about. I AM THE BEST AT ZOOS.
ReplyDelete