Yare

Y is the twenty fifth letter
X-hausted from trying to catch Z
it's also an infinite question
deciphering all that we see
it's a consonant on occasion
a vowel when it chooses to be
or an integer in the equation
explaining the great mystery.

Panache

Today I watched a raven strut
across a busy street
his plume still has a jaunty jut
though he's flatter than a sheet.

Xylocarp

Can't you get it through your woody husk
she has no taste for you
and therefore she'll be rather brusque
if ever forced to chew

the problem with your crazy act
(although it shows your guts)
is that it doesn't face the fact
that she's adverse to nuts.

Whipped

*crack*

another vanquished shell
egg-cited to be beaten well

*crack*

the whites are veined with red
impatient to be slowly bled

*crack*

you can get really low
if you shell out a little dough

*crack*

at times seduction wins
we all get mixed in guilty sins.

Vegged

I beet my chest and said,
"Lettuce be together!"
but she said that she didn't carrot all;
I felt it squash me dead
there was no way to a peas her
my plot became a victim of the fall--
a couch potato staring at the wall.

Underdone

With dinnerware that's far from white
though not the blackest pot
her cookbook has no recipe for shame
she has a healthy appetite
and while she craves things hot
meticulously manages the flame

she hungers to be stuffed
(and maybe even cuffed)
so please rehinge your jaw
she likes her beefcake raw.

Tasty

A tart like that can tame
a sweet tooth into shame
although the shell can be a little flaky
but sugar tends to rot
away the teeth you've got
and leave the ones remaining very achy

so prudently indulge
and you won't sport a bulge
that makes you crave this naughty treat intensely
decide to be a pig
and you'll find out that big
is when you're feeling mortified immensely.

Saucy

Your gift is knowing when to prepare
a complement with witty flair
that makes the most of any affair

with each concoction that you whisk
you take another daring risk
despite detractors that go *tsk*

complaining of the subtle sting
that flavors every dish you bring
with just the right amount of zing.

Marathon

We're in this for the long haul
but most are getting tired
of maliciously inspired
attempts to end it all

with every passing mile
another pointless death
we try to catch our breath
but we're losing to the vile

and though we feel unsure
we've got to somehow shove
the race to be for love
in order to endure.

Rest

"Come my child!"
a mother urged
her voice was wild
then something surged--
existence braved.

"Come my child!"
She proudly cheered
her offspring smiled
until she veered
and trust was waived.

"Come my child."
Our Savior said
in a voice so mild
resistance fled
and she was saved.

Quash

Time has passed
pain amassed
dissipates

hope employed
guilt is void
peace awaits.

Pardon

See berries red as blood among the thorns
the remnants of a summer long since bled
it's funny how a memory adorns
the promise of new life that lies ahead,
as all about the barbs are buds that swell
with foliage impatient for rebirth,
the air abounds with musk and you can smell
the need to be at one with mother earth.
And as I think of mothers I am stirred
to honor she who gave her life to me
while mourning dreams she never could pursue;
I can't undo whatever wrongs occurred
but know her troubled spirit's finally free
as surely as the cycle must renew.


***Happy Birthday Mom***

Obstruction

I'm guilty, overcome with rue
that justice was withheld from you
a victim whose demise was sown
by being coldly left alone

for each time you were written off
you felt rejection's scathing scoff
which filled your gentle soul with shame
and wrongly self directed blame.

When I gave up and finally left
you were tipsy at the cleft
and while I could have pulled you back
I waited till I heard the smack

which loudly echos still today
just like the thought that won't go away--
compassion's easy to impart
unless there's blockage in your heart.

Negligence

She raised us very well
until things went to hell
and then we had to do the best we could
surviving on the street
and scrounging scraps to eat
while doing things that no one ever should.

The truth was too obscene
our teddy bears turned mean
and so did we in order to get by
while she became more dead
just lying in that bed
her only consolation getting high--

abandonment is hard
there is no Hallmark card
requesting grace for any damage done
I simply couldn't stay
so like a coward ran away,
but should've tried to be a better son.

Matricide

My mind unjustly murdered you for being who you are
instead of finding some way to assist
I left the scene without a clue then searched both near and far
for sanctuary rumored to exist
beyond the sunless shore entombed in mist.

I've felt a presence chasing me, determined to convict
the criminal it clamored to indict
I never knew the damage prosecution could inflict
or just how quickly it could end ones flight
insisting on the right to extradite.