The Dragon of Fate 03 17 2010
The evil learned when they were young
Slay the dragon not just for fun
Behead the monster in the clearing mist
Receive from the fairest maiden the choicest kiss
One day the hamlet fell full of dread
As a dragon rose from the dead
Immune from stabs and falling arrow
The dragon to their way did harrow
Much to their great surprise
Talons pierced from clearest skies
Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy
Contessa’s Game Over 03 15 2010
She looked at herself in the mirror
Her hair had turned pale white
Her bloated face no longer capable of expression
She went down to the kitchen
Lit herself a pack of Lucky Strikes
Her husband came down
And she started swinging
Contessa’s Game Over
Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy
RIVER
Right on by it flows.
Into a bigger reservoir it goes.
Very swift the ice melt passes.
Even faster as daylight masses.
Running smooth into summertime.
Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy
The Sun Reflects on Melting Ice Only Rarely
The Weather Changes Quickly.
Sun melting ice.
Reflects a view to come that’s warmer and nice.
On day’s like this a foot thinks twice.
Melting through feet break its vice.
Ice solid when cold.
Only breaks upon a fold?
Rarely miss the glare when told!
Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy
Cardinal Coexist With Blackbird:
Cardinal bird with poking beek.
Coexist with others that seed seek.
With little color that will allow it to hide.
Blackbird never would peck its side.
Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy
BULLFROG:
Bully
Underwater
Lewd
Loud
Froggy
Rough
Ogre
Growl
BULLFROG
Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy
Sunflower Seeds
Fields of Sunflowers glistening in their namesake sun.
That’s how you used to see them on the farm in the commercial.
The cornucopia of seeds centered in the yellow petals.
Try and grow them from seed and they get four to six feet tall and the squirrel say’s they’re his.
Used to be my father’s favorite snack. The wet hulls left in a coffee cup. He would share them with me as a boy.
Bringing them home from school from a place that sounded like me moes.
Sunflower oil seem to be one of the lighter weights of cooking oils, today the snacky seeds are mostly hulled and in bigger bags.
I find them too hard to grow, and sometimes bring them home to share with my dad from a place that sounds like men yards.
The Red Winged Blackbird
The Red Winged Blackbird is the bird I remembered as a child.
Two colors on the badge of its wing, yellow and red.
He would make his distinctive call and I would imitate.
He and I were friends, that Red Winged Blackbird.
Haven’t seen one around for decades.
Wonder if they will return and what will be happening when they do.
Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy
Planted initially for a cold remedy, in defiance of others whose prospects said to be better for the space, the Echinacea grew.
The flower bloomed with pink petal and a spiky seed center.
When it came time to make tea, I never did.
As the season changed and the garden dried, the Gold Finch appeared and the seed was a marveled meal.
I couldn’t stop watching the cat sleep.
Because it was relaxing for me to do so.
The easy breaths.
The lungs, the length of its body, bellowing.
The lack of worries.
A little twitch of the whiskers.
Soon the legs tremor and you wonder what she is chasing.
Copyright 2010 Thomas Paul Murphy
My First Plants
A green thumb I would be, I decided on a dreary winter day.
In the trough I put the richest and most fertile dirt.
I read the planting instructions and followed them to the letter.
Fennel, Hyssop, Thyme and Oregano.
In anticipation of a sprout I sprinkled water on them every day, and patiently watched over them.
Almost losing hope, finally a sprout appeared.
Though not at the same rate the plants grew to fruition.
As the weather hinted at autumn, I was left with a dilemma, not wanting to harvest and eat what took so long to grow.
Okay they weren’t my first plants, they never came up.
Copyright 2010 Thomas Murphy
Uncle Larry was the exact opposite of my father, who by the way can’t swim.
As a matter of discourse my father would say, “You’re so much like my brother.”
Who would often arrive unannounced in an airstream and buy Leinekugals by the case because he couldn’t get it in Boston.
So there I sat in a boat up North with my drill sergeant Uncle.
He had a foul proof fishing method he stated. Sprinkle fish food the kind you would place in the aquarium to feed your goldfish and wait until they came.
I could have been standing on the shore and known this was a bad method.
Our Uncle’s can teach us things our fathers can’t.
The Frogs
Frogs, when I see one I stare intently.
To see what colors it has.
What its spots look like?
Would it give me warts if I grabbed it?
What do the ends of its toes look like?
Will I see its gullet bellow?
It looks like it has good food in that gullet.
What’s a frog’s chin called anyway?
How long can I look at it before in one bound and then another, the chase becomes futile and it is gone.
Thomas Murphy
