Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Alchemy

Lighthouse Dandelions by Jamie Wyeth 

Though dusky clouds make haste to bring the night,
the sun breaks through with one last show of light.
The bright beams reach across the sea, take hold,
and turn the granite lighthouse into gold.
For but a breath, across the deep and damp,
the stone walls shine far brighter than the lamp.

The dandelions below are unimpressed.
Their hue remains although the sun sinks west.
Assured of their own yellowness, and pleased,
they toss their manes, nod proudly at the breeze.
But all too soon their gold will turn to gray,
and, unlike the sturdy lighthouse, blow away.


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Verboten

no smoking, by Togan Gökbakar

Click.

"See here, can't you read pictograms?  No cameras allowed."  The old man waved his cigarette at a sign on the wall.

The girl skidded to a stop and squinted up at the slashed red circles.  She looked at each in turn, lips moving soundlessly.  The old man chuckled, and his wife shook her head over the illiteracy of the young.

Then the girl pointed at the sign herself.  "That's not a camera.  It's suitcases that aren't allowed."  She glared and raised her camera again.  "Caught you red-handed."

Click.

The old woman pulled her sleeves down over her scarlet gloves. 

The old man was unperturbed.  "This is a transportation center, young whippersnapper.  Of course our bags are allowed.  But your roller skates are not."

"Roller skates are a perfectly good form of transportation.  Environmentally sound, you know?  Unlike train engines, with all their smoke.  Look at the sign.  That's no roller skate, it's a steam locomotive that's not allowed.  Nasty things."

The man laughed aloud.  "No locomotives?  In a train station?  That's absurd!  But you have no business bringing that dog here."

The girl snorted.  "My dog is a hardworking husky.  He has every right to be here.  The sign is about little sausage dogs, like your wife has in her prohibited suitcase."

The old woman pushed the torpid pooch further down into her purse.

"And you're smoking cigarettes," the girl said triumphantly.  "That's four for four, as you're waiting for a locomotive and all."

The old man growled, but his wife nudged him.  "She has a point, dear."

"That's not a cigarette on the sign," he sputtered.  "That--that--that's the plume on your ridiculous hat!  Not allowed.  Get out of here!"

The girl raised an eyebrow.  "I was just leaving when you interrupted me."

She took one last snapshot of the fuming old man and his uneasy wife.  Then she adjusted her feathered cap, took a firm grasp of the husky's reins, and shouted, "Mush!"  The big dog sprang into action, leaping down to the tracks and racing away.  The girl yodeled with glee as she rolled along, her feather streaming behind like a peacock in flight.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Instructions from the Caterers

illustration by Helen Ward

If you go down in the woods today,
you must wear a party hat.
Be careful as you carry your tray;
you must not trip and fall flat.
Serve from the left,
remove from the right.
Don't lick the plate
'til you're out of sight.
Be gracious as you serve
the Teddy Bears' Picnic.