Lenard and Laura Leanon

Lenard and Laura Leanon
Were know as the King and Queen on
Every street of the garbage route
For when they took their refuse out
They wrapped it neatly as a pin
Each bottle and peeling and paper and fin.

Then both together and arm in arm,
With considerable grace and oh so much charm,
Would travel a distance of 39 feet,
Being so careful to keep themselves neat,
And upon a table, that was specially made
The package of neatly wrapped garbage they laid.

And without so much as a wink or a nod
They would tastefully turn and homeward would trod,
Without a thought or a backward glance
And knowing for certain there was never a chance
That anything packaged as neat as a pin
Would have nothing but waste and garbage within.

1981

Mary Meover’s Menace

Mary Meover
Is standing in clover
Her husband
Is standing in rye
Her children
Are standing down by the lake
Trying to make themselves dry.

Mary has told them
Just what they should do
When into the water
They dive
“Keep track of your cloths,”
She says with a grin,
“and be home at a quarter past five.”

“For lurking in weeds
As high as your knees
Is a menace
So fearful and strange
That the strongest of men
Will shiver with fright
And heroes to cowards will change.

“Some say it’s as large
As a house that’s on wheels,
Some say it’s as small
As a flea,
But those who have seen it
Down by the lake
Of one thing they all will agree.”

“That if to your mother
You do not heed
When at home
She bids you arrive,
The menace, that lives,
In the weeds, by the lake,
Will visit at quarter past five.”

1981

The We of Me

When I speak of myself
I speak of you, my friend
I am made up of little pieces of the people I love,
And we make me.

Every experience we have had together
Has left me with part of you
To make me richer, to change the way I look at others,
At you and at myself.

You are me and I am you,
And each part of myself which becomes part of you,
A part of you becomes me,
And we both grow.

So I share myself and you with everyone I love,
And I share everyone I love
With you,
And we make me.

1977

Stanley Dupp

Stanley Dupp
Had two holes in his cup.
Got himself wet
While trying to sup.

Cleaned himself off
With a dust covered cloth
Breathed in too much
And started to cough.

He quickly arose
Hit the bridge of his nose
Went forward in pain
And stubbed both big toes.

He turned around once
Let out some grunts
Hit his legs on a chair
Skinned both knees in the fronts.

He sat on the floor
Right next to the door
As his wife did return
From a trip to the store.

The door opened wide
Hit him square in the side
Threw him into the cupboard
And damaged his pride.

But then came the dilly
While going willy-nilly
He pulled over the iron
And knocked himself silly.

So if when you sup
You spill tea from your cup
Remember my friend and
Please don’t Stan Dupp.

1981

Mr. Lee Pinlizard

Mr. Lee Pinlizard
Was know as a wizard
In the country, the city, and town
For when he was asked
To do a tough task
He did it without even a frown.

He’d just grab hold of his nose
And wiggle his toes,
Shake a cootie out of his hair
Take a thorn of thistle
Let out a short whistle
And wave his wand high in the air.

Take the wing of a bat,
The tail of a nat,
A rare thing the eye of a newt,
A platypus egg
A pinch of nutmeg
And a carrot he kept in his suit.

The dust from the horn
Of an old unicorn
The back legs of two little gnats
A wart from a toad
He’d found on the road
The fur of three big black cats.

He’d then stir it up
Pour it into a coup
And mutter some magical goop.
Like hoben-po-tizzy
And tin-tin-tin-lizzy
And voila he had vegetable soup.

1981

David D. Veo

David D. Veo

Sang in a trio
Two sparrows, a robin, and him.
When they started singin’
They all started wingin’
And he found himself
Out on a limb.