Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Ye Olde Sad Tale

Sir Norm was a round table knight.
But, making ends meet was real hard.
Having no horse 'cause things were tight,
He rode a rental St. Bernard.
While riding through the realm one eve,
The dog drank its brandy cask dry,
And then began to buck and heave.
Sir Norm stopped at an inn nearby.
A maid greeted him at the door.
He did not have the coin to pay.
The dog just passed out on the floor.
She let Sir Norm in anyway.

"I would not turn," exclaimed the miss,
"A knight out on a dog like this."

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

I Told Him

I told him it was not for play,
And showed him how to use it right.
He'd have one of his own someday,
To hunt or if he had to fight.
I told him that his grades were bad,
All those flunks on his report card;
Goofing off - and it made me mad.
He needed some coming down hard.
I told him to forget about
Going with me to the gun show.
He left for school in a big pout.
I got a call 'bout noon or so.

It was the school about my son.
He shot his teacher with my gun.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Down to Earth View

Bill was a life long athiest.
He believed that upon death's knell,
No god existed, pleased or pissed,
Sending souls to heaven or hell.
For Bill, one life was all he had.
He lived it as he felt he should.
Sometimes he lived a little bad;
So then he'd live a little good.
Lots of people thought well of Bill,
Putting his godless view aside.
They were concerned when he fell ill;
And they were saddened when he died.

They buried Bill six feet below -
All dressed up and no place to go.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Good Catch

High in the far bleachers they sat.
Five year old Faith was with her Dad,
And so excited to be at
The first catch chance she'd ever had.
She knew she'd catch a home run hit.
There wasn't any doubt at all.
Through the game she sat with her mitt,
Ready and waiting for the ball.
The bottom of the ninth, it came,
Hit hard, it soared high to the right,
Then curved off to the left in aim
Of landing at a special site.

The ball dropped right into her glove.
On it the words, "For Faith, with love."

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Lasting Impression

I'd gone for a job interview.
They'd invited me out to lunch.
Things went well; we were almost through.
This was a test, I had a hunch.
In my lap something caught my sight,
As I set down my coffee cup.
In horror, I saw boxer white.
I quickly zipped my pants back up.
We were leaving; I felt carefree.
I got up and turned from my chair.
The awful sounds came suddenly,
Of crashed dishes and silverware.

I saw the problem at a glance -
The tablecloth zipped in my pants.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Dandy Jack

After breakfast, Gramps took me
To meet ol' Bessie's newborn calf.
It was a friendship meant to be.
Grampa called us the half and half.
I named my new pal, Dandy Jack.
We hung together in the barn,
Romping in hay from stack to stack,
Playing catch with a ball of yarn.
As time went by and Dandy grew,
The whole farm was our playground.
If I was there, then Jack was too.
The pair of us were buddy bound.

But, the butcherman came one day,
And took my Dandy Jack away.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Drop

Within the cold and numbing womb
Is formed this one as hard as stone.
The freezing forces bring to bloom -
To birth, this one of nature's own.
This one awaits with countless more,
Till beckoned by an icy blast.
Where this one had not gone before -
To destiny, this one is cast.
Chilled white, this one is now set free,
To travel through the changes that
Will warm this one to what will be,
When it is this one's time to splat.

"Marge - we should hurry up a bit,"
"'Cause I just felt a raindrop hit."

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Life and Death

It was a nasty, stormy night.
A very pregnant woman hailed
A cab. The driver saw her plight.
He drove her through the storm that raled.
Her moans of pain sounded from back.
He saw the sign, "Emergency."
Then suddenly, it all went black.
The cab was smashed under a tree.
There wasn't anyone to blame.
Amid the wreck, twisted and torn,
The sound of a miracle came -
The cry of one of God's new born.

She could not hear it. She was dead.
Sharp debris had severed her head.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Made Light

Tom Edison worked many years
Inventing the electric light.
While disbelievers made their jeers,
He kept on trying, day and night.
A thousand ways or more he tried
To find a bulb that would stay lit.
Each time the light just up and died.
Sometimes he thought, "The hell with it."
One night a glow came into life.
The bulb was tested and it passed.
Tom ran upstairs and woke his wife.
"Honey, I've done it at long last."

"It is 3 a.m.." His wife said.
"Turn off that light and come to bed."

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Manslaughter Daughter

After work, he stopped at the bar.
He had a little time to kill,
And didn't have to drive too far.
Quick to down'em, quick to refill.
After school, she'd gone to the mall
To get a new dress for the dance.
She found the best one of them all.
Time to go, she saw at a glance.
He drove through the mall parking lot.
She was standing on the sidewalk.
Driving more careless than he ought,
His car veered off; she froze in shock.

The drunk driver to jail was led.
The drunk driver's daughter was dead.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Overbite

One night I woke up in such pain.
My teeth and gums were hurting fierce.
A vampire always should maintain
Choppers, strong and healthy to pierce.
I found a dentist working late.
He said I needed all new fangs.
After he made my dental plate,
I bit him - it's those hunger pangs.
But then too late I noticed that
My new false fangs did not fit tight.
Frustrated, I became a bat,
And flew away into the night.

After each bite, I have to check
If teeth are still stuck in the neck.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Gust of Glory

It is a nice, bright sunny day.
I am enjoying a long stroll.
A gust of wind appears to play
With loose things that can swirl and roll.
Around me dead leaves flap and fly,
Paper pieces sputter and spin,
Performing on a stage of sky.
An eager plastic bag joins in.
Caught up, I stand and watch the show,
A blended whirl of sight and sound.
The maestro wind ceases to blow,
And bag etal. come back to ground.

For moments each discarded thing
Is given grace to dance and sing.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Life Saver

One moment, all was fine and well.
But then an awful accident
Turned all into a gruesome hell.
The tragedy was evident.
It was a frightful sight to see.
Blood was flowing everywhere.
Then came the screams of misery,
Amid the moans of deep despair.
The matter was of life and death.
Would needed help in time arrive,
Before that last and gasping breath -
Before no one was left alive?

Just when I thought no help would come,
Mom plucked the sliver from my thumb.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

A.I.D.S. Orphan

Dear Micki, You will always be
Your Daddy's favorite little girl.
Some day you'll be with Mom and me.
Till then, be good for Uncle Earl.
It was my fault that we got sick.
I pray to God that you'll forgive
Me my mistakes. I'm sorry Mick.
I gave you one hard life to live;
But Micki, face it with a grin.
Fill up your heart with hope and love.
Be sure to take your medicine.
There's nothing you can't rise above.

Remember, when you hurt so bad,
Mom and I are with you. Love Dad.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Flock Talk

A ventriloquist did look at
Buying the Farmer Brown's small farm.
While with Brown, he decided that
A little fun could do no harm.
They both walked by the barnyard stands,
A milk cow turned to them and spoke,
"You always milk me with cold hands."
"Damn." The farmer wheezed in a choke,
A voice came from the chicken coop.
"Us hens are being underfed."
The farmer seemed thrown for a loop.
At the sheep pen, the farmer said,

"These sheep might tell some tales - okay?"
"Just don't believe a word they say."

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Soft War

Always with humankind is war.
We never seem to get enough.
The pain goes on forevermore,
Because of mad men manmade stuff.
Since war will never go away,
At least let's minimize its pain.
Each human is made into prey,
Implanting a chip in each brain.
Computers would pick strategies,
And battle by technology,
Then key the chips of casualties.
The targets would die painlessly.

Computers waging war by lot -
Much more humane than human thought.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

A Dog of Few Words

A clerk said, "Next in line - this way."
A dog spoke up, "I guess I am."
"What can we do for you today?"
"I want to send a telegram."
The clerk handed the dog a note.
"You'll have to write it out somehow."
The dog took pen in teeth and wrote,
"Bow wow wow, bow wow wow, bow wow."
"One to ten words have the same fees."
"There's eight words now, so you can send"
"Another 'bow wow' if you please."

"No," the dog said, "just between us,"
"One more would sound ridiculous."

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Crow Heart

There is a place called Crow Heart Butte,
In mid Wyoming on a plain.
It bears a legend of repute
About a battle in blood stain.
The Crow tribe, an old enemy,
Came from the north in an attack.
The Shoshones, led by Washakie,
Fought long and hard to hold them back.
Because both sides had many die,
It was agreed the chiefs would fight.
The two climbed to the butte top high.
Down came Washakie at dawn's light.

Before he let the Crows depart,
Washakie ate the Crow chief's heart.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Masked Man's Missus

A worried wife sought some advice
From a well known psychiatrist.
She said, "My husband's very nice,"
"But, he's developed a strange twist."
"He's the Lone Ranger - so he thinks."
"Each day behind his mask he goes"
"To catch the crooks and fill the clinks."
"Each night he's back, yelling 'Hi-Yos'."
The doctor told her not to fret,
That she should now feel reassured.
He had not failed a patient yet.
Her husband could and would be cured.

"Thank you Doctor - but I don't know - "
"The children do like Tonto so."

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Mystery Tree

The old dead tree stood on the hill,
An ugliness of jagged rot,
In looming form so dark and still
Against the sun - a lonely blot.
My folks had told me not to play
Around that tree; and so of course
I headed for it right away,
Drawn by its mysterious force.
There was an urge I would not not stop.
Responding to the luring spell,
I climbed up to the very top.
But, then I slipped and down I fell.

A limb reached out and grabbed me round,
Setting me safely on the ground.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Past Acquaintance

I left my hotel and strolled through
The nearby cemetery gate.
I was surprised to run into
Someone like me out walking late.
His name was Dave, a handsome lad.
While we talked, I became aware
The night chill had him shaking bad.
I let him have my coat to wear.
We kept each other company,
Until the very break of dawn.
Its morning glow peeked through a tree.
I looked around and Dave was gone.

I searched the grounds till I found Dave.
My coat was laying on his grave.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Sneezing Matter

"Where's my sandwich? -- I'm gonna tell."
He whined and made a face. I smiled.
Little brothers are living hell.
I should have been an only child.
"Shut up or starve. That's how it goes."
I glanced away. That's when he threw
A can of pepper up my nose.
I sneezed until my face was blue.
I came real close to fratricide.
But coolness was prevailed upon.
"Take your sandwich and go outside."
The screen door slammed. My pain was gone.

Sandwich to go was what he got -
Peanut butter, jelly and snot.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Helping Hand

Her blue eyes sparkled once with life.
Now they were dulled with drugs and pain.
He gently comforted his wife.
She never was one to complain.
The doctors said there was no hope.
Cancer would kill her slow but sure.
They gave her drugs to try to cope
With constant pain she must endure.
He knew she was resigned to death.
It was her dying that was hell -
To suffer till her final breath.
She slept now. That was just as well.

He gave his wife a kiss goodbye,
Then shot her through a closed blue eye.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

In Judgment

The crowd had gathered in the square.
They came to watch a young man die.
The sheriff brought the killer there -
To the gallows, to hang him high.
At his courthouse window he stood.
The Judge watched the sentence below.
Carried out as he knew it should,
It was the law that it be so.
A prayer was muttered by the priest.
The trapdoor swung; the rope snapped tight.
All life within the young man ceased.
The Judge's eyes closed at the sight.

The Judge had seen the justice done -
The hanging of his only son.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Be Damned

The powers that be picked a site
Across the field from a playground.
A plant was built, shiny and bright,
Guaranteed to be safe and sound.
As the neighborhood children played,
Across the field in profit haste,
The plant owners were getting paid
To dispose of hazardous waste.
The plant shut down after a year.
Toxic emissions were too high,
Dangerous levels did appear
At the playground. No one knew why.

The childrens' playground days were done.
As cancer killed them, one by one.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

One Lump or Two

Old Widow Jones walked down the street,
She knew she was a little late.
Well, she did not have track star feet;
Her club tea would just have to wait.
Then suddenly came the attack.
Two men - one tried to grab her purse.
Her cane beat him whack after whack.
All he could do was bleed and curse.
The Widow then turned to confront
The other punk with her left hook.
He went down with just a grunt.
The cops pulled up to take a look.

The muggers begged for custody.
Old Widow Jones walked on to tea.