Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Having Some Consideration

The into Manhattan commute,
During the morning rush hour,
Is never a good time to toot.
Snails' pace is the fastest power,
Then traffic comes to a dead stop,
And stays that way till afternoon,
Due to someone on the bridge top
Who deems a jump now opportune.
At last the poor soul is talked down,
And rushed away by ambulance -
No delays - to Manhattan town,
Leaving the rest of us to chance.

If I were planning suicide,
Commuter needs would be my guide.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Shot Not

A scientist, before she died,
Found the way to make all firearms
Fully nonfirable worldwide,
Causing multitudes of alarm.
It was through use of satellites,
Zapping into each gun's barrel,
And taking molecular bites.
Then, putting the shooters in peril,
Loaded ammunition would not
Act the way it was meant to work.
Instead of exiting when shot,
The ammo stuck fast with a jerk.

No where, no more, no working gun.
We know why. Don't tell anyone.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Final Cut

I am walking home late at night.
Suddenly, some men come at me.
I know that something is not right.
They grab onto me forcibly,
And then everything goes black.
When I come to, I am in bed.
On my belly is an icepack.
A sown incision, long and red,
I can see as the pack slips down.
It is all a bad dreamlike state.
Over me, in a mask and gown,
Someone calmly tells me my fate.

They'll keep me alive till they're done,
Harvesting organs, one by one.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

That Kitten

That kitten loved to romp and play
And tangle up with anything.
I'd find that kitten, night or day,
So busy in the latest fling.
The cord on the venetian blind
Was a favorite source of fun.
Many times I had to unwind
The self wrap that kitten had done.
I went to the store and forgot
To put the cord up out of reach.
I came home. That kitten was not
There making welcome meow speech.

I found that kitten I adored,
Lifelessly hanging from the cord.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Stuff It

A big game hunter, full of boast,
Was showing off his trophy room.
His guest was weary of her host.
"I'm stuck with him," she thought in gloom.
He dragged her to each mounted head,
And told her how he bagged the kill.
She felt them lucky they were dead,
Spared hearing all this boring swill.
A tiger skin was on the floor.
"I got this back in '63."
"Now, here's the story," said the bore.
"I'll tell you it was him or me."

"Wise choice," said the guest with a shrug,
"You would have made a lousy rug."

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Speak Not So Easy

I don't remember when I last
Made a phone call to a place that
Was considered business classed -
It wasn't hold right off the bat.
Why do they ask, "Would you please hold?"
If I say, "No, put me right through."
There is a pause at words so bold;
Then Muzak blares as if on cue,
Interrupted once in a while
By a soothing computer voice
Saying, "Be patient," with a smile.
But, maybe there's a short cut choice.

Sometimes when I curse and swear,
I hear quicker from humans there.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Crawler Cure All

The common cockroach has been here
Long before we humankind.
Perhaps we should tend to revere
Its study so that we might find
The reason for longevity
Of this bug we've tried to wipe out.
A tribe of aboriginee
Have sick ones do a turnabout.
Roaches cover the one that's ill,
Crawling all over for a spell,
Then leaving when they've had their fill.
The person's left entirely well.

The cockroach's excrement can
Cure all diseases known to man.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Lesson Taught

She needed a lesson real bad,
For always getting in my face.
She shouldn't have gotten me mad.
I picked the perfect time and place,
Putting some peanut oil into
Her water bottle on her desk.
Allergic to peanuts, I knew,
A sip should make her real grotesque.
And sure enough, she took a drink.
Soon, her eyes bulged out of her head.
She gasped for breath and in a wink,
Keeled over onto the floor - dead.

I taught that teacher not to mess
With this here 5th grader - oh yes!

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Matter of Time

I was the only one Mom had,
But a teenager needs some space.
Her clinging ways became so sad,
And still harder for me to face.
She often hinted suicide,
How I'd be better off without
Her, if she just up and died.
The more she'd hint, the more my doubt.
I told Mom I'd be back at 4,
But I didn't get back till 5.
I found her on the garage floor,
From car fumes - no longer alive.

I wonder if Mom thought that I'm
At home and would find her in time.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Dis a Beard

Benny was chieftain of a tribe
That lived in the hot desert sands.
His beard, as Benny would describe,
Was buggy hot with those thick strands,
But, legend had it that the chief
Must wear a full beard or he would
Piss off the gods beyond belief,
And turn into stone where he stood.
Well, Benny did not buy this tale,
And cut off all his facial hair.
Then, Benny turned more than just pale.
Instead of him, a jug stood there.

The rest of the tribe then sure learned,
A Benny shaved is a Benny urned.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Spicier

The Virginia Tech shooter did
Premeditate his mass blood spree.
What if he inserted amid
His pre-sent messages to T.V.
That anti-NRA helped him,
Because it was believed to be
Vital for a gun scene so grim
To get the guns banned finally.
Even though the charge isn't true,
The shooter could have thought ahead;
All the more "news" time ballyhoo,
Blaming gun libs for those shot dead.

We can't get enough tragedy.
Spice it up with conspiracy.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Together Again

Lyndon, I'm here with you once more,
Together in the Texas ground.
The nation is again at war.
Some things just go around and round.
People are pretty much the same,
Just with a lot more techno stuff.
Politics is a meaner game
Than you played - and you were damn rough.
It's nice having you to my own,
Watching the wildflowers take root.
We're now beyond the flesh and bone.
Eternity should be a beaut.

Lyndon, once more you're next to me,
Where a good husband ought to be.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Avalanche

I was enjoying the train trip,
Taking in all the scenic view,
Of the mountains at a slow clip,
Along the river winding through.
The slopes were covered in deep snow,
With pine groves almost out of sight;
Providing such a wintry show
Of nature's wondrous, drifted white.
The rumbling sound came suddenly.
I felt the train picking up speed.
But, the snowy powers that be,
Engulfed us in the fierce stampede.

I was rescued, buried alive.
Most passengers did not survive.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

The Pearl

China's Lao Tzu, before he died,
Gave a small pearl to his one son;
And told him to place it inside
Of a sea clam - a giant one.
As the pearl was nurtured and grew,
So also grew the fortune great
Of the descendants of Lao Tzu.
But, ocean divers changed that fate.
One diver died in the clam's jaws.
The other got the pearl and fled.
Losers by finders keepers laws,
The Lao Tsu heirs went broke, then dead.

Today, the pearl's in some bank vault.
Its clam growth days now at a halt.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Sayings It's Over

You know - you're cute as a bug's ear.
But there are times you get my goat.
From the stool pigeons, I do hear
You shoot the bull with lots of gloat.
I'm no eager beaver you see
To become your lame duck of course.
So don't you go hog wild to be
A beating up on this dead horse.
Got mad as a wet hen - but why?
Get loaded for bear - now that's for me.
There's lots of other fish to fry.
Bat out of hell - you're history.

You're gonna stay in my doghouse,
For playing me like cat and mouse.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Leaf Grief

As inventions that "save time" go,
The gas powered leaf blower sucks.
Its only function is to blow,
While sounding like a storm of trucks.
Landscaping firms feel the most need
To have their workers on the ground
Do the leaves etal. pick up deed
By first blowing them all around.
The workers probably can't hear
The angry moans and groans nearby.
But, required to turn a deaf ear,
Even workers must wonder why.

I wish inventors soon would make
A silent robot with a rake.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Whatever the Bill

Geronimo, a cockatoo,
Flew the coop, up into a tree.
William did what he had to do,
And climbed up to set the bird free.
William managed to grab his pet,
Which bit the hand that feeds the bird.
But, they weren't out of the woods yet.
A call for help, the Coast Guard heard.
A helicoptor was required
To rescue the stuck Bill and bill.
A safe, happy ending transpired.
The rescue bill was hefty - still -

"I had to save Geronimo,"
"'Cause he's my baby doncha know?"

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Means

The empty house next door burned down.
A while later, I sifted through
The ashes and glimpsed something brown,
A ouija board as good as new.
I took it home and checked it out.
The thing kept spelling, "trip 2 die."
It was so weird. What's this about?
Maybe my vacation in July.
I started down the basement stairs,
Thinking about what trips I planned;
Then giggling over what stuff scares.
The ouija board slipped from my hand.

I tripped over that ouija board,
Falling to my final reward.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Ripped Apart

My 4 year old was sound asleep.
I thought that it would be okay
To leave the hotel room to keep
A lunch date down in the cafe.
I was gone an hour or so,
Then returned to the hotel room.
My child was gone - where I don't know.
But, I felt an impending doom.
Police came to investigate.
The case was reported worldwide,
But yet unknown is my child's fate.
And I am torn to shreds inside.

Anguish and guilt unreconciled,
Until God gives me back my child.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

"Scents"itive

Three men: a grocer, a banker,
And a politician were lost.
They found the house of a farmer,
Who said they could stay there - no cost.
But, one of them would have to stay
Out in the barn 'cause room was tight.
The banker said that was okay;
He'd take the barn to spend the night.
A short time later he returned -
Too smelly; so the grocer went.
But, he came back with stomach churned.
The politician did his stint.

The barn began to really smell.
All the animals ran like hell.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Cold Call

Telemarketers always call
When I'm expecting someone else.
My expectations quickly fall
And my tolerance level melts.
Abruptly hanging up just means
My number is recycled for
The automated call back screens
To keep calling me more and more.
It used to be someone's job to
Make the calls for livelihood.
But now computers seem to do
The dirty work to rile me good.

My phone should speak instead of ring,
"Beware - it's telemarketing!"

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Doer of Good

Albert Schweitzer sought to excel
At living a purposeful life.
He wanted to do much and well,
Sharing with his children and wife.
A musician, praised in tribute;
A scholar on theology;
An M.D. of admired repute -
He had it all by age 40.
In Africa, he chose a place
To build a hospital to care
For lepers of the human race,
And all others sick who were there.

A 50 year care marathon,
He died at 90, still hands on.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Dis Ease

Long time diseases like TB
Thought to be no risk in my world,
Are making a comeback slowly,
In new strains with unknowns unfurled.
According to the news reports,
Some infected people to date
Make public minglings of all sorts,
Caring or knowing not what fate
Might befall them or those they meet.
Unless I choose self quarantine,
Contagion could have that next seat.
There are no signs, "This one is clean."

Some do and others do not ask,
"What's the deal with you and that mask?"

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Judgment Proof

I run a prime survival school
For serious adults who seek
To be exceptions to the rule
That most human beings are weak.
Before proceeding, each prospect
Is given a written contract,
Detailing what each should expect,
To make graduation a fact.
Water deprivation is key
To getting motivated first.
One student failed, regretably,
To focus, and he died of thirst.

He waived all liability.
His dropping dead is not on me.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Water Proof

Day 2 at the survival school,
Water deprivation today.
2 hours - I am feeling cool,
Even in this desert sun ray.
4 hours - now I'm really hot.
The school guides are telling me that
If I focus on what's been taught,
I will get where the water's at.
8 hours - cramps are killing me.
I hear me beg in slurring speech
For a drink from an old dead tree.
Guides keep the water from my reach.

10 hours - and I wonder why
Are the guides just letting me die?

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Self Conviction

Robbing a bank is lots of stress;
And here's a perfect case in point.
I thought the job was a success -
Hour later I'm in the joint.
At first I wondered what went wrong.
In and out with the mask I wore,
The stick-up went smoothly along,
'Til the cops came to my front door.
As I was booked into a cell,
I didn't have any I.D.
The cops just laughed and said, "Do tell?"
And then the truth hit hard on me.

The cops sure have dumb me to thank.
I dropped my wallet in the bank.

Sense Sonnet - Steamer

Butt Bottom

He needed some extra stitches,
So on his first day as a judge,
He could wear his precious britches.
The dry cleaners felt his ired grudge.
He said they gave him the wrong pants,
Causing him awful stress indeed,
Suing them in a song and dance
That his pants bliss was guaranteed.
54 million bucks of pain,
Sob storied by him on the stand.
Thank justice, his suit was in vain.
The jerk deserves a heavy hand.

The seat of his pants ought to be
Spanked for an asshole, first degree.

Sense Sonnet - Pumper

Lost for Good

In Southampton, England was found
My Gramps wallet lost long ago.
The finder was intent and bound,
And found my Dad in Chicago.
The wallet was then sent to Dad,
With all the contents still therein;
Some pictures of Gramps as a lad,
With his parents and other kin;
An I.D. with info embossed,
Also bills and a ticket worn.
If that wallet had not been lost,
I might not have even been born.

The ticket was for a sea trip.
First class on the Titanic ship.

Sense Sonnet - Chiller

Quiet Time

It's morning and I'm here in bed.
My mind is on a dream I had,
That I woke up and I was dead.
My day is starting off real bad.
I hear the ticking of the clock.
I know it's silly lying here,
Afraid in a frozen state of shock.
I don't know what I have to fear.
Go face your day with a bright smile,
As though there's nothing here amiss.
I want to be alone awhile,
So don't you breathe a word of this.

I can't because I have no breath,
Because the dream was really death.

Sense Sonnet - Acher

Pocahontas

Pocahontas of Jamestown fame
Married an Englishman and went
To London to live, and became
A celebrity resident.
Called Rebecca, as John Rolfe's wife,
She was treated as royalty,
Enjoying the rich social life
Of a high born famous lady.
But, her body was not used to
All the English germs she breathed down.
Yearning for the homeland she knew,
But too ill to leave London town.

At only 21 years old,
She died from England's common cold.

Sense Sonnet - Tickler

Sharing

A socialist once came to see
The self made multi-millionaire.
He asked of Andrew Carnegie
To put his great wealth up for share.
The socialist preached how unjust
For one lone man to have so much.
Carnegie put, in some disgust,
His hand to arithmetic touch.
He divided his whole wealth range
By the world population list.
Handing to him some pocket change,
Carnegie told the socialist,

"Your share of mine, I'll recompense."
"You're entitled to 16 cents."