Monday, May 26, 2025

rampage in a puce t-shirt


by bofa xesjum



the corpse was gray
professor denby considered it in a brown study
jerry wore a puce t-shirt

the rhubarb was green
jerry’s t-shirt had letters on it that read - i hate you
sergeant redman observed jerry’s t-shirt with visible distaste

jerry had taken his t-shirt to the laundromat only the day before
the purple elephant rampaged through the dry grass
red jokes were in vogue

the flower was white
professor denby’s suit was a curious shade of yellow
which contrasted poorly with his black mood

the rhubarb was green that year
when jerry took his t-shirt to the laundromat
but the rhubarb’s crunchiness was widely questioned

especially by the purveyors of red jokes
albert wore a brown derby
while the purple elephant rampaged through the unfortunate village

counselor jones did not find jerry’s t-shirt at all amusing
and did not care much for red jokes either
sergeant redman was more determined than ever to catch the purple elephant

which was disappearing over the blue horizon
as henry told a bright red joke
but the yellow wall was highly polished

the corpse had a gray pallor
albert took off his brown derby
when jerry went back to the laundromat it was closed


the problematic incandescense


by bofa xesjum



please start over
the hornets buzzed around the minister
the barbarian surveyed the quicksand

the gastronomy of a panther is always problematical
especially when the rhubarb is incandescent
the aardvark reposed in tranquility

the minister seemed barely sentient
the barbarian turned back to the guests and laughed heartily
the hornets seemed to lack leadership or a purpose

suddenly a deluge of panthers broke through the barrier
spreading uncertainty and chaos
still the minister paid no heed

roger’s yellow arm beckoned frantically from the quicksand
the panthers halted as one
or so the story goes

the rhubarb glowed smugly
roger’s beckonings took on a curious rhythm
what a joke! samantha exclaimed pointedly

the joke is on you, the alpha panther replied
you find negligence humorous, do you? aggie shot back
the aardvark kept his own counsel during the whole fracas

i have had enough, the barbarian asserted, and left the room
come back! come back! roger pleaded defensively
give the ectoplasm some leeway, please

please, i beg of you
poor roger!
but the ectoplasm showed itself a terrible personality in the crisis


Thursday, May 22, 2025

bump in the road


by bofa xesjum



walter always wore a yellow jacket when riding his bicycle
his kinesis was quite humorous
suddenly an altercation broke out

some of the participants grew quite heated
the people who rule the world are idiots who understand nothing
their kinesis can be rather overwhelming

the altercation continued unabated throughout the long afternoon
arthur always had an apple with his lunch, which he brought to work in a clear plastic bag
david and iiolanthe had really good ectoplasm for their age

the entrance to the castle is off limits to uncle joes and johns
who is your uncle joe?
walter and arthur both dreamed of becoming first minister

the doll fell out of the window
it was raining out
arthur was not sure what the word kinesis meant

walter slowed down in the rain
the people who rule the world are idiots who understand nothing
even if they have really good ectoplasm for their age

number 44 was one of the idiots who rule the world, but thought of himself as a nice guy
walter and arthur were both in love with sally jones
and were both a bit confused as to what the word kinesis meant

uncle joe stated openmouthed at the no trespassing sign at the castle entrance
his legerdemain was hilarious
walter put horseradish on his ham and eggs in the morning

arthur always had an apple with his lunch, which he brought to work in a clear plastic bag
joe, john shouted, what in blazes is going on here?
david knew very well that what he was doing was jejune


Monday, May 19, 2025

never


by j t yemberley





i will never be as famous as donald trump
or elon musk
or frank james
or george washington

or henry viii
or isaac newton
or jesse james
or jack kerouac or omar khayyam

or leonarfdo da vinci or lawrence of arabia
or moses
or nebuchanezzar
or oscar wilde

or philip k dick
or queen victoria
or richard the lion hearted
or shakespeare

or tom thumb or p t barnum or sitting bull or annie oakley
or uncle bud russell
or leonardo da vinci or queen victoria
or wild bill hickok

or king arthur
or yeti
or emile xola
or anybody who ever walked down

broadway
or central avenue
or death valley
or that lonesome valley

alone
or with a million followers
chanting my name
or raising their fists to the blue

sky
bird
belle
ball


Thursday, May 8, 2025

johnny and jackie, part 2


by bofa xesjum

part two of ?



jackie did not decide to hate johnny overnight.

he had been encouraged to do so by colonel musgrave,

and by ralph johnson, who was not what he seemed to be.

johnny , on the other hand, suspected none of this.

it started to rain.

the circus was in town.

sitting behind the wheel of his state police cruiser, eddie watched the big tent go up.

no matter where he was, jackie was alone with his thoughts.

ralph johnson observed jackie from under the brim of his straw hat.

because that was the kind of guy ralph johnaon was.

sometimes jackie forgot exactly why he hated johnny.

raindrops ran down the window of the diner.

mona starbuck remembered the last stranger who passed through town.

the two strangers stopped and watched the circus tent go up.

the first stranger - the original stranger - came up behind them.

hatred can be a curious thing.

sheriff john brown did nor care for circus people, especially clowns,

was johnny really as good a person as all that?

was sheriff john brown really as bad a person as all that?

and what about mona starbuck?

so far, nobody asked johnny what he thought the whole situation.

or stagger lee, for that matter.

what do you think?

and what does eddie, sitting in his cruiser watching the circus tent go up in the rain, think?

the two strangers nodded to each other and proceeded into town.

colonel musgrave poured himself another stiff drink.

mona starbuck got up and turned on her new television set.


Wednesday, May 7, 2025

johnny and jackie, part 1


by bofa xesjum

part one of ?



the stranger came down the road, and did not look left or right.

jackie was the jealous type.

and when the strangers came to town, jackie took notice.

jackie hated johnny.

and jackie did not like the looks of the strangers.

rlaph johnson never harmed anybody.

stagger lee had an understanding with sheriff john brown.

sheriff john brown was a bad person.

one of the worst.

or so the strangers had been told.

colonel musgrove poured himself a stiff drink.

the strangers looked out the window as he dd so.

mona starbuck remembered the last stranger who passed through town.

stagger lee remembered him too.

his name was ———————.

eddie was in the state police.

but then, jackie did not care for too many people.

the stranger - the original stranger - walked into marie;s diner.

sheriff john brown looked up from his cup of black coffee.

jackie, who hated everybody, looked up from his slice of blueberry pie.

outside, it started to rain.

sheriff john brown hesitated - he had a date with stagger lee.

sheriff john brown loved the rain.

johnny was a good person.

jackie hated johnny because he was a good person.

eddie was on the way.