When Mama Zen
asked us for brevity
I thought ’twas the
height of levity
For how could I
ever think to contrive
the breadth of my soul
in a mere forty-five?
Yet brief it must be so
I bequeath to you, my-
© 2013 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads has Words Count With Mama Zen, who sets the limit at 45 words or less. I may break most rules, question authority, and generally raise hell in politics, but… “when Mama ain’t happy, ain’t NObody happy!”
Also at Poets United, where they let me blather on all I want. Mama Z, thanks. This is a good exercise for me!
A bit of doggerel from your dogged friend, Amy
Heads or Tails
Symbiosis
Play or battle?
Neither realizing
both have scales
and cold blood
More things in common
than not
So it is with the game of war
played out across the globe
The US, the big fat crocodile
Everyone else worldwide
viewed by our military leaders as
slippery, needlekiller snakes
Croc’s jaws are mighty,
but venom has its own power
© 2013 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Mama Zen’s Words Count prompt at Imaginary Garden With Real Toads gave us several gorgeous scientific images by Maria Sibylla Merian. I chose this because I could not ignore the balance of this drawing; and yet, there’s also an imbalance. So size “matters,” but the lithe serpent has fangs. This could go either way. The huge, well-fed croc (America) seems to have control over the snake (pick a country), but will that be the end? Or shall the snake morph into Medusa, exacting her own revenge… or quagmire? As a tiny scale on that croc, I wish I had some sway, some say, over who the hell is grinding our military jaws in MY name. Both let go, everybody wins. Aren’t we above animal games?
NOTES ON ILLUSTRATOR: Ms. Merian was a woman ahead of her time. She traveled (with her daughter and – GASP! – no male guardian) in 1699 to South America to illustrate wildlife. Click on the “Toads” link to see more of her artwork, which is all public domain. The name of her insect collection, published in 1705, is Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium; however, this is obviously from another collection.
Also posted at my snake-free swamp (in the very best M*A*S*H sense of the word), Poets United. Peace, Amy
Sharp Little Pencil 