Life in the Slow Lane

With my boots pulled high and my belt tied low, I eyed the beast and walked real slow. "I told you to print! I'm not backing down. You do as I say or I'll run you out of town!" Now I'm a cool cumcumber of a gal, and I've been known to hold my tongue, But when a printer doesn't print, I think it should be taken out and strung! But the beast just sat there, not flinching at my glare It hummed in its rebellion and blinked!... that little hellion. I gave a great swing and slapped its hardened hide But any hint of mercy must be hidden deep inside. "You just wait! You take some time to think! 'Cause tomorrow I'll be back, and I'll make you spill your ink!"

When I first turned into the residential neighborhood of smaller, older homes, I began to wonder if maybe I would be spending the week in a room wall to wall with beds. And then I turned up a street that said "No Outlet" and slowly drove up the block, checking the house numbers: 438 and I was looking for 700. In a block with a dead end. But what a dead end! Two stone pillars on either side of a gate with a path stretching up and up and up, through gardens and wonders and... peace. And up two flights of stairs and down a long, long hallway to my room, where I throw open the curtains and find that I am perched just perfectly balanced between the world I left behind me and what lies before me: the world of misty covered mountains and open meadows. I half suspect that if I could manage to open the window without damaging the screen I could find myself in that other world Where lungs fill with an air more pure than any other Where feet walk more surely on craggy peaks Where eyes...

You know the saying "Spring is just around the corner"? Today I found the street that must have coined that phrase. I nearly stopped my car to try and convince the bare trees to start blooming like their sisters around the corner. I know that every being who ever is drawn to poetry tries their hand at paying tribute to Spring and then hides the poem in their sock drawer, but I think this spring might be worth getting a larger sock drawer.

A poem. (Not to be compared to Serapio's .) Remote controls Cordless phones Computer keyboards Cell phones PDAs Calculators Yesterday's exciting new technology Today's toy box filler Suffering the harsh realities of Speeding progress Superfluous manufacturing and Slobber Illustrating seized opportunities of Innovation Industry and Infants

Today I started coughing, really could not stop. I coughed out my left lung, with the other on top. I started weaving side to side, hoping for some air I opened windows, opened vents and stood on a chair. I drank some water and some punch, my mouth opened wide, I drank again, more potent stuff; cleaned out my inside I tell you this, 'cause it's true. I can't rhyme a lie I write slowly, yet rush on to end before I die.

One toe Two toes Three toes Four. Fifth toe It goes SMACK in Door. One toe curls One toe swells One toe keeps time for the yells One toe Two toes Three toes Four Fifth toe It grows, staying sore. One toe black One toe blue One toe makes this rhyme for you. One toe Two toes Three toes Four Fifth toe It shows battered score. One toe down One toe out One toe I can't do without. One toe Two toes Three toes Four. Fifth toe It knows nothing more.

Buy me a drink 'till I'm sober Buy me a full set of ears 'Cause I'm rich in what matters And poor in what counts. I'm sailing South on a bucket of peas You're heading North on the wind 'Cause I've got honey and money and pork chops and you've got whispers and slippers and cheese. Oh... Buy me a drink 'till I'm sober Buy me a full set of ears 'Cause I'm rich in what matters And poor in what counts. I'm sitting here wishing you'd call me And you're sitting there wishing I'd go. 'Cause I've got three cups of buffalo grass And you've got four and more to sew. Buy me a drink 'till I'm sober Buy me a full set of ears 'Cause I'm rich in what matters And poor in what counts. I'm wishing the sun would start rising You're wishing the dough would start, too 'Cause I've got bottles and baubles and donuts and you've got corn cobs and door knobs and gl...