Plentitude
by Ann Iverson
Even near the very end
the frail cat of many years
came to sit with
me
among the glitter of bulb and glow
tried to the very last to drink
water
and love her small world
would not give up on her curious
self.
And though she staggered — shriveled and weak
still she poked her
nose through ribbon and wrap
and her peace and her sweetness were of
such
that when I held my ear to her heart
I could hear the
sea.
"Plentitude" by Ann Iverson from Mouth of Summer. © Kelsay
Books, 2017
^,^
Sewer Raccoons
A rash, an
"outbreak" of Sewer Raccoons
continues in
three coon servants
of the blind King Coon
living beneath
the city in his improvised
throne room
were seen
simultaneously emerging
from a storm
grate
These audacious
coons
are gentle burglars
serving their liege
by gathering items
from his regal
shopping lists
usually under cover
of darkness
They rove about
furtively
which gives
strength to
the belief that
they
are possibly
harmful
Good heavens
what's so bad about
their
meager wants
- bits of
broken glass
and bottle caps?
The king needs
a royal cape
and what better way
to adorn him
than with a
discarded purple velvet
drapery sample and
the colorful trash
found in our street
gutters?
I say live in
harmony with
our subterranean
friends
and be amused, not
scared,
when they tip-toe
about
touching us
Sometimes, yes,
they go beyond
their usual shyness
particularly at Halloween
when they gently
reach up pantlegs
and frighten
children sufficiently
that they drop
their sacks
of candy
Such pickings
should not be
denied
the masked faux
raiders
who do not poke
guns
in anyone's back
and say
"Stick-em
UP!"
Nor are they child molesters.
They come bearing
explicit shopping
lists
from the King:
maybe a piece of
metal
bent just so,
or a melon, or a
piece
of pizza in the
gutter
Nothing we're ever
going to miss
No breaking and
entering
no howls or shrieks
these raccoons are
more afraid of us
than we are of them
except
at HALLOWEEN
I say we welcome
the raccoons
to our
neighborhoods
Our streets are
much cleaner
for their
scavenging
Just imagine their
King
and the cape he
wears
Money cannot buy
such
improvised elegance
The King,
so old he cannot
walk
can no longer
negotiate
the long sewer distances
from the throne
room
cavern far
below the
old downown post
office
to the far-flung
street-level
residential grates
In truth
he is blind
from too many years
of being kept in
the dark
His crest may
read
"Veritas Est
Lux"
'Light, let there be
more light'
I know the coons
are
looking for a
miner's
helmet for him
and
I know the problem
of Halloween
out-and-out theft
would be cured by
tying
strings around
childrens' pantlegs
I'd even
endorse a raccoon statue
along the
that flows close
to the old post
office
our memorial ground
After all, we have
riverside cement
and iron animals
- foxes,
bears, dragon flies -
on our Riverwalk
let's elevate the
lowly
sewer raccoon
Underscoring this
scribbling
is the fact, bottom
line,
that Waukeshans are
kind
[DD '07]
^,^
  85 year old man flies kites You are old, father William https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Are_Old,_Father_William ^,^ 
Did you want fries with that?
(A Wis Guthrie creation)
^,^
New US postage Dep't
Celebrating the coming total solar eclipse
the postal department has unleashed a new Forever stamp.
When you put warmth against the stamp, such as placing it under your forearm
on your desk or writing table
or pressing it with your thumb, the newly devised thermo-ink will allow
the stamp to clearly show the face of the moon, back-lit.
In this illustration the red envelope has a stamp attached that is activated.
Beneath is shown the same stamp without applied body warmth. Pretty bleak.
^,^
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Saturday, July 1, 2017
Plentitude; Raccoons; Ray Bethell kite flying; Want fries with that?; New eclipse postage
