And I was like, Emilio? Emilioooooooooooo!!

[Emilio]

Donner, thank you so much for dropping by again, and for your support, and I'm glad you liked Fish, and you made me smile too, the imagery of fish bits the cat left on the desk = ). I was inspired by Avalanche's animal poems, so I'm going to continue on to see if I could do seven of them. Thanks again for dropping by, here's the next poem!




23. Ear


I own ear, I want to be the owner ear
thinks I am. I wish only for the best ear:

ear, to the party of the red elephant,
the yellow and purple high-tops

around the basketball ear, the girl
on girl with chubby cheeks ear,

the things ear wishes it could see on TV.
I once lied to ear only to fill it with truths.

And the owner it thinks I am. I asked
ear if ear will live longer than me. I asked

ear if my voice is pleasing. I punished ear
with cotton balls. Sometimes I tell ear no-

body wants me, only to hear ear
tell it to me too. I told ear to stay in its cage,

this house, where I am,
where I’m always awake. I remind ear

how expensive it is to replace ear,
but it can be done. I asked ear if it wished

it had feet, to walk out of this place,
find some different owner to torment. Ear.

I asked ear to bring me a car alarm,
a telephone, a cat calling pervert. Ear.

Anything to appease it, as I want
to be the owner it thinks I am.

And to this day, it never leaves me,
this alter ego, this parrot.

[PClem]

Glad to have time to read other people's poetry again. Love the ghazals, you do them like nobody can. Fish is awesome. Everything you do, you do with an eye for the unusual in the usual everyday objects. Love your work.

Laurie

[Emilio]

Thank you, PC, you're the best!



24. Dog

Scraping the floor
of my carpet, the sound
of a West Highland White Terrier
who hasn’t yet realized
he’ll spend the rest of his life
in a Walkin' Drag Bag,
having paralyzed the lower half
of his body with an oncoming car.
But nobody communicated this sadness
to the tail and hind legs, however,
who still try to move, held back
in the work of doggie parts
and the new manner
in which they have been demoted,
being pulled like the tail of a lobster.
Foolish dog, having befriended
a five year old boy,
and his tennis ball.

[Emilio]

25. Floor


The house is creaking.

Its sounds are foot and pier
plank over ocean. And I,
in that boat, hide

in the hangover. In its dark,
I find the floor

where two brothers wrestled,
or father and son fight, or

the marriage ring mother threw.

And in the bottle, I find,
more ocean.

[5th column]

We're almost there......

Just a word of praise for Floor - a return to the original idea in the first poem. The imagery here is lovely and the poem itself has the sense of calm I find in many original haiku. Great closing image and the economy of words highlights its strength.

[Arlene]

I love Ear. Floor is fascinating, hiding in the hangover, finding more ocean, the poem's its own wrestling match.

[Blythe]

Dude, Emilio! You are winning this thing! You hit the kitty ditty. You have built two ghazals where there were no ghazals before. The jumpery aroundery of pieces from different parts of the month is fun and interactive, letting me build my own idea of your work. This is fabulous.

I jumped around, so I didn't catch everything here, but I particularly enjoyed Gate and Floor. The ending of that one is strong. I'll be back to check how you finish the month and put more pieces together. Thanks for this great work, and bravo!

[Janet]

You're skilled at creating a unique sense of amicability and warmth in your poems with characters that are human and relatable.

Fish- we know that beta is doomed from the beginning! Funny.

Ghazal of Nourishment- especially loved the lines that related to mother- missing her/her cooking before she's even gone.

[Emilio]

Thank you, 5th, Arlene, Blythe, Janet! I'm starting to run out of gas, I don't know if I have four more left in me. Thank you all again for your continued support!




26. Doorbell


What is the weight of happiness?
To remind myself, I ring the doorbell.

From inside the little box on the door,
another door. On the other side,

the Jahova witness hands me the pamphlet
for which she has plowed a thousand fields.

Behind the stately skirt, the power of God.
And I imagine what holy feels like.

But a seed wrapped in words gathers no water,
as a moan, behind a door, gathers its ring.

[Dunc]

Emilio

Eternity — Line 3 is very funny, 5-6 and 11-12 are powerful. Full of interest.

Ear — A great notion, maybe not quite organised yet, but full of wit and inference.

Dog — Aw, sad. Give him a pat for me.

Floor — That's remarkably good — tight, vivid, exact images.

Doorbell — The weight of happiness? Before or after? The non sequitur in the last verse is perfect.

Great work!

Regards / Dunc

[beeswax]

Emilio – Ear, Dog, and Floor are all fabulous. Floor was one that resonated especially with me. The atmosphere of that house is tangible. Your whole thread is worth reading and rereading. Your poems convey a profound humanity.

[Jaxy Mono]

I'll be honest. I'm not liking this; I'm finding it creepy and stalkerish. And I'm not even a girl!

[Emilio]

Bees, you have been so supportive this entire NaPo, and for that my sincerest thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed Floor, that was my surprise poem so far this NaPo, I like how that one turned out. I've already tightened it up a little further, I can't wait to see what happens with this one. Thank you again, Bees! Jaxy Mono, thank you for dropping by and for your honesty, it has helped me to see what's possibly being seen and not seen in Doorbell. And it's okay, not all poems are liked or are likeable. But if a poem stirs emotion, then it has done its job. Now for you, Jaxy Mono, a nice fluffy squirrel poem,




27. Squirrel


In the park outside my window,
a squirrel tail freezes. moves. freezes.
And moves, on a tree bough
as though configuring the perfect feather position
for a hat.

But this is no slow exercise in design.

This is the work of hunger, and give and take.
A squirrel knows, a massage to the back of the oak
will coax the acorns to fall. And then it’s quick work
to bury the nuts and make a personal pantry of the park.

[Emilio]

28. Tarantula


I understand, homesickness.
For some, perceptions are important.
A bed should disappear into the ground;
the legs of a table should be everywhere;
and the importance of glitter. I understand
the need to redecorate at times, but
lining the entire floor with webbing
is a bit overkill, heh? And don’t blame me
for the cookie cutter living arrangements.
Blame Petco!

[Emilio]

29. Egg


Hiking among the rocks,
I find an egg,
untouched and beautiful,
white in the way white could be
among the dirt and rocks.
And I imagine what will hatch:
a burnt chicken asada dinner,
the buildings of Tokyo, destroyed
by electric spine and fire breathe.
Donald Trump’s next hair style.
Not knowing what terror this egg
would bring upon the world,
into my home, I left it alone.