Philosophers in the Checkout Line
St. George
Edits
Rhyming Poems
Philosophers in the Checkout Line
by Dan Leach (a.k.a., "The Masked Bard")
Josephus is reading the Enquirer --
He likes the vignettes and miraculous endings --Plutarch puts back People before he gets to the counter --
Too different a view of what constitutes a "great life" --
And what should be said about it --Plato reads an interview in the Star --
He's not sure what to make of their dialogues --Voltaire reads Newsweek --
And thinks O. J. lives in the best of all possible worlds --
A new Candide --Aristotle is arguing with the checker
At the head of the Express Line --
Says that since all matter is composed of
The four basic elements --
Earth, Air, Fire, and Water --
That his cart full of groceries should count
As four items...Think I'll try another store next week...
Published by New Spirit Press
St. George
For Kathy
by Dan Leach (a.k.a., "The Masked Bard")
I've slain a dragon for you
But, unaccustomed to the role
Of damsel in distress
You cast the heads aside
You want the part of the hero
Portia, not Helen or Electra
Yang not yin
And send me away
With an injunction --
Said I should have filed
An "Environmental Impact Statement" --
"Surely," you said,
"You must have known
That dragons are
An endangered species..."
Published in Array Magazine
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Edits
For Dee
by Dan Leach (a.k.a., "The Masked Bard")
Dark, the night --
And lonely --
The stars cry out
For want of moon --
Soft, the breeze --
But sapping --
And I reach back to you...
A night like this...
Wet kisses, a surprised smile --
It didn't happen this way,
My desires editing the memory.
A different passion.
Instead of anger about the future,
We look to the pleasures of now.
We make love on the grass,
Amid the cold dew.
Giggling afterwards
Brushing the weeds
From our bodies and clothing.
I'm happy with the edit,
My new memory of that night...
Merging other memories into this one.
It should have happened this way,
With a "happily ever after" --
But we didn't know our lines.
Published in Muddy River Poetry Review