Basic Maneuvers

Night falls.
The air is sticky
infused with white Gardenia, pungent Stephanotis.
A fountain sprays into a Koi pond, echoing across the valley.
In the distance houses hum, windows glow
as families settle into their nightly routine.

At the appointed hour
a poisonous toad Army advances
each to their predetermined post.
Thousands hop down roads, linger beneath street lamps
some are sacrificed
beneath a passing automobile tire.

Others silently lurk inside the hollow of a palm
hundreds more beneath the bug light by the well
their hungry eyes focused, tongues trigger ready.
Toad commanders direct their approval at the snap and the sizzle
of the Formosan termite swarm drawn to the light,
the Army peering skyward as roasted bodies free-fall, unfettered wings
drift aimlessly down around them.

The kamikaze swarm
continue to buzz the light in reckless abandon.
A few forestall their dinner dates
by crawling behind downspouts and into rocky crevices
while a scout is randomly brushed
by the feet of a foreign genus
rushing inside to escape the carnage,
the rank and lusty feeding
of the hoard.

Luau Feat

Rubbah slippahs lost

at crowded baby luau

puppies hearty feast.

Refuge

Woodstock Chimes

above the belly

of a palm, where coconuts lounge

beneath a fan of fronds,

that hum

at a bulging

breast of papaya bursting

green and discover this lush valley

behind the tilapia stream.

Then note

the red cardinal’s tweet

as it excretes a tomato seed

on an orange bromeliad leaf

beside a greedy centipede.

***

Emptying the Puddles-A nod to "Get Smart"

Secret agents like

Maxwell Smart and Agent 99

sometimes do reconnaissance in Hawaii

for CONTROL, a counter-intelligence agency based in Washington, D.C.

created to thwart the evil KAOS

and to release the constant pressure

of  trying to save the planet.

Today’s mission

should we choose to accept it

will be to empty the puddles.

It will take all day since it is still raining.

Max has donned a special pair of

cell phone galoshes in case he gets in over his head.

Brisk trade winds press against me

as I step out into the chill  sixty degree air.

I am assigned to assist him

and am disguised in a striped green trench coat

yellow swim cap and khaki galoshes.

Max and I are intent on the goal

as we both jump into the first puddle.

Slosh, twerk, and slosh,

Slosh, twerk, and slosh.

Katoosh, I slide on my tushie into a red-orange bromeliad

my rubber galoshes now sailing into the stratosphere.

The chief watches from above

nods his head and remarks

no one said it would be easy Agent 99

as Max nose-dives into a potted dendrobium.

And so it goes.

Suck up and retreat

Suck up and retreat

until the chief tells us to dry off

persuading Max to drag his weary

secret agent butt inside

marching us both up to a bubbling hot tub

where we can take a breather 

and spy on the neighbor’s cats.

Starting with Right

“Start with what is right, rather than what is acceptable.”~Franz Kafka

Starting with Right

It was the right door

spinning in the wrong direction

right to help

wrong to take advantage

right to give

wrong to take too much

right to love

wrong to give up everything

right to take a risk

wrong to die for a craving

right to live in peace

wrong to take a hostage

it was the right sacrifice

the wrong life.

Simple Math

For a few minutes

I feel gifted

until my inner fanatic

delivers another sucker punch

rendering the equation useless.

And as the blood drains

I sense a spangled lone star tick

has cracked my code, again.

Tiki Cartouche

Tiki Cartouche

a distant cousin, way far removed of Katya’s,

had friends

important gods from the realm of tikidom.

He was not someone to mess with

Tiki Cartouche was a fishing GOD!

Suzy Pacu from South America knew

even the Japanese koi twins, Hiroshi and Sachi

banked left

when they saw his face

above the water peering down at them

pondering today’s method for their demise.

They shit little fish pellets

when they escaped

bubbling over a Guinness

with friends on Fishbrook

and when Sachi

Fishtagrammed a pic of that massively ugly face

peering down into their living room

it horrified them even more.

Astounding what with progress and all

they were still being terrorized

by that wooden man wearing shell earrings, with shells for eyes.

Lucy the catfish had looked once, had reported of

the hulking shadow, had heard the loud drone beyond and

sitting atop his shoulders numerous white angelic creatures with wings

Lucy was smart; she had called them cattle egrets, which had mystified them all, they were certainly outnumbered. it was bad enough they had to watch for Sadie the

fish hawk, who oft times dropped her prey onto the muddy banks. Sadie had cannibalized poor Archie in front of all of them. Archie had been in denial about his weight problem.

Better to be safe Lucy had said

and whatever you do

don’t stare into Tiki’s eyes or he will pluck them out and shell you.

OMG, what is shell! they gasped among themselves, for no-one wanted to admit they didn't know,

as they swished about the pond panic stricken, burying themselves inches below the mud.