Poems
by KJ Hannah Greenberg

 

Questionable Sanity

 

Legos, sometimes, end adventures otherwise taken

At vacation’s end with small children and too many

Beach accessories, likewise, loads of dirty laundry.

 

When repeatedly recycling glass, seldom, it’s better

To sort bottles, jars, broken dreams, into types before

Attempting to stack salvaging containers else desires.

 

Arranging walks with friends benefits heart, lungs,

Except when feet turn away, traitorously, as gossip

Elicits titters, snide remarks, also arched eyebrows.

 

When four-legged fur balls, wee domesticated beasts,

Toss mouthfuls of kibble on carpets, present lifeless

Rodents as midnight gifts, or claim affection, shriek!

 

Spas’ worth depends on towels’ cleanliness, as well

As attendants’ willingness to supply soap plus other

Toiletries without being asked by shower stall clients.

 

Drips, behind partitions, customarily indicate broken

Pipes, worrisome construction, the varieties of issues

Dependably addressed thru expensive professionals.

 

Most maternal sanity’s chipped away, in small flakes,

Gets whittled down by mundane goings-on, by daily

Crumbs of challenge. No mother survives fully intact.

 

 

 

 

Quadraphonic Sound

 

4.0 surround, not birds, not flowers, usher a warmer

Season among Greek houses plus dormitories. Else,

Curves & limbs won’t dance to tunes made popular

On smartphones, via Tik Tok, on trendy YouTube.

 

Like a live concert, such gushes of noise fill lawns,

Sidewalks, small roadways, plus public cafeterias.

Skipping class is expected as multi-channel notes

Bombard passersby ‘round amplified exhilaration.

 

Frisbees, balls, and rackets, running gear, yoga mats

Replace papers, finals preparations, the completion

Of end-of-term projects. It’s difficult to concentrate

On French, thermodynamics, workshops, not songs.

 

 

 

 

 

Snerdle

 

Wrapped up cozily in bed with an aging tentatrice, you yawn,

Pull covers to your side, examine your tummy button for lint.

 

I had hoped we’d liaise, establish a working relationship, cooperate

On the matter of our mutual libidos, else hug, kiss, snuggle until we

Fell asleep, as usual, dreaming more experiences, feelings, & hopes.

 

Nonetheless, on this day, all talking, then thinking, grew silent - poetry,

Too, vanished. What remained was achy backs, neural apparati swollen

Dim from underuse, pools of saliva dripping via partially opened gops,

Similarly, assorted farts, burps, abdominal gurgling, wheezing, coughs.

 

I’d like to live a full life span. I can’t envision being widowed; you’re

My world, my barrier from despair. Thus, if we play less than when in

Our twenties, seem not so vigorous as when thirties with children, less

Extroverted than our forties, less dulcet than our fifties, I’ll yet clutch

Your hand, watch you snore, listen to your chest as it rises, then falls.

 

 

 

 

Puissance

 

Huge power, influence, prowess collect success for less than twenty minutes, or else,

Maybe, a tad longer, given that little wonders of artwork elevate, uplift most viewers,

Strongly illuminate ever substantial, unique individuality, the ends folks accomplish.

 

Sometimes, newsies quell coverage, worry over standard methods by which to exercise

Limited cultural points for behaviors, or calculated lessons seemingly not easily copied.  

Mnemonics force fêtes on mourning relatives as forlorn beloveds grasp sorrow’s litany.

 

Impromptu responses to constant, complex scenes impact survivors’ ability to accept,

To cope with old communication patterns during any healing process. Identity, vision,

Belief systems, simultaneously, get responsively reinvented, reaffirm wisdoms, ethics.

 

Semantic practices’ starting points for accountability need to include subjects covered

By specialized, not universal, referents, by the transference of ideas, by tallies of sane

Discourse. Media control of values, language, explicitly words, addresses rules & rots.

 

 

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