Tippett grumbles tweely
wormwood scrubs
confined to barracks
shakebog blitzed crude argot wine
floorsuck sonic toe wipe shine
invasion swots up Apenine
blue wasps stumble coarse scree
try too too hard to please yourselves
please no-no-no-no one
capricious Amy said with zest
war begets a war in jest
Quite like Eliot’s Hollow Men
I
neither impressed nor depressed just pressed
II
Psst (confidence follows):
a giant ravenous fly eschews flesh
an impecunious hero
it’s yellow
leaves it clear
up to future generations
III
Heads full of straw, or, as the wiseacre put it:
“Full of shit and twigs”
How I laughed out loud when that first I heard
“…nobody does it sweater
makes me feel sad for the vest”
sad when sequels disappoint
that’s why you have them
like sloppy seconds
Grimbeau 