Blue Pastures of the Sky

I worry about you like you worried about Chloe

the day I never brought her home from the vet;

Would she be happy in Heaven?

Would someone throw the ball for her?

Take her for long walks across the blue pastures

Of the sky?

But I can’t rescue you from adulthood.

All I can do is cheer you from the sidelines

like I used to do in Nationals

Wish you fangs and claws to fight off the trolls,

The sting of the scorpion

A heart as fierce as Balerion, the dragon

From Game of Thrones,

But peaceful and playful as Puff, that magic dragon

From Honalee.

• pic by ilse orsel from Unsplash.com

You’re a 78 now

You’re a 78 now

like

a vintage vinyl record

from the fifties

an Elvis or a Buddy

fresh

forever young

may you spin long

on the turntable

of life

A Cadaver of Red

 

What is your wish? said the genie.

A cadaver of red, please.

A cadaver of red? Don’t you mean a cask or bottle? Or perhaps a magnum? I’ve had a glass or three myself. I’m feeling generous. How about a jeroboam — I’ve never granted one of them — or, maybe even, a nebuchednezzar?

No, thanks, mate. A cadaver of red, said the lazy vampire