The Asses of Parnassus

Short, witty, formal poems. Submit: [email protected] Follow on Twitter: @thatbrookeclark

[assesofparnassus]

When Adam said, At last!     my flesh and bone! He thought that Eve    was his and his alone. But Eve, by God!    was breathing on her own.

--Barbara Loots

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Ennui

If you had called, it would not matter, but I remember when it would. I am not mad and feel no sadder, but wish I could.

--Don Adams

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On Lawn

You follow laws that teach the love of lawn with hollow honey-tonguèd eulogies to our beloved butterflies and bees? O statesmen of suburbia, they're gone for want of weed to feed upon.

--Matthew King

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My Son

Two trades are not worth getting into: That’s dealing drugs and trading crypto.

--B.N. Faraj

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In My Eighties: for Shakespeare

As second childishness and mere oblivion Draw near, I leave the lights above the privy on.

--Gail White

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Strings Attached

Rich puppeteers might think they pull some strings, But how naively they make bullies kings.

--David D. Horowitz

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Bouguereau's "Les Oréades" (1902)

I'm not a prude, but having viewed

this multitude of nude, nude, nude,

I'm in a mood that's far from lewd.

My attitude is "Really, dude?"

--Julie Steiner

[assesofparnassus]

And After All

There has to be a reason I hate "Wonderwall" so much,    Though frankly I'm unsure about the basis: Do I despise the song--the lyric, melody, and such--    Or is it that I simply loathe Oasis?

--Steven Kent

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Reading Frost's "The Gum-Gatherer"

Robert sure had balls. This gum-gatherer is none other than Wordsworth’s leech-gatherer in flannel shirt and overalls.

--J.R. Solonche

[assesofparnassus]

The Joys of Getting Hearing Aids

For the first time in oh-so-many years I hear mosquitoes whining in my ears.

--Robin Helweg-Larsen

[assesofparnassus]

Here We Are Again

A poem-hating critic might, Say that tiresome poems just say, "Life is fleeting." That could be right, It might be trite, But the message somehow bears repeating. 

--Aaron Nydegger

[assesofparnassus]

Not Happening

I understand that a correct plural of index is indices, but please don't expect I'll blow my nose in kleenices.

--Roderick Bates

[assesofparnassus]

Madison Capers

Cajoled by Ashley M, I stare, Then answer back, as is my wont: "Life’s short," you say, "have an affair?" Eternity looks longer.  Don’t.

--Ruth S. Baker

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Bent

The gross misinformation spewed by strangers and by friends Has infinite capacity to spawn--it never ends. These errors that engulf us do not yield, will not relent; I set so many people straight, and still the world is bent.

--Steven Kent

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I Live For Beauty

I live for beauty and its pain; To die for it? A death in vain.

--Alexis Goodfellow

[assesofparnassus]

The Passing of a Noted Critic

Detraction was the attraction.

--J.R. Solonche

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Catullus Copycat

You are such a flaming narcissist while preening as a learned Classicist. Like Catullus, hendecasyllables on sex are what you write to get you banned on X.

--Royal Rhodes