Republished with permission of "The Wall Street Journal," July 16, 1993
#HumorousQuatrain
Midwest Opera The local mogul, tall, horse-jawed… machine-tool king, accompanied by his grim chic wife, strolls down the aisle,
Don’t shock me with your atheistic… God gave us all a book that proves… And serves us as a guide for all w… excepting parts that don’t make se… God serves us like a good psycholo…
A magic trick will awe the laity, So though it make of me a vile par… I say if he had lived Year One A… Copperfield might be today’s Mess…
Kinds of Dignity 1. A Parade: Once in his life the veteran had a chance to do a t… remote from termites, drains and f…
At a photo op outrageous beyond be… Bush does a little jig between two… back from Iraq with artificial leg… (Oh, you victims, you crippled sac… if only one of you had leaned on…
Once within his grinding life He’d had a chance at distant deeds That had no hint of daily strife, Of sticking doors, tenacious weeds… Of time cards, office drudgery,
The corpse returned from war in parts, so six soldiers now appeared, jaws like fronts of trucks, determined to portray their faith in things they thought they ought to think were just. ...
Higher Powers From birth to death some others mu… You see, as infant, round-faced, g… Above the crib, to serve you, need… Precluded by efficacy of sobs.
Freedom* Now, the fathers, having suffered… gave unto their begotten plowshare… seeds that their begotten might also pro…
The plank is narrow, more narrow than when he started; he could slip off at any time. The wood is slick, too, threatening again a premature plun…
Florida Road Kill Solemn buzzards robed in sable, Convene pro tem at death’s fruitio… A flattened armadillo as their tab… And corpus for their disquisition.
///Channel-Surfing Segued The score now even after Jordan’s… up yours, you punk, confess before… she’d deceived you, Lance, her pre… see the Bible, frayunds, Isaiah f…
Boundaries Tracing writhing streams, circling alpine wastes, tickling out a finger nudged between two behemoths,
Because far more than friendship,… Youg Willy craved the gleaming, w… That, sparkling on the dealer’s lo… Of slashing flights toward any dis… Whose neon gleam avoided grimy mil…
The Billionaire’s Apologia I pass this wretch sprawled agains… and idly but with studied bonhomie drop into his cap a dollar bill, while wondering at the deep dispar…