Straw, Sticks, and Bricks
If there are three sons,
only the youngest
will receive the golden goose.
If there are three pigs,
the first two will be
breakfast and lunch,
and the last indigestion.
Fools might build
with straw and sticks.
Hard work might turn away
old Huff and Puff,
but that is not the lesson.
No one wants
to be a cautionary tale,
or to find sharp teeth
in grandmother’s bed.
This world is wolves
and empty stomachs
and howling in the dark forest.
They do not always knock.
~~
Happy Birthday, Quix!
If there are three sons,
only the youngest
will receive the golden goose.
If there are three pigs,
the first two will be
breakfast and lunch,
and the last indigestion.
Fools might build
with straw and sticks.
Hard work might turn away
old Huff and Puff,
but that is not the lesson.
No one wants
to be a cautionary tale,
or to find sharp teeth
in grandmother’s bed.
This world is wolves
and empty stomachs
and howling in the dark forest.
They do not always knock.
~~
Happy Birthday, Quix!
The secret of poetry is cruelty.--Jon Anderson