Slink Shot: a Photograph of a Digital Enhancement of a Drawing of a Slinky by Ulysses Poe

Colored pencils on illustration board, digitally modified: 12" by 10" by Uly Poe

The "Gh"ost in the Machination: New Nonsense from PlaysWellWithLetters

                                                                       A, b...c, d...e, f…gh. 
                                                            ABCs plus nonsense…? Ugh!

                                                       Abbreviated alphabets…? Ouch! 
                                                     You despise truncation…? Tough!

                                              Objections...? Filed in yonder trough! 
                                    Those folks who keep objecting...? Through. 
(Our inquiries are stringent. Our interrogation methods...? Thorough.)

Positive, Comparative, Absurditive: Riposte & Repost

Wolaly on 'OLD' > 'NEW'

Line six, the sixth rung in this wolaly 
ladder, may seem to certain readers 
as at best a stretch and at worst a 
catastrophe. For the poet, however, 
this choice of word is, in fact, the 
clinamen which guarantees the 
integrity of the piece -- or so he 
would insist. In the end, of course, 
you decide.

     Septet
"Lamps new for lamps old"...?
The whole bus'ness rings odd:
ought the Sorcerer add
perks -- small off'rings to aid
a swift wrap...? And how did
young Aladdin's woke d(j)in(n)
spring our lad from that den...?

     Volta 
(Rare Arabian dew:
never old, ever new.)

Current Events Q&A: It's a Grand New Flag

     

"Bracken, Chive 'n' Madder"
chemical marker and colored pencil
on copy paper, digitally modified,
by Ulysses Poe

Hooray for the Red White and Blue!
  
  Which 
hues imbue brave battle flags 
unfurl'd by Black Lives
Matter...?     
     Tri-colors only Opal* wags, 
dyed bracken,** chive*** 'n'
madder.****

     * Opal Tometi, one of three
co-founders of the movement.
     ** Bracken is a dark orange.
     *** Chive (PMS 19-0323) is
a medium-dark yellow-green.
     **** Madder (PMS 19-
1331) is a red-brown hue.

Opticalloozza #1865: Black or White?

You may find this hard to
believe but research subject
#1 at left -- let's call him
Lindsey -- is actually white.
Lindsey seems black because
he appears against an all
white background. Research
subject #2 at right -- we'll
call him Cornel -- seems
white because Cornel
appears against a black
background. This is a
phenomenon called luminosity, i.e., a measure of the number of photons
radiating from each subject's skin. Try playing this skin game at home with 
neighborhood friends.

Opticalloozza #1776 The Phantom Phrankphurter

Hold your hands in front of you, at
20- to 30-cm distance from you, at
eye level. Point your index fingers
towards each other and slowly move
them closer together.

As your index fingers draw closer to
each other, gaze "through" your
fingers into the distance behind them.
The illusion works best when the
background is homogenous and has a
color much different from your fingers.

A hot dog will appear now between the
tips of your index fingers -- pork or all
beef, on a standard bun or Kaiser roll
and with an array of fixin's, depending
upon your religious and gustatory
preferences.

Covidiots' Delight In Seven Fits

Cory caught the COVID.

(He would not wash his hands.)

He cried. (He ached!) His dry skin flaked.

By five he understands:

to last (survive) past five past five,

he'll need to cede his glands.
     Chinese catch the COVID.
The Spanish catch it, too.
Around the globe, folks jaw like Job:
"This frickin' ain't no flu."

     II. 
Cassandra caught the COVID.
(To distance she chose not.)
She gasp'd for air. She lost her hair.
Her plasma would not clot.
We buried her with care -- with myrrh --
within the fam'ly plot.
     Koreans catch the COVID,
as does the New York Jew.
Around the globe, folks jaw like Job:
"The docs ain't got no clue."
     
     III.
Conrad caught the COVID.

(He would not isolate.)

“Funk, that,” he spat. “I’ll don this hat

and make the country great.”

The surgeons said he’ll soon be dead

unless they amputate.
     Caucasians catch the COVID:
can't cats from Katmandu...? 
Around the globe, folks jaw like Job:
"Who spawn'd this...? You know who!"

     IV. 
Candice caught the COVID.

(She would not wear a mask.)

“No way,” shriek'd she, "shall they make me

perform so twee a task.”

Today we’ll tin her ashes in 
this crematory cask.
     Creationists catch COVID.
Darwinians do, too.
Around the globe, folks jaw like Job:
"Just bid your bod adieu."

     V. 
Cosmo caught the COVID.
He heard on Murdoch News:
"You've nowt to fear. Toss out that gear!
Excrete elitists's views!"
Once Cosmo pass'd, schmuck Tucker gass'd
re nitwits' right to choose.
     Chileans catch the COVID;
ditto persons from Peru.
Around the globe, folks jaw like Job:
"Who prays that we pull through...?"

     VI. 
To coves who've caught the COVID:

note caref’lly what’s been done.

Who was it said the guff which led

to ends fa-a-a-a-ar short of fun...?

What's next in line post COVID-19…?

-20…? -21…?
     There's none don't catch the COVID.
(Has COVID devil'd you...?)
Around the globe, folks jaw like Job:

"This frickin' ain't no flu." 

     Coda:

(Once a vaccine is available, a final verse -- 
a coda -- will be composed featuring the 1/3 
of Americans who will boycott vaccination
citing as justification one myth or another.)

Early Portrait of Author at Work

A is for 'A'! Letter I

"I is for 'I'!"

As egos vie,
each gal 'n' guy
feels (s)he's the fly-
est person.
"'The Most'...?"
Well...my 
reposte goes "I!
If not, why ply
this versin'...?"

< A rarity: a pic of me,
le bel esprit N. Smithe-Magee.

A is for 'A'! Letter H

"H is for 'H'!"

     No 
taste, no smell...
nor none can tell
its hue. (Is't yel-
low stuff...?)
As H it's known.
(This table's shown:
the world can't own 
enough.)