Songs For My Father (Unpub)

     The original 

     On the 

good...ship...Lollipop,

it’s a sweet...trip to the candy shop
where bon-bons play...
...on the sunny beach of peppermint bay.

  And several variants

     On the 

good...ship...Bali, Pop,

fans of wa-...yang in Denpasar stop,
hear gong kebyar…
...then head home to pawn their twelve-string guitar.
 
     On the 

good...ship...Brolly, Pop,
you hear “drip…drip” but can feel no drop:
your bumbershoot...
...keeps the moisture off your seersucker suit.
 
     On the 

good...ship...Cali, Pop,
the cartel’s...hip: you’re a narco cop!
You’d best behave...
...lest you wind up in a Cristo Rey grave.

     On the 

good...ship...Cholly, Pop,

Count Cassi-...ni pens his gossip slop.
Society...
...doesn’t mind he holds no master’s degree.

     On the 

good...ship...'Cholly,' Pop, 

Lady Brit...yips that the slang must stop:

it makes her ill...

(This 'ere dowager's a bit of a pill.)

     On the 

good...ship...Collie, Pop,

Captain Las-...sie serves up mutton chop.
No dog food here...
...Captain Lassie makes that doggedly clear.

     On the

good...ship...Dolly, Pop,

Parton's wiglets form a golden mop--

big hair gone mad...

...like some effervescent scouring pad.

     On the

good...ship...Dali, Pop,

where your watch melts (see its big hand drop...?),

your memory...?

Like a timepiece in some Becket-like tree. 

     On the

good...ship...Dalai, Pop,

     On the

good...ship...Folly, Pop,

     On the 

good...ship...Follies, Pop, 
 
     On the 

good...ship...Frawley, Pop,
Fred and Eth-...el (subs for Mom and Pop)
are Lucy’s chums...
Meanwhile, Desi beats his Babalu drums.

     On the

good...ship..."Golly!" Pop,
 
     On the 

good...ship...Holly, Pop,
Audrey break-...fasts at that jew’lry shop.
Capote knew...
...how to tell ‘em long before he turn’d Tru.

     On the

good...ship...Jolly, Pop,

     On the

good...ship...Kali, Pop,
 
     On the 

good...ship...Lalli, Pop.
Was he real...? Or Finnish agitprop…?
He swung his axe...
...and a bishop slew. (No legend. Just facts.)

     On the

good...ship...Molly, Pop.

     On the 

good...ship...Mali, Pop,

     On the 

good,,,ship...Ollie, Pop,
 
     On the 

good...ship...Polly, Pop,
Captain Byrd...heads to The Critter Shoppe
to parrots sell...
(In the hold he harbors budgies as well.)

     On the 

good...ship...Quale, Pop,
hallmarks rule, objets themselves we drop.
Is zest a thing…?
Yep, quite sep’rate from its Buffalo wing.

     On the 

good...ship...Raleigh, Pop,
addicts har-...vest Big Tobacco’s crop.
Thick blacken’d tongues...
...bloat as cancer eats through tummies and lungs.

     On the

good...ship..."Solly!" Pop,
 
     On the 

good...ship Svengali, Pop,
feckless ar-...tistes tend to come a-cropp.'
Headlong each falls...
...and the depths to which he plummets appalls.

     On the 
good...ship Tamale, Pop,
jalapenos in the salsa’s pop-
ularity…?
Through the roof! (It still seems loco to me.)

     On the 

good...ship...Thali, Pop,
flavors – six! – chefs on your platter drop --
from sweet, salt, spice…
...bitter, sour, astringent. (Nepalese nice!)

 
     On the 

good...ship...Trolley, Pop,
Liza's Ma...whirls like a spinning top.

She sings a song...
...'bout a cable car like nothing was wrong.

     On the 

good...ship...Volley, Pop,

first we fire...shells and our victims drop.

The thoughts and prayers...

...offer'd won't assuage The Fellow Upstairs.

     On the

good...ship...Wally, Pop,

     On the 

good...ship...Wall-E, Pop,