"For the snark was a boojum you see."
-- Lewis Carroll
Live precious few who, pressured to
recall their fav'rite lark,
would favor us with answer thus:
"Mine's hunting of the snark."
Instead, these days, knights errant trace
grotesques of diff'rent race:
 |
| Acephalus |
Mythical acephali, headless, display their
facial features across their torsos. (N.B.: having no head does not imply having no hair.)
What fool'd forget each pain, each fret,
each almost-fatal sally
he sweated besting, then arresting,
awful acephali...?
(Remember'd, too...? Each sharp review
of Grampa's Rand McNally.)
 |
Bishop-fish |
Sycophants kowtowing to legendary bishop-fish are urged to purchase Bibles, autographed by these creatures, at a small discount.
Who'd not confess each strain, each stress
(though kvetching's not their wish)...?
Their wont...? Explore the ocean floor
for beastly bishop-fish --
which, serv'd with chips on pirate ships,
most mates pronounce, "Delish!")
 |
Chromandi |
Sharp-fanged monkey-like men who, insists Pliny the Elder, roam urban jungles, are covered in blond hair and, tho' claiming "the best words," routinely resort to screams.
No reb'd mislay his trebuchet.*
Such weaponry proves handy
when, marching forth, one dead-heads north
to capture cru'l chromandi,
whose practiced art's to grab gals' parts --
their modus operandi.
*In the US, read "...forget his trebuchet."
 |
Djinn |
Supernatural beings encountered in medieval Arab traditions, these devilish spirits are shapeshifters, often held captive in bottles of many kinds and, released, wreak global havoc.
A young'un (three -- too gung ho...? Oui!),
I took it on the chin:
the Kids' Krusade! (Mistakes were made
when disembow'ling djinn.)
 |
Echidna |
Living alone in a gated temple and worship'd by people of the nearby land, the half-snake Echidna bears numerous monstrous offspring.
Though now she's dead, I've often read
of one (d'ya think I'd kid ya...?)
who grabs her truncheon after lunch 'n'
slays ten men: Echidna!
(To best avoid this mongoloid,
each man of wit stays hid, huh...?)
(continued elsewhere)
