Two Poems by S. T. Eleu

 

THE FOX, THE SCORPION, & THE SKUNK

Fox, kicking back against a riverside poplar, rolled

her eyes when Scorpion sidled up with twice the smarm

oozing from their exoskeleton, oozing as if musk

from the tail end of their shoremate, Skunk

fool my kind once: natural selection

attempt it twice: prepare for vivisection

Scorpion, needing to cross the river, had no desire 

to end up as fish food like their insolent cousin of yore

so they locked up their stinger, handed the key to Fox

and warned her of Skunk’s spasmodic approach 

nothing ventured: species stagnation 

nothing gained: species cessation

Skunk, smiling the smile of furious form rabies, raised

his tail, his voice, his flag of hydrophobic irascibility

then launched into a rant about the evilly evil evils

of rain, of unlikely allies, of unholy alliances, of rivers

come lie with me: I have neither fleas nor gas

trust me: never will I ever never bite you in the ass

Fox and Scorpion, shaking water off their backs, danced 

upon the green, green grasses of the opposite shore

and sang to the moon, to the stars, the next day’s sun

songs of survival, of friendship, de libertad, de Muerte

if the enemy of your enemy is to be your friend

make nice right away or else you’ll get it in THE END

CHEAP LOCKS

robberies

again rattle the neighborhood

Police Chief gives a press conference

blames everything on cheap locks

everything

then washes his hands, puts on sunglasses

slowly        walks        away

* * * 

neighbors: Richard, Hannah, Venancio, Karam

fed up with weasel words, wolf-snake winds

form a council of mages

so as to combine their unique skill sets

unique 

and then some

conjuration, herbalism, technomagic, psychokinesis

* * *

potions mixed, charms blessed, entryways enchanted

each spell bestowed with a personal piquancy 

each spell cast with devil-may-care knavery 

to serve and protect families, homes, relics, sanity

protect

ab iniuria aliquem 

defendere

* * *

two thieves break into Richard’s home

but instead of ransacking the place for valuables

they have an uncontrollable urge to take out the trash

fix the screen door, do the laundry

laundry

sorting, presoaking, loading

unloading, loading, unloading, loading, . . .

* * *

Hannah’s second cousin sneaks in to grab

what she can convert to cash fast

so odd to see her later, though, bathing

the rescue cats: Krallen and Claus

claws

box of bandages, business card of her sponsor 

under the blow dryer

* * *

thief uses a keyless entry hack to jack Venancio’s truck

but finds himself driving to the local supermarket 

where he shops for the family’s groceries

where he shops for the family’s unmentionables

unmentionables

hexxxxxxid cxxxm, lxxe shxxxoo, bxdxug sxxxy

axxe cxxxm, txxo shxllx, fxxxxn pxzzx, . . .

* * *

an identity thief rifles through Karam’s garbage

finds a magic flute, marching band sheet music, moldy cheese

in no time he’s pied piping About Damn Time up and down

the alleys of broken glass, lost mittens, swole-ass rats

RATS

squeak, squeak, tickle: EEK

squeak, squeak, nibble: OUCH

* * *

the council comes together for dinner, discusses

the Sox, the heatwave, the symphony, the Police Chief

found passed out in his car with someone

who was neither his wife nor his niece

neither

rumor has it he’ll keep his job, and why not

crime is down

S. T. Eleu - Raised in Vegas then exiled to Chicago, I (they, them – gay, femme) have been a musician, teacher, and neurodivergent Vulcan. Gloriously retired from time clocks and authority figures: life is good. Real, real good.