17. 17
"Brevity gets right to the point
doesn't dawdle, dicker, or delay
always short and sweet whenever
there is something to do
or say
brevity comes in handy when you
are subject to a chewing out
a bout of the flu
a pain in the neck
or waiting in line for the loo
in fact, this poem has gone on so long
that its recital
would no longer qualify
as an example of its title"
21. 21
Flying Solo
Time to go
. . . solo.
Teacher hops out,
open seat huge in its emptiness.
Only comfort, an airplane.
Butterflies swarm
in her stomach.
Breathe, girl.
Courage beats fear.
Taxi down the runway,
pick up speed,
pull throttle back,
wheels lift off . . .
Flying solo.
Breathe, girl.
The air up there is fine.
34. 34
There are many ways to describe Ms. Underdorf.
She was brilliant and joyous, and she believed-probably correctly-that
libraries contain the answers to everything, and that if you can’t find the
information you seek in the library, then such information probably
does not exist in this or any other parallel universe now or ever to be
known.
She was thoughtful and kind and always believed the best of everybody.
She was, above all else, a master librarian and knew where to find any
book on any subject in the shortest possible time.
And she was wonderfully unhinged…
And so the Amazing Armadillo.
67. 67
Girl (Bug)meets boy at a car
wash.
"Dog," she says.
"Dude," he says.
And probably this would
have been a sweet teen
romance. . . .
If Beals hadn't been sitting
next to her in the car.
If Beals hadn't been a
supernatural repo man
looking to repossess her car.
And to possess her.
David Macinnis Gill delivers the
whole enchilada. With a side
of soul.