21 Greguerias
by Daniel Liebert
1. Sunlight 90 million miles and then through a baby's ear.
2. Old shoes speak the pungent slang of feet.
3. Musical instruments go blind in pawnshop windows.
4. A coffee ring on a book is the hoof-print of Pegasus.
5. Birds began as secretaries to the dinosaurs.
6. Thrown out unused, the condom will never know what it was.
7. It takes a thousand wristwatch seconds to make one second on the train station clock.
8. The motel maid spices each room with five minutes of Telemundo.
9. The high diver pauses at the edge to wind the spring in his buttocks.
10. Comic strip: short, old-fashioned trolley ride for the eyes.
11. The heavy furniture in dreams is carved from tiredness.
12. Waving bedsheets surrender backyards to the passengers on stalled trains.
13. The devil ejaculates cigarette burns on cheap motel carpets.
14. Sofas are sensual and devious; some even turn into beds!
15. The richest broth is made from tired chickens.
16. Sodden with sunset, cathedrals weigh as much as banks.
17. A slapped face instantly has deer eyes.
18. The sound of hail is a jack-pot of frozen thunder.
19. Feet are the furthest suburbs of the will.
20. Of all beautiful things, rainbows are the stupidest.
21. When an old hippo dies, the zoo pipes sob and groan and spit rusty water.
American poet Daniel Liebert grew up hearing proverbs and Yiddishisms in his "very verbal" Jewish family. He has worked as a stand-up comic and joke writer and has created sayings for buttons and bumper stickers, including the well-known "JESUS IS COMING--LOOK BUSY."
The poem "21 Greguerias" appeared in the online magazine May Day:
www.maydaymagazine.com
by Daniel Liebert
1. Sunlight 90 million miles and then through a baby's ear.
2. Old shoes speak the pungent slang of feet.
3. Musical instruments go blind in pawnshop windows.
4. A coffee ring on a book is the hoof-print of Pegasus.
5. Birds began as secretaries to the dinosaurs.
6. Thrown out unused, the condom will never know what it was.
7. It takes a thousand wristwatch seconds to make one second on the train station clock.
8. The motel maid spices each room with five minutes of Telemundo.
9. The high diver pauses at the edge to wind the spring in his buttocks.
10. Comic strip: short, old-fashioned trolley ride for the eyes.
11. The heavy furniture in dreams is carved from tiredness.
12. Waving bedsheets surrender backyards to the passengers on stalled trains.
13. The devil ejaculates cigarette burns on cheap motel carpets.
14. Sofas are sensual and devious; some even turn into beds!
15. The richest broth is made from tired chickens.
16. Sodden with sunset, cathedrals weigh as much as banks.
17. A slapped face instantly has deer eyes.
18. The sound of hail is a jack-pot of frozen thunder.
19. Feet are the furthest suburbs of the will.
20. Of all beautiful things, rainbows are the stupidest.
21. When an old hippo dies, the zoo pipes sob and groan and spit rusty water.
American poet Daniel Liebert grew up hearing proverbs and Yiddishisms in his "very verbal" Jewish family. He has worked as a stand-up comic and joke writer and has created sayings for buttons and bumper stickers, including the well-known "JESUS IS COMING--LOOK BUSY."
The poem "21 Greguerias" appeared in the online magazine May Day:
www.maydaymagazine.com