dock

Hickory dickory dock The mouse ran up the clock The clock struck one The mouse ran down Hickory dickory dock Some people think Hickory dickory dock was a “counting out game,” and you may think you don’t know what that is, but you do. We used eeny, meanie, miney, moe catch a tiger* by the […]

dub/tub

Rub a dub dub Three men in a tub The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker Nursery rhymes are important because rhyme is important. Human language developed rhyme (most likely) because it helped us learn to associate one thing with another, to give us a sort of mental jingle to remember. For so many years, […]

Poetry

I remember phrases from childhood travels, not images or events. Glass-bottomed boat. Lion Country Safari. Circus Circus. The musicality of the words meant more to me than the actual experiences. All I remember about the glass-bottomed boat was my incredulousness. How could a boat have a glass bottom? I pictured a little motorboat with a […]

Wind-Up 1: Inchworm

Lives at a walrus RPM, Like sun, burns yellow. Wears spots, and chucks himself along. On and on. Goin. Smiles. Eight chunky segments; he doesn’t diet. What ‘cha doin? Wha’s goin’ on? Eight, twelves, and other inconvenient numbers. He’s going by his own method, And he’ll see you when he gets there.