Poetry by John T. Clark

Two Poems
by John T. Clark









WEAPONS OF MASS DISTRACTION

For Laura Ann Dubecky


At CCI, teachers want to be sure

The dog doesn’t succumb to any lure

While he works. Instructors try every ploy –

They scatter kibble, squeeze a squeaker toy –

To distract the dog. They call out his name,

Roll him a ball, wave a stick for a game

Of fetch, greet him in some spooky get-up,

Or follow you home to do some set-up.


As we left our van, a flying feline

Raced across the street. Making a beeline

For us was this wide-eyed, orange tabby,

Screeching. The bored look of my black labby,

As the cat high-tailed for the back of our lot,

Said, “Is that the best that CCI’s got?”

++++++++++++++++++++

COLD CAT, COOL CAT

Our cat was named after Frank Sinatra

By his first owner. This Felis atra

And Frank do have the same icy blue eyes,

And yes, they can both sing but therein lies

The rub. Ol’ Blue Eyes was a silver-tongued

Smoothie and Frankie is a leather-lung’d

Lout. While he’ll croon for our daughter, Chris,

The family gets graced with that raspy hiss.


When Frankie and Lex2 are in the same space,

Frankie throws hissy fits. But Lexie’s face

Doesn’t change. He doesn’t move. He’ll just stare

At Frankie, through him – as if he’s not there.


In spurning us, Frankie plays the fool cat

While Lex, like Sinatra, is the super cool cat.


Author bio:

John T. Clark lives in Scarsdale, NY with his wife Ginny, daughter, Chris and dog, Lex. A retired NYC teacher, his poetry has appeared in The Recorder when edited by Derek Mahon and again when edited by Eamonn Grennan and in Mediphors and Celtic Fringe. Currently, his poetry appears in/will appear in Exit 13, The Innisfree Poetry Journal, Lachryma, Hidden Oak, The Boston Literary Magazine, Contemporary Rhyme, Mobius, Hospital Drive, Cynic and Right Hand Pointing.