I got into an argument with my boss the other day
and afterwards I got drunk as a skunk
with a lot to say
I lurched around the office
in an alcoholic haze
a pissed-of apprentice
ending his days
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Drunk as a Skunk
Category: Uncategorized
Christmas Story 2025
Baby Jesus quietly slept in a bed of hay
his parents nearby keeping guard
night and day
while ICE agents roamed the land
preying on Brown people in a sickening display
of racist hatred during the Christmas holiday
What would the grown Jesus have to say?
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Reality Challenged
they met the morning after the Great Realization
had swept across the nation
he asked her if she was experienced
and if she ever heard Jimi Hendrix’s interpretation
of the Star-Spangled Banner?
she wanted to know who stopped the rain?
and he told her it was her imagination
bubbling up from her active brain
still, she could plainly see the rain
coming down
on the increasingly wet ground
and realized she wasn’t insane
-30-
Into the Badlands
There was no other way to go
to elude the enemy
pursuing him relentlessly
over the barren plateau
but into the badlands
with the lizards, snakes
and scorpions
on the black sands
of the desperate desert
where most animals struggle
to stay alive
with every effort
there came pain
like an unwanted visitor
to his perilous trek
through hostile terrain
seeking to be free
with every step
of the weary way
leading to liberty
30-
Blue Sky
The sky was an Azore blue
a rich and relaxing hue
the sunbathers
knew what to do
on such a fine day
they basked in the sun
and watched the children play
-30-
A Featherly Touch
her hands were made for playing a piano
with long slender fingers
created to tease the piano keys
with willow wrists and firm hands
that moved with a life of their own
as she tickled the ivories
with magical musical memories
her feathery touch
reminiscent of a bird in flight
as she played throughout the night
-30-
Through These Eyes
Mine eyes have seen death and strife
all my life
if you could see
what I see
daily
you’d see
positivity
despite the negativity
you’d see
I’m still happy
to a degree
my full story
an incomplete journey
through society
blinking at reality
-30-
The Right Room
Cassandra only had 72 hours left to live unless she found the right room where a giant magic mirror majestically stood waiting to grant a wish.
There were thirty-six rooms in the massive Victorian mansion. Each one a portal into a different dimension. With time running out Cassandra grew more desperate every time she opened another door. Her slim dancer’s body flitted down the dusky hallways like a wraith, only stopping to probe another room.
She found herself in ancient Egypt in one room and in London, England circa 1886 in another. She barely got out of the room safely where Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. was erupting and threatening to bury Pompeii’s residents.
When Cassandra went into a room where there was a saloon in 1868 Texas where a gunfight was taking place, she narrowly dodged the flying bullets bursting through bat-wing doors and back out into the hallway.
She didn’t have time to reflect why the mage cursed her. Each hour brought her closer to an unthinkable ending. An eternal hell.
Cassandra was a gypsy who was famous for forecasting futures with Tarot cards. Her many clients spread the word over the years that she was better than anyone alive at predicting people’s futures. She believed them. That boast didn’t set well with other fortune-tellers and especially with wizards and mages who prided themselves as being “all-knowing.” One dark night a Greek necromancer named Asclepius decided to teach Cassandra a lesson for her hubris and cursed her.
The curse was straightforward; she was a prisoner in a house with 36 rooms. She had 80 hours to find the magic mirror and save herself before being eternally lost in one of the rooms. Each time she entered a room the hours would fly by like a murder of crows. At that rate she’d never be able to go to all of the rooms before her time ran out. So, Cassandra had to be selective and let her instincts take over. Drawing from her Romani heritage of mysticism she stopped opening doors and just put her hand on them and felt the vibrations within. It only took minutes instead of hours to determine what was behind them.
With two hours to spare she found the right room. Her wish was granted, and the curse was lifted. Back in her own house Cassandra picked up her deck of Tarot cards, stared at them for a few moments, then threw them into a trash can. It was time for a new vocation.
-30-
Down the Drain
dreams and aspirations
swirling down the drain
and bringing pain
the watcher looks on
in numb silence
looking for guidance
dejected and alone
when none appears
there’s tears
life’s challenges too harsh
he swirls down the drain
again and again…
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The Broken Puzzle
he was a puzzle to all
there were so many pieces to his personality
that people were in awe
he played the guitar
and smashed mouth soccer
and was an international star
women longed to bask in his glory
his rugged good looks charmed them all
they loved everything about his story
so, when he disappeared one day
no one knew what to say
the rumor around the neighborhood
was that he ran away…
screaming into the night!
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The Creative Chronicles of Dave Stancliff 