book excerpt
Barred Plymouth Rock Band
Abutting an abandoned barn,
A crib devoid of corn,
With weathervane and cupola,
The rooftop, sagged and worn.
The corncrib was repurposed
By fowl society,
A chicken troupe—Barred Plymouth Rocks,
The white variety.
The granary was their concert hall
With nightly concerts planned,
This group so hot they sizzled—
A barnyard chicken band.
Bandleader of the feathered group,
This five-fowl poultry show,
A southern bird of Creole stock
Was dubbed Ole Chick’ Gumbo.
Ole Gumbo plucked the banjo strings,
On French horn — Cordon Bleu,
With Kiev on percussion,
And Lo Mein played kazoo.
The fifth fowl, in a washtub,
(He floundered on dry land.)
Sans feathers, Chicken of the Sea—
His job—tuna the band.
For no sound graced the concert hall
Until his guarantee
That flats and sharps were cancelled by
The Chicken of the Sea.
Then feathers ruffled as they crooned,
Laud for their chicken breed.
They danced till eggs were scrambled.
They sang for chicken feed.
Cordon Bleu stuck in his craw
His spare chapstick supply.
It came in handy, between songs,
When chicken-lips got dry.
And Kiev on percussion,
Brushed cymbals with his tail,
And when he had a solo,
Made chicken drumsticks flail.
Gumbo kept the songs up-beat,
His banjo on his knee.
He picked with pomp and circumstance,
A spicy melody.
Misfortune struck one chicken,
A pox upon Lo Mein...
contains these titles:
Barred Plymouth Rock Band
The Farmer and His Ladye
Catfish on a Hot Tin Roof
Bruno's Shopping Junket
Le Curator of the Shed
Wellington, the Talk of Baxter County
Pride and Prejudice
General Bullregard -- A North-South Tale
Blue Ribbon Plan
Each poem gives a nod to a Bible verse.
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