Still Moonlit Night

Ponce Inlet Florida  Photography by Kathy Mitro

A dog in the desert
a still moonlit night
the moon casts it's moonbeams
on different shapes of life
the stillness is brilliant 
in it a parody of peace
a beam pierces a den yawning with life 
then recedes
as the dust roils and covers sentinels once knowing life
but now can never again see
if I talk to you in this night of beauty and hope
will it float on the air
will it rise up in tribute, in a bubble of care
the stillness falling so heavy this evening with cloying sweetness 
in just  memory
able to bring me back to that still moonlit night.
-Mitro

Red Car

Red Car Red Car - Mitro

Careening down the middle the road
the car looked like it was drunk
I've never seen a drunk car but there I was face to face with one
the car churned up little windmills of grit and dirt as it sped on it's merry way
back and forth and over the lines
it made me quite dizzy to look
reminding me of a mad Bea I reached for my iPhone to record it
I shall call it voyage of a bumble bee
it cut into the cluster of lilies on the side of the road
it spit out chunks of grass foolish enough to get in it's way
a pretty color of red it was quite a sporty looking car
it did not seem to be the kind of fellow to let the booze get to him so intensely
but intensely it was got
no sense of seemliness or order here
a crack of thunder and a bolt of lightning
and all was in order
and the car went merrily on it's way
-Mitro

Talking Politics With a Crab

Red Crab Woman from Mars - Mitro

Sitting on the beach sipping Orangeade
I want to talk about politics but it seems to make the pounding waves feel small
the sun beats on my shoulder and face
and makes me feel warm and good
I know things are good
I follow a crab on a short dive down his crab home
I feel for the guy
who is the guy behind the crab mask
when people look at him they see food
the crab pops out again and looks at me
trust takes time
I carry on
-Mitro

Mitro

Market Place in Cairo With a Boy a Monkey and Bananas

The Horse Jumped Over the Moon / Jay Leno on a Rocking Horse - Mitro

The turgid air felt heavy on my skin
and I was not the only one who felt it
the marketplace was filled with strange people milling about and talking nonsense
I made my way to the front of the line and asked
have you seen a small boy about this size  gesturing with my hands
I am met with disbelief  a scornful glance that burns me with its fever
and looks askance of my sanity
a boy that small all alone in this breathing heaving mass of humanity
if it was so and he was here
he would have been taken long ago
I panic I

turn
and there on top of a huge bunch of bananas
playing with a monkey
is the boy, my boy and I say it's time to go home
-Mitro 

To a Fat Toad in Deep Dark Space

A Duck's Escape From the  Mundane Into the Incredible - Mitro

Way way out in deep space, talking to the stars
my friend calls out
come look out 
over there, theres Mars
as celestial fireballs explode in the night 
filled with brilliant blazing colors and small shooting lights
flashing around in my eyes and my head
I shake off the colors and then to my dread
incredulity shoots through me, do I hear  a knock
a knock at the door in deep outer space
mayhaps it's an alien looking for a taste
we giggle nervously debating the case
the ship wafts and turns
floating softly in space
blackness descends covering over our face
the equipment board glows a green eerie light
really intensifying our sudden fright
the knock on the door did we hear it again
visions of  green men come unbidden again
we look at our camera and lo and behold
what we see is amazing
could it be a fat toad
his size is so tiny
his face is so fat
his arms raises up and then knock knock again
his back has a hunch
his legs have a bend
he calls out quite jolly 
open up,it's alright, I'm friend
was there ever a friend that looked so confound strange
we hesitate and then, hear knock knock again
he calls out because I look  different, no need to be afraid
the world needs the difference or it would be just too plain
from where I come, I am emperor, I am the King
people kneel and they honor me
but what do you see
I think when you look at me
you see a green thing
but this is a big world and we must all get along
and do much more than tolerate
we must help each other around
and navigate the vastness that is the being of space
only then we find peace, when the difference we embrace
So now I must ask you, what would you do? 
would you open and trust
and make a friend true blue
a chance at a new friend who looks very different
from you
the girls choice was easy they pulled back the bolt
and opened the door with  a little small jolt
see differences don't much matter out there in space
in fact they should never matter in any old place 
-Mitro

A Summer Night in Kenya

Dreamer - Mitro

A summer night in Kenya
the animals standing round
I slip my boat into sea green water
silently making no sound
the water steams in oven heat
the fish too tired to swim
blood red moon hangs overhead 
too dim to light the way
but simply languishing hanging there
as if it's come to play
huge sentinels of enormous trees
come alive with living snakes
as if the night can hide their flight
from tree to tree to bank
forest sounds shatter the night
crackling and hissing with calls of the wild
then I awake 
it's only a dream
I lay in my bed and smile 
-Mitro

The Bum Poem

One Last Fly Over County Cork Before The Irish Man Signs That Final Book

In a beautiful glen in Ireland
among the golden grass
I took a jug of water but I forgot to bring a glass
the emerald valley sparkled
covered in flecks of sun
I wanted to climb a tree and did
and dirt stuck to my bum
-Mitro

Instructions on How to Love Your Mama

Mother on a Hillside - Mitro

The story begins at the beginning
and extends way far back in the past
when three little, small little orphans
had made themselves quite a pact
one was named Duffy McDuffus
one was named McGingle McGee
the other just answered to Charlie
he got the name at his blessed mamas knee
they all enjoyed sunshine and riding
and  often stumbled upon a good find
but this time it was a  bit different
this time, the find was sublime
they could not quite really believe it
so they kept rubbing and rubbing their eyes
for in a meadow with clover and daisies
they heard a sweet  babies cry
the babe was surrounded on all sides
by wildlife watching over the child
there were possums and wood mice and raccoons
everything there that was wild
the animals parted like ocean
a story that goes back to biblical times
and let the orphans have access in a motion
for they knew there was no closer tie
than the kinship between motherless children
these are ties that tie tight, and that bind
with the boys saying  this baby
would never know hardship nor pain
as long as the babe stayed in their life
as long as their wishes had gain
so the moral to learn from this is not lesson
on how to find  baby in wild
but instructions on what to do with your own mama
when you are blessed enough to have her around
the instructions are really no drama
and address strong bonds between mother and child
hold onto your mama today and hug her
kiss her and whorl her around
and bless the heavens that she's still in your life
near and dear and you can hear her sweet sound
because someday she'll be an angel
and you know that she'll go far away
so take advantage of the time while she's here
and dance with her on this fine day
cause you never know, no never, no never
what you have until it is taken away
-Mitro

This poem is dedicated to  my own dear mother Rita June Kinnee Mitro who became an angel way too soon.

Rita June Kinnee Mitro