Today's poem is by Clint Margrave
Toad Dies and Goes to Heaven
Nobody is more surprised than he is.
In fact, he's minorly disappointed.
But the food tastes good.
The salads are made just the way he likes them too,
At least there aren't any pearly gates,
They even have a poetry night!
And though the audience is dead
"Hello Toad," says his old pal Bukowski,
In memory of Gerald Locklin (1941-2021)
First of all, Toad doesn't believe in heaven,
and secondly, even if he did,
he never expected to visit.
Has he failed to achieve the properly
debauched life he so often courted?
And you can drink all the frothy beer you want
and never have to go the bathroom.
with lots of crunchy iceberg lettuce
and a good Roquefort dressing.
(But who is he kidding?
Nobody eats salads here.)
or saints with haloes,
just a dive bar with a few pretty angels.
and the open mic literally goes on forever,
this time it isn't annoying,
but filled with names like Dante and Homer
and Shakespeare and Szymborska...
who approaches the bar and pulls up a stool.
"Good to see you again, Hank," says Toad,
as they clink their glasses and take a drink,
not to their health, but ours.
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Copyright © 2023 Clint Margrave All rights reserved
from Visitor
NYQ Books
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission
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