ROOMER

One thing that surprised my father’s ghost

When he rented rooms in Kamianka Strumilowa

Was to find  The Shadow as a fellow boarder.

Every morning, he’d see The Shadow leave

For his job of knowing what evil lurked

In the hearts of men. (This was before

The Shadow fought crime; in those days

He contented himself with knowing.)

Quite late at night, my father

Might glimpse him coming home to eat

Small servings of unappealing leftovers.

Some weeks there was a shortage of evil

And The Shadow’s rent would be late.

Others, there was so much evil that my father

Would be sent off with a piece of chalk

To mark evil for The Shadow to know

Once he had a few spare minutes again.

VARIATIONS

VARIATIONS ON A THEME OF A CARTOON SAILOR

When my father was dying he was visited
By Popeye the Sailor who, since they had met
In a Big Little book, had been his good friend.
To my father the true Popeye was a man
Of sensitivity and charm, all masked
By feigned inarticulate simplicity
Olive Oyl was no mere spidery-legged dame
But a muse, while Bluto had the solemn duty
Of challenging Popeye at every turn
Forcing him to exceed himself. I have no idea
What role the Sea Hag played, or if next Tuesday
Will ever come -- the day when Wimpy will repay
His debt for the hamburgers Popeye bought him.


I boarded the Toonerville Trolley,
Which meets all trains, and rode it
To my parents' burial to which I often return.
As always, my father was put in a grave
Far from the folk of Kamianka Strumilowa
Among whom he had thought to rest.
As always, my mother's ashes were with him.
How could I have forgotten that Needlenose Noonan
Had spoken a graveside eulogy, that Andy Gump
Had leaned on Smokey Stover's shoulder and wept
Or that Popeye had chased off the other pallbearers
And carried the coffin by himself?

MESSENGER

The other cat said to my dying father

"There is a trolley now which starts

From near your house in 1938

And stops at Kamianka Strumilowa around 1893

You will find coins in the left pocket

Of the suit in which they bury you;

Pay three fares; I and another

Will be travelling with you."

FURTHER ADVENTURES

Google is apparently helping a friend of mine
Build a secret army. Yesterday afternoon,
While I was looking up Kamianka Strumilowa,
A message suddenly appeared on the screen
In enormous letters -- capital, boldface --
Bidding me join at once. Defying Google,
Which knows my address and the names my cat
Used in prior lives, is unwise, so my friend,
A gentle soul, now has nineteen followers.
I await instructions. Do we all follow her at once
Or just take turns? Is there a secret handshake?
What does she plan after we conquer Latveria?
When can I expect my decoder ring?