Trojan Hind-Sight
“Never look a gift horse in the mouth.”
We should have been wary of what
was concealed in its generous gut,
but the horse was a gift
and they might have been miffed
if we’d peeked in its mouth, or its butt.
A Runcible Goose
“What a runcible goose you are!”
—Edward Lear, from “Mr. and Mrs. Discobbolos”
Is it large as a turkey and fat as a grouse?
Is it kept in a coop or a barn or a house, or LOOSE,
A Runcible Goose?
Is it silly, inane, and a bit of a loon?
Are its faculties sharp as a runcible spoon, or OBTUSE,
A Runcible Goose?
Have its physical attributes ever been clear?
Was its likeness depicted by Tenniel, Lear, or SEUSS,
A Runcible Goose?
Does it differ from normal, non-runcible geese?
Are its eyes a cerulean blue, or cerise, or CHARTREUSE,
A Runcible Goose?
Does it fashion a nest in a runcible nook?
Does it forage for runcinate leaves by a brook, or SLUICE,
A Runcible Goose?
If the species were threatened, would anyone care?
Is it seldom observed and statistically rare, or PROFUSE,
A Runcible Goose?
Does it toddle about with a runcible gander
Who goes by the name of Maurice, Alexander, or BRUCE,
A Runcible Goose?
Is its nature obscure, like the Akond of Swat?
Would the sight of it frighten an innocent tot, or PAPOOSE,
A Runcible Goose?
Does it nurture an egg with a runcible yolk?
Does it nibble on seedlings of maple, or oak, or SPRUCE,
A Runcible Goose?
Are there runcible goslings that follow its lead,
And that only a runcible mother could feed, or PRODUCE,
A Runcible Goose?
Is a runcible runt at the rear of the pack,
Like the car at the back of a train on a track, or CABOOSE,
A Runcible Goose?
Would it ever have dinner with you, or with me?
If you gave it a choice, would it rather have tea, or JUICE,
A Runcible Goose?
When it lies in its lair, does it study Kabbalah
And ponder Jehovah, or Brahma, or Allah, or ZEUS,
A Runcible Goose?
Does a concept of Being exist in its brain?
Are its thoughts esoteric, hermetic, arcane, or ABSTRUSE,
A Runcible Goose?
When it rests in its nest, does it find it’s inclined
To a Neoplatonic Awareness, or Mind, or NOUS,
A Runcible Goose?
Does it linger when winter approaches, or go?
Does it hibernate under a blanket of snow, or VAMOOSE,
A Runcible Goose?
Does it parler franҫais? Does it Deutsch sprechen too?
When it’s flying away, does it bid you adieu, or TSCHÜSS,
A Runcible Goose?