On the Beach

Millions of unexploded bombs lie in waters off US coast, researchers say (Oct. 8, 2012)
Lurking (and leaking) beneath the world’s oceans are an estimated 200 million pounds of unexploded and potentially dangerous explosives—from bombs to missiles to mustard gas….at least 31 million pounds of bombs can be found not just in the Gulf, but also off the coasts of at least 16 states…
—Citizens for Legitimate Government website (Oct. 14, 2012)

Let’s take a little swim, my dear.
The ocean’s calm and blue.
There’s nothing anywhere to fear.
I’m told the sharks are few.

There’s not a hurricane in sight.
There hasn’t been a spill
of toxins since the other night.
And jellyfish can’t kill.

It’s true no lifeguards are around,
but, really, there’s no need.
Those needles littering the ground?
I’m sure, if we take heed,

We won’t get stuck, or, if we do,
small jabs are not the worst.
Come on! The ocean’s calm and blue.
I’m ready. You go first.

—Bruce Bennett

Bummer

“Hey, Dad—you got a cigarette?”
I’d ask when young and broke.
“Don’t worry about me, my pet!”
He’d say (and have a smoke).

—Julie Kane

Addition By Subtraction?

Adopt, if you aspire to lasting fame
A hifalutin, hyphenated name
Like Rimsky-Korsakov or Chiang Kai-shek,
Love-Hewitt, Temple-Black, Toulouse-Lautrec,
Jay-Z, Abdul-Jabbar, or Sun Yat-Sen,
Ben-Gurion, Ice-T, Henin-Hardenne,
Ms. Zeta-Jones, Bourke-White, or Bulwer-Lytton,
Or Parker-Bowles (so many from Great Britain!),
Day-Lewis, Louis-Dreyfus, Newton-John,
Or even villains like Abdel-Rahman,
Their names embellished by a simple touch.
(Who knew a minus sign could add so much?!)

—Bob McKenty