Caterpillar
It is lovely
to sit on a leaf
and munch
when the leaf
is both the seat
and lunch.
Outwitted
The water fountain knows a trick.
It shoots a geyser way up high
which tries to squirt me in the eye,
except when I bend down to drink
—and then it all but disappears,
or dribbles down like baby tears.
Toby Speed writes mysteries, short fiction, poetry, and children’s books. Among her seven books for children are Two Cool Cows, an American Bookseller Pick of the List, and Brave Potatoes, which was on both The New York Times‘ and Publishers Weekly‘s children’s best seller lists. Her poems have most recently appeared in Four and Twenty and The 5-2: Crime Poetry Weekly. Her first mystery, Death Over Easy (Five Star Publishing), came out in 2013, and she is at work on the sequel. Toby is also delighted to have a short story included in Untreed Reads’ new anthology, Moon Shot: Murder and Mayhem on the Edge of Space. After writing full time at a university for many years, she is now write-tired. Visit tobyspeed.com to learn more.