Tuesday, November 4, 2025

The Death of Death (With apologies to Emily Dickinson)

Because I would not stop for Death he chased me down the street. Clackety-clack-clack went the sound of his bony feet.

People stopped and stared at us as we passed them by. A jazz musician waved his hat which looked like a pork pie.

Death raised his scythe up high,
intending to strike me down,
but a passing dog tripped him up
and he fell hard upon the ground.
He broke apart on impact. His bones scattered every which way. Every dog in the neighborhood enjoyed a treat that day. -- Jeff Barnes

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Haiku

Ghosts hang from branches,
dance and wave like real spirits --
late October wind.  - Jeff Barnes

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Swanwick House

Come visit us at Swanwick House
where everybody is dead.
Lady Marceline will greet you
in her flowing dress of deep red.

You'll find she has a most charming smile
if you can break through her reserve.
She passed away two hundred years ago
but as you can see, she is well preserved.

Come join us at our table.
Please don't mind that we are dead.
We put evaporated milk in our tea
and spread blackberry jam on stale bread.

Come sit down and feast with us
and join us in conversation.
We think you will enjoy our stories.
They span hundreds of generations.

We are quite mirthful at Swanwick House
even though we are all dead.
Uncle Leopold makes us all laugh
every time he removes his head.

Ghosts fly in and out of our windows.
They frolic each night with the bats.
in bed we always feel the kneading
of the paws of all our deceased cats.

We don't belong to the world of the living,
but don't think of ourselves in the past tense.
Our closets are full of skeletons,
and I mean that in a literal sense.

We offer you shelter and company.
We bid you come in out of the rain.
We will welcome you into our family.
We invite you to come in and remain. - Jeff Barnes

Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Philpotts the Not So Silly Goose

Philpotts is not a silly goose. 
He actually is quite serious. 
The other geese don't care much for him.
They think he's snobby and imperious.

Philpotts considers it beneath him to honk.
He speaks the King's English instead.
He dresses in a long-tailed black coat
and wears a top hat on his head.

He doesn't mingle with other geese,
finding their noisiness much too trying.
He has a brass-handled walking stick
and can't be bothered with flying.

Philpotts strolls the streets and city park
when he wants to take the air.
He spends evenings in his apartment,
reading a book in his easy chair.

Philpotts doesn't sleep in a marsh or a field,
preferring his comfortable bed.
He wakes up at a reasonable hour
and enjoys tea with jam and bread. - Jeff Barnes

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Haiku

These last days of spring
we are aging together,
this old cat and I. - Jeff Barnes

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Haiku

Don't delude yourself.
It would carry you away.
Cat watches a hawk. - Jeff Barnes

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Instructions for My Funeral

I want my funeral to be a celebration of my life.
I absolutely forbid anybody to mourn.
Don't show up with sorrowful faces.
It should be a happier day than the day I was born.

Don't play lugubrious, funereal music
and don't fill the room with the sounds of your sobs.
I want plastic skeletons to dangle from the ceiling,
merrily dancing to Saint-Saenz's "Danse Macabre."

I couldn't stand to be in a suit and tie
with everybody standing around my coffin staring.
Dress me in jeans and a Grim Reaper t-shirt.
That's what I would like to be wearing.

Laugh and tell each other grim jokes.
Don't stand around all teary-eyed.
I want you to dance to Terry Teene's "Curse of the Hearse"
as they come to load me in for my last ride. - Jeff Barnes