Tag Archives: Ken Gosse

KEN GOSSE: Monkeyin’ Around on a Dark and Stormy Night

Amusing, Poetry, Submissions, , ,

Those ten small monkeys who jumped in bed chose not to hear what mother said. The first fell off.
He laid still, like he was dead—then a hand grabbed his head.
He found what he’d done wasn’t fun.
And those who were left
at the end?
Zero.
Not
One!

Ken Gosse usually writes whimsical, rhymed verse. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, later in Pure Slush, Home Planet News, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Spillwords, and many others. Raised in Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife live in Mesa, AZ, with rescue dogs and cats.

Editor: This story is written in a “Fibonacci format”, where the number of syllables in each line declines based on the Fibonacci number sequence.

KEN GOSSE: A Dark, Stormless Night on the Nevermoor

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, , ,

In the days after the reign of rain, where the desert once was moor, the foreboding wer-ever would howl silently (since no one was there to hear it) in the long-lost woods, changing into a whatever whenever the moon reached full circle on its monthly sojourn across the midnight sky.

Ken Gosse usually writes whimsical, rhymed verse. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, later in Pure Slush, Home Planet News, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Spillwords, and many others. Raised in Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife live in Mesa, AZ, with rescue dogs and cats.

KEN GOSSE: Burnt Oftenings

Amusing, Poetry, Submissions, , , ,

The noble town crier
(and mayor’s paid liar
whom some admire
and also aspire)
extolled the empire
when lighting the fire
(a premature pyre—
the royals’ desire),
posting a flyer
confirming the friar,
for reasons quite dire
had feigned to conspire,
but caught in the mire,
was next to expire.

Ken Gosse usually writes whimsical, rhymed verse. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, later in Pure Slush, Home Planet News, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Spillwords, and many others. Raised in Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife live in Mesa, AZ, with rescue dogs and cats.

KEN GOSSE: Headaches By the Number, Errors by the Score (a circular senryu)

Amusing, Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, ,

When doing the math,
some oddities aren’t even.
Things might not add up
in spite of calculations
on fingers or phones.
When trying over again,
you’ll find differences
multiplying your problems
while seeking quotients
produces new divisions
totaling your sums.
Perhaps you must decide this:
should you do the math?

Ken Gosse prefers writing short, rhyming, humorous poetry. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, he has also been published by Pure Slush, Home Planet News Online, 50Word Stories, and other publications. Raised in the Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife have lived with dogs and cats underfoot in Mesa, AZ, over twenty-five years.

KEN GOSSE: A Beddy-Bye Lullaby

Poetry, Submissions, Touching, , , ,

Over the rainbow,
may your dream be
a wise scarecrow
who sets you free;

a kiss from a frog
who’d been a prince
and lived in a bog—
a king ever since;

perchance a bean
swapped for a cow,
wonder foreseen
someday, somehow.

Fun roads to take
till you’re awake.

Ken Gosse prefers writing short, rhyming, humorous poetry. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, he has also been published by Pure Slush, Home Planet News Online, 50 Word Stories, and other publications. Raised in the Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife have lived with dogs and cats underfoot in Mesa, AZ, over twenty-five years.

Editor’s Note: This poem is a slightly modified presentation of a “minison,” which you can learn more about at theminisonproject.com.

KEN GOSSE: The Caring and the Tearing of the Tats

Poetry, Submissions, , , ,

Already
bearing my
cat’s deep and
deadly tats,
each day I
feed him he
gives me scant
hope. Perhaps
I’ll survive
just as I’ve
knavishly
loved his pats,
making me
neurotic,
overtly
psychotic,
questioning
rhapsodic,
sonorous
tones of his
unearthly
voice. Still, I
wonder why.

Xeroxed scars;
YouTube stars
zigzagging.

Ken Gosse prefers writing short, rhyming, humorous poetry. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, he has also been published by Pure Slush, Home Planet News Online, 50Word Stories, and other publications. Raised in the Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife have lived with dogs and cats underfoot in Mesa, AZ, over twenty-five years.

KEN GOSSE: The Forget-Me-Not Pot Plot

Poetry, Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

I planted a Forget-Me-Not
in a very lovely spot
to give my love on its first bloom
and waft its scent throughout our room.

I looked again—it isn’t there.
I’m certain that she doesn’t care.
I don’t know now where it may be,
but I know she’s forgotten me.

Ken Gosse wrote this poem.

KEN GOSSE: Hidden Thoughts

Amusing, Poetry, Submissions, , ,

I once saved a thought for a gray, rainy day;
the sunshine was bright when I hid it away.
When a storm came along, it was too wet to play.
I could not find it then, so my plans went agley
and wherever it was, it is still there today.

Ken Gosse prefers writing short, rhymed traditional verse with whimsy and humor. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, he is also in 50-Word Stories, Pure Slush, Parody, Home Planet News Online, and other publications. Raised in the Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife have lived in Mesa, AZ, over twenty years.

KEN GOSSE: In the Mood in the Moor

Adventure, Amusing, Poetry, Submissions, , , ,

The girl would romp at the edge of the swamp,
for they were quite poor and lived near the moor.
Her beauty attracted a prince who enacted
the role of a frog to entice dialog.
They shared her first kiss—
that’s when his sweet miss
became his betrothed princess frog.

Ken Gosse prefers writing short, rhyming, humorous poetry. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, he is also in The Offbeat, Pure Slush, Parody, Home Planet News Online, and other publications. Raised in the Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife have lived with their dogs and cats in Mesa, AZ, over twenty years.

KEN GOSSE: Black Widowing

Amusing, Poetry, Submissions, , , ,

Widowed three times in ten years,
her insurance provider had fears
that she’d be a claimant
for yet one more payment
and meanwhile, though still shedding tears,
she married again
(how many more men?)
yet what she didn’t know
was that her latest beau
had lost his first five financiers.

Ken Gosse prefers writing short, rhyming, humorous poetry. First published in First Literary Review–East in November 2016, he is also in The Offbeat, Pure Slush, Parody, Home Planet News Online, and other publications. Raised in the Chicago suburbs, now retired, he and his wife have lived with their dogs and cats in Mesa, AZ, over twenty years.