If I were Jupiter

I would close my big red eye

so I never have to look at you again

O vicious land and sea.

My enormity

would be why

I never saw the dark side

of me

against the vivid backdrop

of you, green and blue,

a swirling dance

of metallic atmosphere,

a diamond ring glinting

from the bottom of the sea.

I am not Jupiter, but

if I were anything as grand

I suspect you would still be

a tiny imperfection,

a hair in the way

of my view

of the perfect sun.

If I Were Jupiter

~0~

Tell the time

as if you are

telling on it.

Lean into someone

and whisper, "It's 6:30."

Your face will tell

the rest.

And tell the person

that in physics class

you learned

of the time-space

continuum.

And remember its

production notes.

Cite "Yellow Submarine"

if need be.

Next time you are late,

tell your boss

you've been on a calendar

but never on time--

Then let your little white dress

blossom up

in a gusty blast

from a rusty sewer grate.

Then lose some weight.

Tell him,

next time will be different.

You'll have time

to stop for coffee.

To stop at the

railroad crossing.

To stop and nurse

the ailing dog.

Pay attention to clocks--

their rigidity, their certainty,

their faces staring you down

like the truth

The Art of Being Late

~0~

Five stick people stand

holding hands

Their long stick fingers

sticking out

The only curves--

their perfect circle heads.

They have no clothes

They have no shame

This xylophone-shaped

family of sticks

On the top of the page

scrawled in squiggly letters

not much more impressive

than the kindergartner's

are the teacher's wise words

that people should have hair

on top of their stick heads

And to please color better

because you know better

than to let the stick people

be naked

This chemo family

This skinhead family

This poor family

that can't afford

hats.

Their stick brains

as big as their stick heads

as big as their stick hearts

standing in a row

holding stick hands

This stick family

of smiles.

Sticks and Stones

 [editor's note: It has been a long standing practice of Miss Rasmussen to title her work at the end.]

Missi Rasmussen is an award-winning poet whose work has been published in numerous literary journals, anthologies, and online venues. She is the Founder and President of the Kansas City Chapter of the Missouri Poetry Society. She teaches poetry writing workshops in the Kansas City area where she lives with her son and daughter.