Index of First Lines

Current poem count: 675

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U W Y Z

• A
• After so long, the cool breeze on my skin (#149: September 19, 2006)
• Alarm goes off; even a string quartet (#452: Zippadee Doo-dah)
• Alexei is a cat who can't decide (#374: Alexei of the Doorways)
• Aliens aint' comin'. If they was, The (V. 2, #2: March 29, 2013)
• All nature is a harlequin today (#340: March 29, 2007)
• All things not moving forward start to sink (#156: September 26, 2006)
• All this will soon pass into memory (#77: July 9, 2006)
• Analphabetic acts all out of school (#169: October 9, 2006)
• Another Monday down--how many more (#390: Lunae Infinitum)
• Another mulligan tonight, I think (#287: February 4, 2007)
• Another round, bartender, set 'em up (#371: Last Call)
• Another world, another time and place (#339: March 28, 2007)
• As if you had not taken yet enough (#395: A New Worry)
• At first I couldn't find him; branches crossed (#376: Songbird)
• At LSU, a tiger's in a cage (#30: May 23, 2006)
• Aw, baby--I could write a goddamn book (V. 2, #111: July 17, 2013)
• B
• Babe, dig it: everyone will let you down (#379: The Philosophy of Disappointment)
• Bad office coffee feels like engine oil (#60: June 22, 2006)
• Bad taste at the back of my sick throat, A (V. 2, #34: May 1, 2013)
• Bank of instruments and gauges glows, The (#414: Machine)
• Bastard! How do you fucking sleep at night (#9: May 2, 2006)
• Beat out a rock song on your desktop set (#460: Things to Do with Pencils Besides Writing Poems)
• Because It's Probably True ("Because It's Probably True": First non-sonnet post)
• Because of my bad dreams I lie awake (#165: October 5, 2006)
• Before Jamie exploded, we all thought (#275: January 23, 2007)
• Before the spinning world had settled down (V. 2, #31: April 27, 2013 ("Dizzy Spell"))
• Beggar met a gentleman one day, A (#161: October 1, 2006)
• Beginning: full of possibility (#253: January 1, 2007)
• Beginning's tough when there's nothing to say (#125: August 26, 2006)
• Behind a wall of crystal, where the falls (#294: February 11, 2007)
• Behind the old abandoned house, there stands (V. 2, #100: July 6, 2013)
• Below the lab, where kings kept enemies (V. 2, #175: September 20, 2013)
• Beneath the Opera House it's damp and cold (V. 2, #150: August 26, 2013 ("The Phantom's Secret"))
• Benny was only seventeen years old (V. 2, #52: May 19, 2013 )
• Best way to eat a rattler: lop off its head (#37: May 30, 2006)
• Beware the Wolf-Dog chained behind the shed (#251: December 30, 2006)
• Bill had a mistress--hell, everyone knew (#61: June 23, 2006)
• Blackguards have invaded us again, The (#318: March 7, 2007)
• Bolt from some machine, about the size, The (#450: Things I've Found in the Parking Lot at Work)
• Brunhilda was the girl who lived upstairs (V. 2, #35: May 2, 2013)
• Bunny we'll call Moppettop once found, A (#432: The Rabbit's Dream)
• By now a tired theme, but once again (V. 2, #169: September 14, 2013)
• C
• Cad, perhaps, who never felt a thing, A (#385: Byron)
• Cat sits quiety and licks its fur, The (V. 2, #51: May 18, 2013)
• Cats are yowling on the churchyard fence, The (#175: October 15, 2006)
• Certain shift and pull of winter grass, A (#257: January 5, 2007)
• Cliché, perhaps, but thank the Lord above (V. 2, #127: August 2, 2013)
• Clock began to strike. The prince's date, The (V. 2, #197: October 12, 2013)
• Cold wind slithers through the Johnson grass, The (V. 2, #36: May 3, 2013)
• Color of the sky was odd that night, The (V. 2, #18: April 14, 2013)
• Color starts to drain out of the sky, The (#119: August 20, 2006)
• Columns on the porch are drab and boring, The (V. 2, #71: June 7, 2013)
• Come on and pour the ale out for us, lass (#391: Down the Pub)
• Come on and pour the ale out for us, lass (#391: Down the Pub)
• Come on: you must have kissed some frogs before (#442: The Lucky Frog)
• Come the weekend, I feel I've earned the right (#14: May 7, 2006)
• Connections have a tendency to fail (V. 2, #57: May 24, 2013)
• Corner store is where they always meet, The (#416: Dangerous Intersection)
• Crocodile exposes deadly teeth, The (#326: March 15, 2007)
• Curly Girl with bells on both her wrists, A (#7: April 30, 2006)
• D
• Day after we moved, we heard the screams, The (#348: April 6, 2007)
• Days like today could make you take up smoking (#53: June 15, 2006)
• Decisions made without a second thought (V. 2, #13: April 9, 2013)
• Devil isn't hiding in my bed, The (#148: September 18, 2006)
• Do not go swimming in the drainage ditch (#292: February 9, 2007)
• Do not tell me the truth! Are you insane (#139: September 9, 2006)
• Doctor doesn't know where he went wrong, The (V. 2, #50: May 17, 2013)
• Dog next door is mean and muscular, The (V. 2, #66: June 2, 2013)
• Dog, who's on the couch, scratches his ear, The (V. 2, #165: September 10, 2013)
• Don't be in such a hurry to get older (V. 2, #28: April 24, 2013)
• Don't ever go digging on old Bone Hill (#174: October 14, 2006)
• Don't fool yourself: you're not important here (#331: March 20, 2007)
• Don't go--stay here a while and talk to me (#114: August 15, 2006)
• Don't have much time, so let's get this shit done (V. 2, #119: July 25, 2013)
• Don't mind me: I'll just sit and do my work (V. 2, #118: July 24, 2013)
• Don't move too fast. Remember Damocles (#97: July 29, 2006)
• Don't need to do the things I do, but still (V. 2, #44: May 11, 2013)
• Don't say goodbye--it sounds too much like death (#365: April 23, 2007)
• Don't say the word forgive. Don't even breathe (#195: November 4, 2006)
• Don't talk to me about your missing shoes (#399: The Case of the Missing Shoes)
• Don't think about it--just look straight ahead (V. 2, #12: April 8, 2013)
• Don't worry, love--another year is gone (#223: December 2, 2006)
• Door burst open like a storm, and Stag, The (#178: October 18, 2006)
• Door's been locked for over fifty years, The (#126: August 27, 2006)
• Down by the stream where Maddie used to play (#157: September 27, 2006)
• Down in Cray Wood an ancient black oak grows (#199: November 8, 2006)
• Down in my secret lair, bathed in the lights (#335: March 24, 2007)
• Down in the swamp, so deep no juicy worm (#281: January 29, 2007)
• Dracula's got arthritis and the shakes (#271: January 19, 2007)
• Dream he has is always just the same, The (V. 2, #39: May 6, 2013)
• Dreams I have might be achievable, The (V. 2, #180: September 25, 2013)
• Dust off the pumpkins, polish up the skulls (V. 2, #185: September 30, 2013)
• E
• Each Wednesday night the university (#420: Artists' Model, at His Local Bar)
• Eleven years ago the sky was clear (#83: July 15, 2006)
• Eli sleeping: mysterious as the Sphinx (#109: August 10, 2006)
• Eli's become the most annoying cat (#94: July 26, 2006)
• Empty out all the books--crack all their spines (#150: September 20, 2006)
• Every night before I came to bed (#50: June 12, 2006)
• Experimental viscous glowing goo (#122: August 23, 2006)
• Eyes that used to watch me now are blind, The (V. 2, #171: September 16, 2013)
• F
• Fact is, everyone's haunted; not a face (#79: July 11, 2006)
• Few things I can do: brew my own beer, A (V. 2, #6: April 2, 2013)
• Fire does not go out--not though the coals, The (#136: September 6, 2006)
• Flags fly at perpetual half-staff, The (#264: January 12, 2007)
• Flat-footed as a centaur on the cliff (#236: December 15, 2006)
• Flood caught everybody by surprise, The (V. 2, #41: May 8, 2013)
• Fog lay nestled close against the ground, A (#403: Night Encounter)
• For God's sake, just shut up a minute, please (#259: January 7, 2007)
• Forget about what I said yesterday (V. 2, #139: August 14, 2013)
• Forgive me, love, for what is it infects (#359: April 17, 2007)
• Forsooth, milady! Say what thou wouldst think (#256: January 4, 2007)
• From what I know about the human heart (#158: September 28, 2006)
• G
• Girl, suddenly radiant, as though, The (V. 2, #10: April 6, 2013)
• Give me some breathing space, you thick-browed goon (#73: July 5, 2006)
• Go on and pour me two glasses of wine (#350: April 8, 2007)
• God put a gray lid on the sky today (#400: Storm Front, with Pines)
• Go-Gos did not really have the beat, The (V. 2, #106: July 12, 2013 (High School Medley Revisited))
• Gollywog is not a pollywog, A (V. 2, #173: September 18, 2013)
• Great Old Ones forgot where they were going, The (#209: November 18, 2006)
• Grundy fell for Petunia on a Monday (#49: June 11, 2006)
• H
• Hands clamped around the wheel as if Grim Death (V. 2, #37: May 4, 2013)
• He calls his daughter by her mother's name (V. 2, #116: July 22, 2013)
• He did good work; he hardly ever spoke (#458: Mystery)
• He draws the lines exactly how they look (V. 2, #90: June 26, 2013)
• He fell asleep beneath the blasted tree (V. 2, #108: July 14, 2013)
• He hiked the old trail, back over the pass (V. 2, #196: October 11, 2013)
• He kissed a cigarette and tapped the ash (#95: July 27, 2006)
• He never would slow down for ambulances (#108: August 9, 2006)
• He only missed one day--whether some spell (#273: January 21, 2007)
• He stands unmoving, more shadow than man (#31: May 24, 2006)
• He walks down stairs composed of human beings (#270: January 18, 2007)
• He walks just like he's sliding over ice (#217: November 26, 2006)
• He wants a girl who doesn't ask questions (#76: July 8, 2006)
• He was encouraged from an early age (V. 2, #23: April 19, 2013 )
• Hearse Men came the night my father died, The (#171: October 11, 2006)
• Here's something neat: just hold in in your hand (#92: July 24, 2006)
• He's got a phone that rings with actual bells (V. 2, #141: August 16, 2013)
• He's old now, all his research prizes lined (V. 2, #129, August 4, 2013)
• He's sealed the windows, bought a sensor light (V. 2, #164: September 9, 2013)
• He's up the tree like lightning, to a height (#285: February 2, 2007)
• Hey, babe--I got something you'll want to see (#138: September 8, 2006)
• Hey, pardner! You--the one with mutton chops (V. 2, #4: March 31, 2013)
• Hid in the roots of that thunderstruck oak (#358: April 16, 2007)
• His dissolution came as no surprise (#208: November 17, 2006)
• His patients called the dentist Dr. Smiles (#180: October 20, 2006)
• His tryout was disastrous, I recall (#437: Hidden Talent)
• His uncle used to make the kids step up (#220: November 29, 2006)
• Hold on to this, before it disappears (#280: January 28, 2007)
• Holy Fool rolled in from Dunlee Town, The (#317: March 6, 2007)
• Honeysuckle waves its sinuous strands, The (V. 2, #21: April 17, 2013 )
• Horrifying monster in the cave, The (V. 2, #166: September 11, 2013)
• How does he do it? Just seven years old (#363: April 21, 2007)
• How many times have I felt somewhat peckish (V. 2, #132: August 7, 2013)
• Human hearts in jars began to beat, The (#201: November 10, 2006)
• Hundred sonnets? Jesus Jumping Christ, A (#100: August 1, 2006)
• I
• I admit tonight I feel a little groggy (#160: September 30, 2006)
• I almost missed my deadline for today (V. 2, #65: June 1, 2013)
• I am the king of all that I survey (#459: Hail to the King)
• I called my mom to tell her all my news (#433: Communication Breakdown)
• I called your house; they told me you weren't there (#235: December 14, 2006)
• I came downstairs for water, and the chill (#227: December 6, 2006)
• I came out of the sun into a room (#309: February 26, 2007)
• I cannot give you everything you want (V. 2, #45: May 12, 2013)
• I can't conjure up beauty in this place (#74: July 6, 2006)
• I can't forget that night among the Tombs (#146: September 16, 2006)
• I can't hate anybody when I'm drunk (#303: February 20, 2007)
• I chase Euterpe through a shadowed wood (#26: May 19, 2006)
• I could have been a rock star--up on stage (#396: Rock Star)
• I crammed my words into a pepper mill (V. 2, #80: June 16, 2013)
• I did it, once. I held it in my palm (V. 2, #193: October 8, 2013)
• I don't feel like I've used my brain so much (#179: October 19, 2006)
• I don't feel like the earth is getting small (#228: December 7, 2006)
• I don't have much to write about tonight (V. 2, #195: October 10, 2013)
• I don't have time for this! the vampire said (#58: June 20, 2006)
• I don't know what to tell you. It's not there (#193: November 2, 2006)
• I don't know where it goes when I don't watch it (#103: August 4, 2006)
• I don't know whether I'm cut out for this (#10: May 3, 2006)
• I don't know who she was or where she went to (#268: January 16, 2007)
• I don't mind if my labor fills your pockets (#240: December 19, 2006)
• I don't need hugs or lips-to-muzzle kisses (#427: Sonnet from a Begging Dog)
• I don't think I could eat a kangaroo (V. 2, #120: July 26, 2013)
• I don't think I could walk down a white line (#123: August 24, 2006)
• I ducked my head and burrowed like a worm (#234: December 13, 2006)
• I feel like I've been powerless for years (V. 2, #1: March 28, 2013)
• I figured you'd be up and gone by now (V. 2, #181: September 26, 2013)
• I found a furry thing behind the bed (V. 2, #148: August 24, 2013)
• I found a hole that was almost my size (#192: November 1, 2006)
• I get in about seven after eight (#25: May 18, 2006)
• I got up on the wrong side of the bed (#198: November 7, 2006)
• I guess I want to tell you you were right (#186: October 26, 2006)
• I guess I'll never be a movie star (V. 2, #81: June 17, 2013 (Happy Birthday to Me))
• I guess it's war between us from now on (#373: The Futility of Valor)
• I had a robot forty-five feet high (#216: November 25, 2006)
• I had him stuffed and hung him in the hall (#190: October 30, 2006)
• I have to teach myself again to love (Permeable)
• I know it seems impossible right now (#312: March 1, 2007)
• I know it was not happenstance that set (#384: Dragonslayer)
• I know it's quite unlikely I'm the best (V. 2, #109: July 15, 2013)
• I know it's scary now, but just hold on (#206: November 15, 2006)
• I know one night Death will come stalking me (#215: November 24, 2006)
• I know that on the outside I might seem (V. 2, #184: September 29, 2013)
• I let it go today, so now you're stuck (#369: Mulligan)
• I like to think of you laid on the bed (#194: November 3, 2006)
• I live my life in service of a cat (#443: Considering My Cat Eli)
• I lost the path somewhere along the way (#449: Nightmare)
• I met a stranger in a hockey mask (#286: February 3, 2007)
• I might not have as much hair on my head (V. 2, #192: October 7, 2013)
• I might not have as much hair on my head (V. 2, #172: September 17, 2013)
• I never did it in a cemetery (#428: Demento Mori)
• I read about them on the Internet (V. 2, #147: August 23, 2013 ("Lottery"))
• I saw him walking out beyond the field (#118: August 19, 2006)
• I tend to think that life will stay the same (#457: The Less Things Change)
• I think I used to do this all the time (#1: April 24, 2006)
• I think the trees are whispering to me (#305: February 22, 2007)
• I think there's something stirring in my house (#311: February 28, 2007)
• I thought I'd need some poetry today (#426: Old Friends)
• I used to be a simple plumber, see (V. 2, #30: April 26, 2013)
• I used to get so angry looking back (#46: June 8, 2006)
• I used to read that Larkin poem and smile (V. 2, #158: September 3, 2013)
• I want there to be monsters in the world (#233: December 12, 2006)
• I want to do things that are bad for me (#166: October 6, 2006)
• I want to eat your brain. Is that so wrong (#327: March 16, 2007)
• I want to stick my fingers in the dirt (#96: July 28, 2006)
• I want to think of something nice today (#267: January 15, 2007)
• I want you to be quiet now--so please (#112: August 13, 2006)
• I want you to believe the things you read (#222: December 1, 2006)
• I was a Monster for the FBI (V. 2, #48: May 15, 2013)
• I was swimming in water so warm and brown (#80: July 12, 2006)
• I wish I could believe the way I did (V. 2, #143: August 19, 2013)
• I wish I had a Robo-Kicko-Bot (#393: Disgruntled)
• I wish I had a room where I could go (V. 2, #96: July 2, 2013)
• I woke today with stains on both my hands (#2: April 25, 2006)
• I'd crank out sonnets every single day (V. 2, #105: July 11, 2013)
• I'd know you even if God took my eyes (V. 2, #27: April 23, 2013)
• I'd never before held a blue-tongued skink (#84: July 16, 2006)
• I'd never felt the warm air on my skin (#341: March 30, 2007)
• I'd settled in at seven miles-per-hour (#5: April 28, 2006)
• If everything did happen for the best (#274: January 22, 2007)
• If God were not watching for our mistakes (#81: July 13, 2006)
• If God will damn me for my disbelief (#347: April 5, 2007)
• If I broke bad, you wouldn't have a clue (V. 2, #177: September 22, 2013)
• If I could find a stranger who would trade (#129: August 30, 2006)
• If I could stand to drink my whiskey neater (#265: January 13, 2007)
• If I had stood up years ago and said (#388: Dark Day)
• If it were up to me, I'd grow a beard (#338: March 27, 2007)
• If Mick grew discontent with girlie action (V. 2, #26: April 22, 2013 ("I Can't Get No"))
• If no one opened up his mouth to speak (V. 2, #128: August 3, 2013)
• If one goes jumping over candlesticks (#295: February 12, 2007)
• If there must be a world I cannot reach (#392: The World I Cannot Reach)
• If there's wisdom in whiskey, I've not found it (#113: August 14, 2006)
• If things don't change, they're going to stay the same (V. 2, #16: April 12, 2013)
• If you can write a sonnet after hours (V. 2, #135, August 10, 2013)
• If you were truly happy, you would smile (V. 2, #83: June 19, 2013)
• If you're going to share your domicile with cats (V. 2, #99: July 5, 2013)
• I'll start this thing when I feel good and ready (#173: October 13, 2006)
• I'm giving all my poems to the poor (#342: March 31, 2007)
• I'm going to start a club. We'll all wear hats (V. 2, #144: August 20, 2013)
• I'm groggy and bone-tired; my brain is wrapped (#207: November 16, 2006)
• I'm learning to forgive, she said, and smiled (#39: June 1, 2006)
• I'm missing this too much--the way my brain (#366: Prodigal)
• I'm not a very handsome guy, it's true (#17: May 10, 2006)
• I'm not the best and I am not the worst (#219: November 28, 2006)
• I'm slow as cold molasses, slow as pans (#438: Tired)
• I'm smaller now than I was yesterday (#91: July 23, 2006)
• I'm standing at the bottom of the stairs (#181: October 21, 2006)
• I'm thinking about you again, you fuck (#93: July 25, 2006)
• In poetry, as in life (Free Verse)
• In Spring the Moon is full here every night (#203: November 12, 2006)
• In summer Jimmy's belly would get tan (#35: May 28, 2006)
• It crawled from tile to tile across the floor (V. 2, #64: May 31, 2013)
• It doesn't bother me if no one reads (V. 2, #47: May 14, 2013)
• It may not be the answer, but at least (V. 2, #122: July 28, 2013 ("Eureka"))
• It pains me to compare you to a skunk (#261: January 9, 2007)
• It pulled a ragged tongue across its teeth (#19: May 12, 2006)
• It should be flat. There ought to be a tree (#435: Backyard)
• It used to be, a weekend was two days (#409: Saturday with the Kids)
• It was the first time I French-kissed a girl (#44: June 6, 2006)
• It won't be long, my love, and all the care (V. 2, #77: June 13,2013)
• It's bad enough when you try to converse (V. 2, #117: July 23, 2013 (Men's Room, Revisited))
• It's beer for breakfast, three-martini lunch (#248: December 27, 2006)
• It's chaos 'round the Christmas tree tonight (#244: December 23, 2006)
• It's easy to forget how to be moved (#90: July 22, 2006)
• It's easy to perfect a stranger: see (#71: July 3, 2006)
• It's Friday afternoon--don't watch the clock (#380: TGIF)
• It's Friday, thank whatever gods you find (#124: August 25, 2006)
• It's just one of those nights where nothing comes (V. 2, #155: August 31, 2013)
• It's like, you know, that thing that someone said (#153: September 23, 2006)
• It's midnight, and he lies awake in bed (V. 2, #112: July 18, 2013)
• It's not a night for writing poetry (V. 2, #123: July 29, 2013)
• It's said, behind the cobweb-colored drapes (#367: Eyewitness)
• It's summer, and the ants have come again (#29: May 22, 2006)
• It's Sunday night--we cannot now ignore (#389: Sunday Night Clean-Up)
• It's sweat and spit and that ripe carnal stink (#86: July 18, 2006)
• It's time for TV, time to watch the tube (#298: February 15, 2007)
• It's travel time! Wake up and help me load (V. 2, #78: June 14, 2013)
• I've been a fool who leaped into the air (#183: October 23, 2006)
• I've filed my toenails down to sharpened points (#262: January 10, 2007)
• I've got to cheat tonight, for I am sick (#332: March 21, 2007)
• I've got to pluck the gray hairs from my beard (#351: April 9, 2007)
• I've heard it said a man cannot survive (V. 2, #125: July 31, 2013)
• I've learned to turn my eyelids inside-out (#304: February 21, 2007)
• I've never found a hippo in my bed (#78: July 10, 2006)
• I've suffered half a hundred spider bites (#276: January 24, 2007)
• I've thought of giving up, a dozen times (V. 2, #107: July 13, 2013)
• J
• Jared Williams loved animals. Each night (#85: July 17, 2006)
• Jellyfish was floating in the ocean, A (V. 2, #179: September 24, 2013)
• Jester could not think of any jokes, The (V. 2, #174: September 19, 2013)
• Jim King the Iron Stomach, read the sheet (#301: February 18, 2007)
• Jocephus String is loose as anything (V. 2, #42: May 9, 2013)
• Just tell me what you want. That's what I'll do (V. 2, #131, August 6, 2013)
• Just tell them I accept. I'm getting tired (Learning to Say Yes)
• Just think how awful everything would be (V. 2, #157: September 2, 2013)
• Just turn me loose and maybe I'll come back (#152: September 22, 2006)
• Just wait a while--we'll know it when it comes (#238: December 17, 2006)
• Just what's the fucking point of all this crap (#135: September 5, 2006)
• K
• Kid is seventeen at best. Dark hair, The (V. 2, #110: July 16, 2013)
• Kids are outside playing on the swings, The (V. 2, #183: Spetember 28, 2013)
• King walked the old roads, until he found, The (#101: August 2, 2006)
• Knievel was my first two-legged dog (#67: June 29, 2006)
• Knucker curled around the village well, The (#54: June 16, 2006)
• L
• Last night at three a.m., the shade of sleep (#382: The Neighbor Dog)
• Le Pétomane trained for a baker's trade (#343: April 1, 2007)
• Let car-crash noises infiltrate your dreams (V. 2, #79: June 15, 2013)
• Let cobwebs gather in the corners; let (#451: Leaving the Castle)
• Let's all ask God to bless the USA (V. 2, #98: July 4, 2013)
• Let's clean this filthy room--no arguments (V. 2, #22: April 18, 2013 )
• Let's dance together under winter skies (#330: March 19, 2007)
• Let's have a beer for you, and one for me (V. 2, #113: July 19, 2013)
• Let's have a drink and sing another song (#279: January 27, 2007)
• Let's not do things by halves: go all the way (#333: March 22, 2007)
• Let's try to see the bright side: most work days (#408: The Bright Side)
• Lie back and put your hands behind your head (#411: Desire)
• Like Hamlet said, the readiness is all (V. 2, #19: April 15, 2013)
• Like Mithridates I've drunk poison straight (#176: October 16, 2006)
• Like something disconnected--rusted wires (V. 2, #160: September 5, 2013)
• Little goblin lives under my chair, A (#137: September 7, 2006)
• Little man edges out of the wood, The (#132: September 2, 2006)
• Lobster is immortal, practically, The (V. 2, #69: June 5, 2013 )
• Long after Timmy's mom and dad had said (#116: August 17, 2006)
• Longer they were gone, the more it seemed, The (#404: Pediatrician's Appointment)
• Look busy--someone told me our new boss (V. 2, #9: April 5, 2013)
• Look on the planet Melmac and you'll find (V. 2, #198: October 13, 2013)
• Look out ahead--the journey yet is long (#368: Momentum)
• Look, all I want from you's a little praise (#27: May 20, 2006)
• Look, I'll make you a deal: just shut yer trap (#354: April 12, 2007)
• Look, no one here's your friend. The enemy (#352: April 10, 2007)
• M
• Man paused at the door and turned to stare, The (V. 2, #62: May 29, 2013)
• Martinis are my wonder drug of choice (#445: Ode to the Martini)
• Mary was six, and I was eight years old (#241: December 20, 2006)
• Maybe I'll be up till the ball comes down (#252: December 31, 2006)
• Maybe out there somewhere (Lost)
• Maybe they help us some way. I don't know (#68: June 30, 2006)
• Maybe this is it (The Awful Uncertainty of the Artist)
• Maybe, just maybe, plans don't have to fail (#99: July 31, 2006)
• Memo to all employees: as you know (#59: June 21, 2006)
• Mighty Elven King lifted his blade, The (V. 2, #149: August 25, 2013)
• Monkey on the Ferris wheel displayed, The (#13: May 6, 2006)
• Monkey sat upon the mountaintop, The (V. 2, #84: June 20, 2013)
• Monster Men are coming to your town, The (#11: May 4, 2006)
• Muse might not take sick days when she's ill, The (V. 2, #34: April 30, 2013)
• My Bayou Baby bounces through the swamp (V. 2, #133: August 8, 2013)
• My birthday: if I've threescore years and ten (#55: June 17, 2006)
• My brother came roaring into the yard (#189: October 29, 2006)
• My darling is an angel of the vineyard (#328: March 17, 2007)
• My daughter, Thea, two years old next week (#56: June 18, 2006)
• My feet propped up, a cold beer on my thigh (#364: April 22, 2007)
• My friends got old, have given up their drinking (V. 2, #153: August 29, 2013)
• My inspiration comes from breathing in (V. 2, #54: May 21, 2013 )
• My love opens me up just like a rose (#297: February 14, 2007)
• My love, how I have failed you. I have yet (#424: My Love, How I Have Failed You)
• My loved one has to be a Grammar Nazi (#407: The Hazards of Marrying an English Major)
• My mind is full of things I didn't do (#320: March 9, 2007)
• My son, forgive me--however I'm screwing (#197: November 6, 2006)
• My Stabby Thing won't fail to break the skin (#277: January 25, 2007)
• My Time is not a maniac scattering dust (V. 2, #56: May 23, 2013)
• N
• Name anyone--now, when you take a breath (#360: April 18, 2007)
• Nectar of barley, happiness of man (#69: July 1, 2006)
• Next day Paul's gravestone had fallen down, The (#182: October 22, 2006)
• Nicest man you'd ever care to meet, The (V. 2, #136: August 11, 2013)
• Night wind blows like death across the moors, The (#310: February 27, 2007)
• No one wants to get caught browsing the aisle (#263: January 11, 2007)
• No time to put your feet up on the bed (V. 2, #85: June 21, 2013)
• No time tonight, so this one's going to suck (#188: October 28, 2006)
• Nobody can be happy all the time (#224: December 3, 2006)
• Nobody gave more money to the poor (#246: December 25, 2006)
• Nobody talk to me. I'm in the mood (#302: February 19, 2007)
• Nobody thought he'd take it quite so far (#429: Last Laugh)
• Noises never stop in this old place, The (#33: May 26, 2006)
• Not even June, and already the heat (#34: May 27, 2006)
• Not every day will make a feller glad (V. 2, #33: April 29, 2013)
• Noun? Well, that's a person, or a thing, A (#434: Grammar Lesson)
• November, and the Bradfords are ablaze (#204: November 13, 2006)
• Now and again, a sudden shift of clouds (V. 2, #3: March 30, 2013)
• Now gently--run your fingers down my spine (#239: December 18, 2006)
• Now, I don't want to sound like Mr. No (#18: May 11, 2006)
• O
• O brew me up a batch of bitter beer (#185: October 25, 2006)
• O glory be to God for poisoned things (#63: June 25, 2006)
• O Lords of Nature, shield this fresh-flung seed (#196: November 5, 2006)
• Of course there's nothing wrong with beer; in fact (V. 2, #94: June 30, 2013)
• Oh Country Girl, dressed in your frilled white skirt (#52: June 14, 2006)
• Oh darling, let's get deeply into debt (#237: December 16, 2006)
• Oh glory be to God for smelly things (V. 2, #73: June 9, 2013)
• Oh Goddess of the Bean, your bitter taste (#440: Sonnet to His Dark Mistress)
• Oh I've had friends who could not be my lovers (#213: November 22, 2006)
• Oh Motorist! Who gunned your Honda through (V. 2, #82: June 18, 2013)
• Oh, darling--I can tell you had it rough (V. 2, #102: July 8, 2013)
• Oh, Henry Miller! Tell me where you got (#412: Oh, Henry)
• Oh, please reject me--please! Here, take my piece (#398: Dear Editor(s))
• Oh, spare me! Don't you think we've heard enough (V. 2, #168: September 13, 2013)
• Oh, you don't have to get me anything (#232: December 11, 2006)
• Old Man McReady came out once a day (#102: August 3, 2006)
• Old Terrence knew what he was on about (V. 2, #167: September 12, 2013)
• On Saturday my wife gets up at six (#42: June 4, 2006)
• On White Mountain, the Indian lit his smoke (#164: October 4, 2006)
• Once in a while the quality of light (#154: September 24, 2006)
• Once, long ago, before the mighty shift (#98: July 30, 2006)
• One day I'll tuck my hands behind my head (#177: October 17, 2006)
• One day I'm going to shut my mouth for good (V. 2, #202: October 17, 2013)
• One day, the ones we love will disappear (#397: Disappear)
• One night when God was drunk, and all the bars (#258: January 6, 2007)
• One of these days, my head's just going to pop (#229: December 8, 2006)
• One of these long, cold days, when all the leaves (V. 2, #187: October 2, 2013 ("Cold Comfort"))
• One should not answer one's cell phone while pissing (V. 2, #188: October 3, 2013)
• Open window--gentle summer air, An (V. 2, #142: August 17, 2013)
• Out here on Monster Island we all grow (#336: March 25, 2007)
• Out in the field, a throng of wildflowers (#361: April 19, 2007)
• Out yesterday, along a path that led (#405: Because Such Distractions of Beauty Cannot Bet Left toStand)
• P
• Pack of savages rushing the goal, A (#131: September 1, 2006)
• Perhaps I could have realized my dreams (V. 2, #87: June 23, 2013)
• Perhaps I'm getting soft in my old age (V. 2, #61: May 28, 2013)
• Pirates stood surrounded on the foredeck, The (#436: The Last Raid)
• Please bow your heads with me and say a prayer (V. 2, #126: August 1, 2013)
• Please hold my hand if I begin to sway (#23: May 16, 2006)
• Please point this bird toward Little Rock and fly (#21: May 14, 2006)
• Pods are raining down from outer space, The (#134: September 4, 2006)
• Princess was imprisoned in a tower, A (V. 2, #72: June 8, 2013 )
• Proper incantation starts like this, The (#372: Witches' Brew)
• Purple monkey sporting roller blades, A (V. 2, #145: August 21, 2013 (The Free-Association Rag, pt. 1))
• Put pots under the skylight where it leaks (#308: February 25, 2007)
• Q
• Quiet hour at last: the ice cubes sing, A (#456: End of Day)
• Quiet house, a cold afternoon beer, A (V. 2, #93: June 29, 2013)
• R
• Rabbit made it to the brier patch, The (V. 2, #189: October 4, 2013)
• Raccoon, dead on the freeway: forelegs splayed (#370: Roadkill)
• Rainy night. The shadows on the streets, A (#345: April 3, 2007)
• Roman candle, fuse smoldering low, A (#362: April 20, 2007)
• S
• Sands run out, the glass empty and still, The (#230: December 9, 2006)
• Say something sweet to me before I go (#184: October 24, 2006)
• See, J. C. was a fuckin' rock star, man (#322: March 11, 2007)
• Setting sun was mirrored in their eyes, The (#47: June 9, 2006)
• Seventh night of rain we heard the crack, The (#266: January 14, 2007)
• Shadows in the corner of the room, The (#104: August 5, 2006)
• She got it done the day she turned eighteen (#168: October 8, 2006)
• She got the stems, the gams, the set of wheels (#221: November 30, 2006)
• She knew we'd all been taught the same hard rule (V. 2, #29: April 25, 2013)
• She never leaves the house--she stays shut in (#170: October 10, 2006)
• She said her friend Max was invisible (V. 2, #70: June 6, 2013)
• She says she wants to die at forty-five (#419: Express Checkout Girl)
• She smoked like Raymond Chandler on a tear (#28: May 21, 2006)
• She took me down the trail through stands of birch (#243: December 22, 2006)
• She turned and left the room without a word (V. 2, #55: May 22, 2013 )
• She went to work in 1943 (#141: September 11, 2006)
• She's got a soaring eagle on her thigh (V. 2, #162: September 7, 2013)
• She's screaming just as loud as she can scream (#314: March 3, 2007)
• Show me your tarot cards and crystal ball (#296: February 13, 2007)
• Sing me a song you've never sung before (V. 2, #156: September 1, 2013)
• Sink is full of dishes, and the kids, The (V. 2, #104: July 10, 2013)
• Skateboard waiting by the bottom stair, The (#418: Worst Case Scenario)
• Sky was absolutely biblical, The (#111: August 12, 2006)
• Slatted light through half-turned window blinds, The (#306: February 23, 2007)
• Sleepy little Snufflepuff had stopped, The (V. 2, #76: June 12, 2013)
• Smell of damp earth swept into the room, The (#163: October 3, 2006)
• Smell of motor oil still makes me think, The (V. 2, #7: April 3, 2013)
• So everything is crap. Now that's a fact (#346: April 4, 2007)
• So now I've passed one hundred posts again (V. 2, #101: July 7, 2013)
• So once upon a time there was a prince (#329: March 18, 2007)
• So once upon a time there was this dog (#423: Truffles and Bones)
• So once upon a time there was this fish (V. 2, #11: April 7, 2013)
• So once upon a time there was this troll (#444: A Story without a Moral)
• So once upon a time, I had this horse (#402: Annabelle)
• So this is it. It's time to settle in (#12: May 5, 2006)
• So White is purity--a virginal (V. 2, #91: June 27, 2013)
• So--is this what you wanted? This malaise (#218: November 27, 2006)
• Some children don't believe the story's real (#245: December 24, 2006)
• Some days it's like molasses in your pen (#386: Some Days)
• Some days there's just no water in the fountain (V. 2, #89: June 25, 2013)
• Some folks move fast enough to catch their dreams (#323: March 12, 2007)
• Some men might watch you flirt and say, Too much (#439: The Ancient Lover, to a Young Lady)
• Some mornings when he woke up, and the wind (#307: February 24, 2007)
• Some nights you have it, other nights you don't (#410: Mulligan 3)
• Someone is reading poetry tonight (V. 2, #24: April 20, 2013 )
• Sometime after the meeting's second break (#128: August 29, 2006)
• Sometimes I think I don't have what it takes (#446: Untitled)
• Sometimes I want to step off of the ledge (#40: June 2, 2006)
• Sometimes the storm clouds roll in like a train (V. 2, #8: April 4, 2013)
• Somewhere across the universe one night (#321: March 10, 2007)
• Somewhere beyond the velvet pinhole stars (V. 2, #154: August 30, 2013)
• Somewhere down in the catacombs that lie (#357: April 15, 2007)
• Somewhere under this hill Chris Peters lies (#121: August 22, 2006)
• Spartan council dares not take the chance, The (#334: March 23, 2007)
• Stop making sense: consider that the pig (V. 2: #176: September 21, 2013)
• Stop spouting nonsense! was my teacher's cry (V. 2, #190: October 5, 2013)
• Stop to consider Edgar Manfred Sands (#278: January 26, 2007)
• Story's often told about the snake, The (#151: September 21, 2006)
• Stranger let his roan mare find the way, The (#3: April 26, 2006)
• Sudden storm flooded Mark's neighborhood, The (#291: February 8, 2007)
• Sun beat down and burned the Preacher blind, The (#45: June 7, 2006)
• Sun sinks down behind a mound of toys, The (#299: February 16, 2007)
• Sun was bleeding out across the sky, The (#447: Postcard on the Lam)
• Sunset--the dying star had just gone pink (#88: July 20, 2006)
• Sure, Jerry was a ass. But that don't mean (#87: July 19, 2006)
• Suzie Excusie would have been on time (#202: November 11, 2006)
• T
• Take up this bloody stone and mark the heft (#133: September 3, 2006)
• Tall man never moved; he simply stood, The (V. 2, #75: June 11, 2013)
• Ted Smith was thirty when he choked and died (#20: May 13, 2006)
• Temperature is eighty-one degrees, The (#70: July 2, 2006)
• That day Dewayne was digging by the fence (#72: July 4, 2006)
• That night those years ago, up in my dorm (#290: February 7, 2007)
• That night we lay there necking on the couch (#117: August 18, 2006)
• That's it--you've cheated me one time to many (V. 2, #186: October 1, 2013)
• Thea, my girl, my beautiful flower (#62: June 24, 2006)
• Thea, my love, my most beautiful rose (V. 2, #88: June 24, 2013 (For My Daughter, on Her 9th Birthday))
• There are days when nothing seems to turn out right (#65: June 27, 2006)
• There is a door behind which lies a room (V. 2, #142: August 18, 2013)
• There is a place behind the hospital (V. 2, #86: June 22, 2013)
• There lived a wizard once beside the sea (#140: September 10, 2006)
• There might be mermaids swimming in the seas (#89: July 21, 2006)
• There must have been a time in ages past (V. 2, #40: May 7, 2013)
• There was a fire once on a hill in Spain (#315: March 4, 2007)
• There was a time, my love, when we could sit (#455: There Was a Time, My Love, When We Could Sit)
• There was an ape who found a ball of gold (#254: January 2, 2007)
• There's chicken on the grill for those that want it (#142: September 12, 2006)
• There's never going to be a better time (V. 2, #49: May 16, 2013)
• There's nothing to it but to do it now (#406: Mulligan 2)
• There's one blue pool out there on Langham's land (#225: December 4, 2006)
• There's something at the bottom of the well (#24: May 17, 2006)
• There's something going on next door. The lights (V. 2, #137: August 12, 2013)
• There's something making noises in the sink (#187: October 27, 2006)
• There's something out here further up the chain (#226: December 5, 2006)
• There's sunken treasure strewn along that reef (#284: February 1, 2007)
• There's too damn many poems about writing (#36: May 29, 2006)
• There's two ways you can look at it, he said (#461: The Old Detective Waxes Philosophical Over a Pusher's Corpse, While His Young Partner Listens)
• They did not like the art he made--they said (#425: Dark Arts)
• They had him in his grave, or so they thought (#422: La Noche del Hombre-Lobo)
• They prowl the darkened roadways like a plague (#191: October 31, 2006)
• They say that minotaurs can be quite rude (V. 2, #152: August 28, 2013)
• They sit quite still, politely placing bets (#413: Dogs Playing Poker)
• They still don't know what happened to the kid (#325: March 14, 2007)
• Thick glasses; jutting teeth like nibs of corn (#48: June 10, 2006)
• Thing he couldn't do was walk away, The (V. 2, #134: August 9, 2013)
• Thing was made of donuts and green beans, The (#337: March 26, 2007)
• Things you want to do have all been done, The (#269: January 17, 2007)
• This afternoon, it's just the two of us (V. 2, #17: April 13, 2013)
• This body will not last as long again (V. 2, #178: September 23, 2013)
• This can't go on! the rebel said (Epigram)
• This cubicle looks like a dead-end street (#313: March 2, 2007)
• This hissy fit is going to be a bad one (#22: May 15, 2006)
• This place should not be able to contain (V. 2, #14: April 10, 2013)
• This stagnant pond, where once the water flowed (#210: November 19, 2006)
• This used to be a quiet neighborhood (V. 2, #67: June 3, 2013 (The Creature's Lament))
• This work week's back is one I'm pleased to see (V. 2, #92: June 28, 2013)
• Those motherfucking cocks! They don't know shit (#441: Don't Get Me Started)
• Those people who you didn't want to be (#324: March 13, 2007)
• Though now we're fatter and our hair is thinning (#381: Just the Same)
• THREE hundred sonnets? Holy fucking shit (#300: February 17, 2007)
• Thunder interrupts my daydreams like, The (V. 2, #130: August 5, 2013)
• Tinker built a magical machine, A (V. 2, #159: September 4, 2013)
• To build the box, you lay out all four sides (#249: December 28, 2006)
• To make a friend is easy: you just say (#143: September 13, 2006)
• To Reverend Walker, heaven was a bank (#6: April 29, 2006)
• To ride a woolly mammoth would be fun (V. 2, #38: May 5, 2013)
• To show his love, our father dug a pit (#147: September 17, 2006)
• Today I nearly called this whole thing off (V. 2, #191: October 6, 2013)
• Today I want to think of pleasant things (V. 2, #20: April 16, 2013 )
• Today it's by the numbers--there's no time (V. 2, #58: May 25, 2013)
• Tommy did magic tricks for all the kids (#110: August 11, 2006)
• Tonight get out the J&B, and don (#453: Giallo)
• Trees were swaying out there in the dusk, The (#289: February 6, 2007)
• Tremor shifts the ground just like the sea, The (#283: January 31, 2007)
• Trick is looking busy every moment, The (#353: April 11, 2007)
• Turkeys are not thankful for Thanksgiving, The (#214: November 23, 2006)
• Turn back the sheets and show yourself to me (V. 2, #146: August 22, 2013)
• Turn off the lights we used to study by (#155: September 25, 2006)
• Two hundred sonnets--quite a hefty sum (V. 2, #200: October 15, 2013)
• Two polar bears sitting on spring-green hills (#144: September 14, 2006)
• Tyrannosaurus Rex stands with his jaws (#4: April 27, 2006)
• U
• Upon a time once there was a princess (#41: June 3, 2006)
• Upon a time once, far away form here (V. 2, #59: May 26, 2013 )
• Upstairs, in that small room above his shop (#415: Gepetto)
• W
• Warrior's left his trusty sword to rust, The (V. 2, #97: July 3, 2013)
• Watch carefully, for this is not a trick (#211: November 20, 2006)
• Way it was, was this: I'm at the bar, The (V. 2, #161: September 6, 2013)
• Way she tells it, Tricks went down like this, The (#383: The Way Tricks Went Down)
• Way you curve between shoulder and hip, The (#212: November 21, 2006)
• We called them gumballs--pulled them from the tree (V. 2, #74: June 10, 2013 )
• We came out of the bar about as drunk (#430: Drinking Buddies)
• We don't know how he did it, but it seems (V. 2, #121: July 27, 2013)
• We found it round the back when we moved in (#387: The Hole)
• We helped the doc move boxes--homemade crates (V. 2, #46: May 13, 2013)
• We kept the magazines under the bed (#127: August 28, 2006)
• We like the Past because we know the way (#130: August 31, 2006)
• WE NEVER CLOSE! in letters two feet high (#377: Cranky, 24/7)
• We never said goodbye; because of this (#75: July 7, 2006)
• We never use the back room anymore (V. 2, #5: April 1, 2013)
• We sent a cat after the attic rats (#293: February 10, 2007)
• We used to get together every week (V. 2, #115: July 21, 2013)
• Weather's turning colder, and the trees, The (V. 2, #194: October 9, 2013)
• We'd stayed up late, and Grandma didn't mind (V. 2, #182: September 27, 2013)
• Week after he died, I found myself, The (V. 2, #95: July 1, 2013)
• Well hello, there. I ain't seen you before (#15: May 8, 2006)
• Well is dry, its walls not even moist, The (#105: August 6, 2006)
• Well, there she is: Mildred, my second wife (#57: June 19, 2006)
• We've spread the flour in front of every door (#421: Invisible Perv in a Girl's Dormitory)
• What do the salmon think, trapped in the jaws (#64: June 26, 2006)
• What for? Not just to show it can be done (#375: Wherein Sonnet Boy Questions His Motives for the Restart)
• What is it, but the insect pulse and thrum (V. 2, #163: September 8, 2013)
• What made me think I was the one for this (#167: October 7, 2006)
• What? Set 'em up again? Yeah, might as well (#417: Not Looking for Answers)
• Whatever he's doing, he does it late (#242: December 21, 2006)
• When all this goes to ashes, and the sun (V. 2, #170: September 15, 2013)
• When Eddie challenged Billy to a race (#260: January 8, 2007)
• When Everything is better, we can sit (#159: September 29, 2006)
• When everything is years on down the line (#319: March 8, 2007)
• When first I slipped my hand under your shirt (#344: April 2, 2007)
• When he was blind she gave him both her eyes (#272: January 20, 2007)
• When he was three, my son's favorite game (#8: May 1, 2006)
• When he was twelve, Rick Smith got in a fight (V. 2, #114: July 20, 2013)
• When I came back, the fields were just as green (#356: April 14, 2007)
• When I get home he pounces, eyes alight (#43: June 5, 2006)
• When I look back, a wheezing, shattered husk (V. 2, #199: October 14, 2013)
• When I was young there was a copperhead (#32: May 25, 2006)
• When I was young we'd watch a silly duck (#120: August 21, 2006)
• When little Mike was only four years old (#107: August 8, 2006)
• When she was just a child, there on the floor (V. 2, #60: May 27, 2013)
• When someone said the autumn moon was full (#106: August 7, 2006)
• When someone writes the history of us (#115: August 16, 2006)
• When there's nothing left to fuck up, and the clouds (#205: November 14, 2006)
• When you've been wearing tights as long as me (#448: The Green Revenger (Ret.) Remembers the Incident that Ended His Career)
• Where Sam the Sea Slug slumbered in the sea (V. 2, #140: August 15, 2013)
• Where that old bait shop was by Potter's Creek (#349: April 7, 2007)
• Where would I be without the helping hand (V. 2, #151: August 27, 2013)
• Who had this room before? Last night, let's say (#82: July 14, 2006)
• Why do you have to talk to me while I (#16: May 9, 2006)
• Why is it every Friday afternoon (#401: Another Friday Job)
• Why should we drug ourselves into unreason (#162: October 2, 2006)
• Will knew something was wrong. He saw right through (#316: March 5, 2007)
• With one month down, eleven more to go (V. 2, #32: April 28, 2013)
• With thoughts all dandelion down, my brain (V. 2, #15: April 11, 2013)
• Wooden door flew open suddenly, The (V. 2, #201: October 16, 2013)
• World has never seen their like before, The (V. 2, #25: April 21, 2013 )
• Worst thing was, we knew when it would hit, The (#38: May 31, 2006)
• Y
• You always kept some water by the bed (#250: December 29, 2006)
• You boys go on ahead and have your fun (V. 2, #53: May 20, 2013 )
• You can't expect fine weather every day (V. 2, #138: August 13, 2013)
• You know, they're only ugly; they're not mean (#378: Handler)
• You may not think so now, but just you wait (#247: December 26, 2006)
• You see it in the way he sits: his spine (V. 2, #43: May 10, 2013)
• You should have seen the look on your mom's face (#200: November 9, 2006)
• You want to scale the planet's highest summit (V. 2, #68: June 4, 2013)
• You'd better use that thing between your legs (#282: January 30, 2007)
• You'd think he would be happy all the time (#255: January 3, 2007)
• You'll find Golgotha Church up on that hill (#288: February 5, 2007)
• You'll miss me when I'm gone--you'll turn around (#172: October 12, 2006)
• You'll never get away! the mayor cried (#51: June 13, 2006)
• Young Billy hooked the cables to his head (#394: Billy's Gone Away)
• Young Charles Laveuax would babble on for hours (#66: June 28, 2006)
• Young counselors of Crystal Lake, beware (#355: April 13, 2007)
• Young Ed decided he would be a bird (#231: December 10, 2006)
• Young Gunther haunts this room. He was a child (V. 2, #103: July 9, 2013)
• Z
• Zombie pulls himself out of his grave, The (#145: September 15, 2006)
• Zombies shamble up and down the aisles, The (V. 2, #63: May 30, 2013)