J.D. DeHart- Three Poems

When the Tigers Died

 

She watched their movements with her

almond eyes, full of sand and water,

worshipping them, loving them

until the last one collapsed

in its winding way across the grass-stitched

plain, then decided she must be the one.

She set about her plan, putting first the paws

on, then the tail and mask,

practicing her growl,

but sadly the effect was just not the same.

 

 

I Was the Machine Who

 

Washed your laundry today with a smile

Spat out three cups of coffee, perfect brew

Solved the quadratic equation with a crayon

Strode the line between maintaining attention

and committing offense

Defined the word transgression

Told you to stop cussing so much

A whirling, twirling dervish

of human and mechanical cyborg behavior

Mr. Solution, Mr. Fix-It, Mr. Gloss-Over-It

Mr. Trust-Me-Really, I know the answers.

 

 

Supermarket

 

Hi, how are ya, he intones

each time someone passes, while turning

the white fish samples in his small circle

of oily heat

It took me all day to realize

he was a robot, serving up toothpicks.