Poem: "Flatter Than a Grass Mat"
This is the freebie for the October 1, 2013 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from Anthony Barrette. See the sequel " What He-She Said."
"Flatter Than a Grass Mat"
Coyote played in the sandy canyons
long before the two-legged people came.
He chased birds and jackrabbits
and raced his shadow along the winding trails
in a puff of yellow dust.
When the people arrived,
they pitched tents and built pueblos
and made homes of many kinds.
Coyote walked among them,
sometimes as himself,
but other times on two legs
disguised as one of them,
telling jokes and bawdy stories
and playing pranks.
Sometimes his mischief
backfired on himself,
but Coyote just laughed it off.
Then new people came,
fighting with the old people
and driving most of them away.
Coyote wanted to play
with the new people.
He followed them
into their towns and cities,
their homes as square
as birch boxes.
He saw them telling funny stories
with paint and thin sheets as clear as air.
Coyote was a wily fellow,
and he was very good
at telling funny stories.
He worked his magic
and pressed himself
flatter than a grass mat,
slipping into place
with no one the wiser.
Once again, he ran
through the badlands
in a puff of dust,
this time chasing
a fellow trickster.
They never spoke,
playing out their pranks
all in pantomime.
They made things and
broke things and fixed things
as tricksters do,
changing the whole world
around them.
Wile E. Coyote,
the new people called him,
Supergenius --
even though he made
a fool of himself
more often than not.
They did not even notice
him teaching their children
the old lessons, a new way:
The world is what you make of it.
Learn to laugh at yourself.
Do not be so greedy.
Look before you leap,
or you will get yourself
squashed flatter than a grass mat.
* * *
Notes:
Wile E. Coyote is a famous cartoon character, who sometimes describes himself as "supergenius."
Coyote appears as a trickster figure in many tribal religions. He often falls from heights, sets himself on fire, or gets into other trouble. Back in college, I came across a traditional tale in which Coyote fell from a great height and was "squashed flatter than a grass mat." I finally found an online version, this time mentioning a willow mat. Wile E. Coyote often suffers the same fate -- but like tricksters and cartoon characters everywhere, always lives to tell the tale.
In Native American lore, the sacred number is four. In European cultures, it is three. This is why things like plot segments, tests, examples, and lessons customarily appear in those sets.
"Flatter Than a Grass Mat"
Coyote played in the sandy canyons
long before the two-legged people came.
He chased birds and jackrabbits
and raced his shadow along the winding trails
in a puff of yellow dust.
When the people arrived,
they pitched tents and built pueblos
and made homes of many kinds.
Coyote walked among them,
sometimes as himself,
but other times on two legs
disguised as one of them,
telling jokes and bawdy stories
and playing pranks.
Sometimes his mischief
backfired on himself,
but Coyote just laughed it off.
Then new people came,
fighting with the old people
and driving most of them away.
Coyote wanted to play
with the new people.
He followed them
into their towns and cities,
their homes as square
as birch boxes.
He saw them telling funny stories
with paint and thin sheets as clear as air.
Coyote was a wily fellow,
and he was very good
at telling funny stories.
He worked his magic
and pressed himself
flatter than a grass mat,
slipping into place
with no one the wiser.
Once again, he ran
through the badlands
in a puff of dust,
this time chasing
a fellow trickster.
They never spoke,
playing out their pranks
all in pantomime.
They made things and
broke things and fixed things
as tricksters do,
changing the whole world
around them.
Wile E. Coyote,
the new people called him,
Supergenius --
even though he made
a fool of himself
more often than not.
They did not even notice
him teaching their children
the old lessons, a new way:
The world is what you make of it.
Learn to laugh at yourself.
Do not be so greedy.
Look before you leap,
or you will get yourself
squashed flatter than a grass mat.
* * *
Notes:
Wile E. Coyote is a famous cartoon character, who sometimes describes himself as "supergenius."
Coyote appears as a trickster figure in many tribal religions. He often falls from heights, sets himself on fire, or gets into other trouble. Back in college, I came across a traditional tale in which Coyote fell from a great height and was "squashed flatter than a grass mat." I finally found an online version, this time mentioning a willow mat. Wile E. Coyote often suffers the same fate -- but like tricksters and cartoon characters everywhere, always lives to tell the tale.
In Native American lore, the sacred number is four. In European cultures, it is three. This is why things like plot segments, tests, examples, and lessons customarily appear in those sets.