Catch as Catch Can (Or, I’m Really Sorry Mr. Bok)

stars and lands far away, 

ants and aardvarks, maps and fantasy armadas, 

plants and handstands, art, acts, bands, banns,

can’t catch a gal at play, at that all-vacant halt:

a gal wants bras and randy panty pants, 

mags and fags, 

malt and hash - 

all a calm gal can carry -

a backpack and fast-grab hands.



braggarts and bastards

bang baby-gap gals (cats at a yarn-ball):

days apart can’t call a calm.

jackals.  man-bananas

catch a gal: bad attracts.

ah, catch as catch can, a gal says.

a black and tan, as a gal wants.

a black-ball says all.  

bass and brass balls, rat-a-tat-tat, snarls and hard hands. 

banal and anal, ass-grabs and asphalt, all as a lamp, a small star.  

a map.  a fast, bad draw.



aardvarks and ants 

and all ants want a war.



abraham can call; a gal can’t call back.                                                                         

attars and altars, marks and mama’s pasta, 

can’t catch a gal a-crawl, away.



shark-sharp, a gal stands,

scars and scarabs and a can, fast and lax,



tramp, tart, skank (all that gall!)



as far away as a star, 

hard and hardly and away.

a lark, a spartan, a small gal.



apart and always

far.

© Rachel Abraham