An l-poem for Lian Canty’s Alphabet Menagerie, http://www.alphabetmenagerie.com
only one of these things is true
The ladybug lost its polka dots
while gazing at the moon.
And the lizard dusted the piano
while the clouds serenaded the loon.
The luna moth hitchhiked to France,
and the lemons went on strike—
they said they were tired of being so sour.
The lark bunting read limericks all night.
Well that kept awake the lady slipper
who was planted in earth with no dirt,
and the lemmings all ran in circles
and made pacts that no one would get hurt.
Meanwhile the lightning decided to stay
where it was in the sky for an hour,
and all the children gave up lollipops—
said they’d rather just sniff flowers.
The lunar landscape, bored with cheese,
made all the craters Jello.
And the wide-eyed snuggly loris
had poison in the sides of its elbows
so that anyone who touched it would die
from anaphylactic shock.
That’s the thing about a lie—
it’s only funny till it’s not.