Three Poems for Today’s Mood: Things Useless, Sharp, and Filling

Poem 1
Useless Knowledge

WXY is 9 on your telephone
14 pounds is called a stone

a female lobster is a hen
a British can is called a tin

seta is another word for bristle
and amaranth is Russian thistle

useless knowledge this and that
marbles rolling in a hat

flotsam jetsam in our wake
toy boats sinking in the lake

Poem 2
Suture

when the silver needle
of a passenger plane slides
through the blue skin of the sky

Poem 3
Things That

Things That Fill
        smooth round tables
        wisteria blossoms
        cool water from the tap

Things That Drain
        square polished tables
        cut crystal vases
        linen napkins folded into swans