Technical Datasheet for a New Me

Kit contains:
One shaped sponge
Batteries not included
Three pages of caution notes
and small print

Paper cut on page 5
Something not readable in Swahili
Water spilled on Japanese translations

My new clone points to Appendix 4b: “Instructions”
It lists: 2 drops of blood
Half cup of water

I hear my car drive away.

In Which the Three Little Pigs
Invest Less in Building Materials
and More in Weapons

The industrious one dug his trenches
and rolled stones to brace the guns.
The tat tat tat of the Tommy’s
kept his perimeter well-secured.
The stormy sunrise had nothing on
the red baked trees come dawn.

The practical one perched in high branches,
the ladder tucked into his belt.
Behind the Boys Only sign he loaded six
into daddy’s second hand steel.
Holding a branch for balance,
he tossed the first Army Surplus flare.

The lazy one pitched his tent
and toasted his supper on a cheery fire.
He smiled over his beer
as it began to rain fur and bone.
Landmines shook the forest and
the world burned like straw.

————

Carrie McKay is a poet and teller of tall-tales. She originally landed in Cleveland, Ohio where her lake-side walks resulted in many little green woman tales. Carrie currently lives in Southern California where no one notices the basking of green people. Her days are ordered by the Cats-In-Charge, two teenagers and a fellow poet. Her most recent publication can be found in “A Poet Is A Poet No Matter How Tall.”