Lessons from a Happy Skeleton

What had happened was a moth got caught
in my uncut ambition and by the time
I noticed, its wings were in tatters.

What had happened was we ran the vacuum
which sucked up all the moonlight, leaving us
closer to our doom because of the urge to tidy.

What had happened was we found ourselves
at Shady Oaks, a place we are usually not allowed to go,
where alcohol flows freely and the salmon comes
coated in spinach and some sort of decorative crust,
which is a gift for the mouth but not so much for the fish.

What had happened was we freed the trapped grasshopper
who then flew into the beak of a blackbird,
a charity disaster lesson.

What had happened was he carried the clod
in his pocket all day because he forgot
to put it on the casket.

What had happened was overnight a whole family of frogs
got caught in the drying front door caulk, so next morning
at carpool, the students learned a quick lesson
on indifferent deities and the randomness of death.

What had happened was Steve learned how to fly
but never learned how to land, so unfortunately,
Steve had to leave.