Literary Crumbs: Poems & Short Stories to Savor by D. Ryan Lafferty

  • Portmanteau

    or “Chicken Salad After All” They say that Lewis Carroll coined the term “portmanteau” after a double-sided suitcase of the same name. Two halves crammed together, making up a whole. I resist the worn-out cliché, something about the best of both worlds. So often the domain of the television commercial: the pitchman, the shill, the… Read more

  • The Cold, Cold Winter Rose

    The lovely daffodils of spring grow up far too early I suppose.Their beauty shines so brightly in their neat untrammeled rows. But those flowers first to blossom are those fastest yet to leave.Their fragile stems succumbing to those greedy, grabbing weeds. The tulips shoot directly aiming upward toward the sky.Their beauty’s simply stunning as they… Read more

  • Puppeteering

    Tiny puppet masters prop themselves up just above the other toys, the playthings elite. For they are special, certainly better than the rest. Superior grins stretch from ear to stenciled ear,adorning hollow faces. They rise, then bend and dip in such lifelike motion. Well-worn joints creak and moan as they bow, then rise again.Believing, without… Read more

  • Medusa

    I exhale in terror. Or is it simply exhaustion? I huff and wheeze a thin cloud of fog to rub awayyet another smudge on Athena’s prized shield.I feel anything, but heroic, hypnotized by the glare. Breathtakingly beautiful. A pun, as if anyone had time for stale humor. I choke on my own dry throat as… Read more

  • All That We Will Leave

    Be mindful of the things you do, be careful what you say.Life is meant to be enjoyed and age the price we pay. Imagine it all ended; in fact one day it will.Would the things that keep you up at night even matter still? The fire of time is greedy, consuming all it sees… It… Read more

  • Democracy Died with a Yawn

    It wasn’t a roar or explosion,no cheering or fanfare at all The dirge that rang from the raftersSilently fell as they took up her pall. No lavishly gilt invitations,no clarion sounded the call. The headlines that graced the newspapersbore witness to no one at all. Blind to the bonds of humanity; dignity, pride, and such… Read more

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  • Portmanteau

    or “Chicken Salad After All” They say that Lewis Carroll coined the term “portmanteau” after a double-sided suitcase of the same name. Two halves crammed together, making up a whole. I resist the worn-out cliché, something about the best of both worlds. So often the domain of the television commercial: the pitchman, the shill, the… Read more

  • The Cold, Cold Winter Rose

    The lovely daffodils of spring grow up far too early I suppose.Their beauty shines so brightly in their neat untrammeled rows. But those flowers first to blossom are those fastest yet to leave.Their fragile stems succumbing to those greedy, grabbing weeds. The tulips shoot directly aiming upward toward the sky.Their beauty’s simply stunning as they… Read more

  • Puppeteering

    Tiny puppet masters prop themselves up just above the other toys, the playthings elite. For they are special, certainly better than the rest. Superior grins stretch from ear to stenciled ear,adorning hollow faces. They rise, then bend and dip in such lifelike motion. Well-worn joints creak and moan as they bow, then rise again.Believing, without… Read more

  • Medusa

    I exhale in terror. Or is it simply exhaustion? I huff and wheeze a thin cloud of fog to rub awayyet another smudge on Athena’s prized shield.I feel anything, but heroic, hypnotized by the glare. Breathtakingly beautiful. A pun, as if anyone had time for stale humor. I choke on my own dry throat as… Read more

  • All That We Will Leave

    Be mindful of the things you do, be careful what you say.Life is meant to be enjoyed and age the price we pay. Imagine it all ended; in fact one day it will.Would the things that keep you up at night even matter still? The fire of time is greedy, consuming all it sees… It… Read more

  • Democracy Died with a Yawn

    It wasn’t a roar or explosion,no cheering or fanfare at all The dirge that rang from the raftersSilently fell as they took up her pall. No lavishly gilt invitations,no clarion sounded the call. The headlines that graced the newspapersbore witness to no one at all. Blind to the bonds of humanity; dignity, pride, and such… Read more