A Poem a Day (640): NaPoWriMo Day 12 - In support of kittens

 
Day 12 

Prompt: write a poem that plays with the idea of a ‘tall tale’. American tall tales feature larger-than-life characters like Paul Bunyan (who is literally larger than life), Bulltop Stormalong (also gigantic), and Pecos Bill (apparently normal-sized, but he doesn’t let it slow him down). If you’d like to see a modern poetic take on the tall tale, try Jennifer L. Knox’s hilarious poem, Burt Reynolds FAQ. Your poem can revolve around a mythical character, one you make up entirely, or add fantastical elements into a real person’s biography. www.napowrimo.net

In support of kittens

 
He wasn’t a tall man. He wasn’t a rich man.
Some would say he wasn’t even a good man.
But he had his moments. He didn’t brag.
He just knew his mind and chose to say it.
 
Those walls have gotta come down, he said.
There are too many of those goddamn walls.
Too many rules, too many obstacles,
no clear instructions for the things that matter.
 
People told him it was best not to point it out.
But there are too many walls, he said.
Too many people have been shafted,
too many people are stuck,
too many people on the poverty line,
too many sunk beneath it.
 
Everyone just shook their head, said it is what it is.
Sometimes the sun went up. Sometimes it went down.
He was a straight-talking kind of man.
But nothing he tried to say made a difference.
 
Some said he wasn’t too clever, he had a big mouth.
But one fine day, he took a hammer to that wall.
Overnight he appeared to grow two feet taller.
Then they said he wasn’t a small man, but a giant.
 
Copyright Vickie Johnstone, April 12, 2024