Thomas Chickenbone

He was demented and well-known
By those who knew him not at all—
The thundering Thomas Chickenbone,
Who walked these famed poetic halls.

The younger lemmings aped his writing,
That came from his almighty quill,
That wrought much jealousy and fighting
Among his peers of lesser skill.

Larger-than-life, he walked alone,
Like some half human and half beast—
The brazen Thomas Chickenbone—
The bomb of poetry released.

He rolled his r’s and hissed his s’s
In every poem he would write
Like presidential addresses,
That he delivered day and night.

He was determined like a stone,
And no one could break his will—
The feisty Thomas Chickenbone
With balls of fire in his quill.

Some women said that he alone
Had stamina of a thousand men,
For mighty Thomas Chickenbone
Was very potent with his pen.


    August 18, 2007
--Alexander Shaumyan