Jessy Randall
I don't want poets to be stand-up comedians, but I do like to see some evidence of wit in poems. I realized recently that The Muppet Show was an important influence on my sense of what's funny, which could explain a lot. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Anti-Limericks
"You can't tell me what to do," she said.
"Oh yes I can, and I will," he said.
She got down on her knees
and begged to differ. This
gave them both an idea for something else.
"You can't tell me what to remember," she said.
"I'm just telling you what to forget," he said.
She had a quibble with that.
She showed it to him.
He liked it. "Cute little quibble," he said.
"I keep telling you the same thing," she said.
"But I can't seem to hear what you're saying," he said.
He wanted her to whisper, but
what came next was a shout.
From then on they agreed email was best.
A Miracle of Modern Medicine
I lie in the box and down it comes.
The sharpest, cleverest mirror you ever saw.
I’m halved.
I’m twice.
The doctor manipulates
the refraction. A mistake
can cause quite a mess.
A bit repetitive, yes, but
it’s easier than cloning
or, god forbid, childbirth.
The Funny, Funny Poet
She gets up there and says
the most embarrassing things.
She should know better.
She pauses for the response. She's
her own sit-com. Now she's
sticking an arrow through her head.
Look at that. So funny we
forgot to laugh.
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Jessy Randall's first collection of poems, A Day in Boyland (Ghost Road Press, 2007) was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award. Her young adult novel The Wandora Unit is forthcoming in 2009. She self-publishes a zine entitled The Huge Underpants of Gloom and her website is http://personalwebs.coloradocollege.edu/~jrandall.