issue 24 > light verse > barkman

I can't remember: scapula,
Cyclops, clavicle, derelict.
I plead with synapses
to make the connections.

Sometimes sound helps:
think of Guatemala
to get to guacamole.
Granola leads to Laos,
circuit breaker to breakwater,
doberman to compost.

Sometimes a category:
gerund raises participle,
pinkeye springs conjunctivitis,
rafter unlocks beams.

Sadly, random searches
will not release knish,
La Crosse, or even Fellini.
Rhododendron and piñata
are adrift in neurons until
heard or read somewhere.

I scribble them quickly
before I forget again:
machete, fluorescent,
penitentiary, hyacinth,
versatile, barnacle,
dialysis, fiberglass,
zydeco, klezmer,
tribal, marmalade,
rutabaga,
parsnip,
chakra,
Mohawk,
apocalypse