Today’s prompt from NaPoWriMo is to use one of the unlikely space ship names from Iain M. Banks as a title and go from there. I read today that Mr. Banks has late stage cancer. So sorry to hear that.  No disrespect intended with this humorous offering.

This did not start out to be a rhyming poem, but at some point in the middle the rhyme started to come. So I went back and made some edits so the whole thing would be in synch. Take a look at the list on the website, though, and see which one appeals to you for your own poem!

A Series of Unlikely Explanations

I couldn’t call because my phone’s on fire,
I couldn’t write— my pen is filled with ice,
I couldn’t swim because I lost my lollipop,
I couldn’t ski— they made snow only twice.

The cat was sitting there upon my tablet.
The dog was sleeping on the four remotes.
The mailman locked the main door to my freezer.
The milkman doesn’t deliver milk for goats.

The census wrote my name without a comma,
and flyers never stay in my mailbox.
I didn’t buy your gift—they had no llamas
and every monkey had the chicken pox.

For every odd and painful situation
I have a good excuse, or maybe two.
They may seem unlikely explanations,
but hey, and what the heck, I think they’ll do!

Carol A. Stephen
April 4, 2013

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