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Best Poems From
HERBERT NEHRLICH
(04 October 1943)
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821.
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Castles
I felt so tired of the hassle,
that seemed to fall down from the sky.
That's why I built a lovely castle
of sand right on my beach nearby.
I took great care with all the towers,
the drawbridge opened on two ropes,
and all the front windows had flowers.
Crown Vetch was planted on the slopes.
And just in time for its completion
the clouds were promising some rain.
The castle's name was Holstein-Friesian,
after the one that looked the same.
Thus I got ready to move in,
and brushed the sand well off my feet.
I knocked against it with my shin.
What stared at me now was defeat.
My future home had simply caved
in to a minor kick.
And if I railed and if I raved
I would not save it, 'cause the nick
of time had surely passed.
So, would I build again?
I do not understand.
Why can't I build all by myself
a castle out of sand?
Herbert Nehrlich
Read more: beach poems, future poems, rain poems, home poems, sky poems, time poems, flower poems
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822.
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Cat
When the storm came
and the lights went out,
my cat left.
Never to return.
I had always fed her, though.
Herbert Nehrlich
Read more: cat poems
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823.
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Cat Among The Pigeons
An alley cat with scruffy hair
got into the old pigeon house.
And all it wanted was its share
of pigeon meat, because a mouse
was such a bore and pretty small
variety, the spice of life
would play, exceedingly, a role
for this gray cat and for his wife.
The pigeons flew in all directions
some crashed like Kamakazi fliers
the cat cleaned up the closest section
and then returned to the home fires.
Revenge was planned by all the birds
as word got 'round about the raid
it was decided that with words
one could not sway a cat who made
these trips to be a connoisseur.
So they enlisted Mr. Eagle
who was so strong that they were sure,
that with some luck they could sweneagle
a devastating end for cats
so fifteen small birds were procured
from within ranks of ugly bats
whose parents had been well assured
that their excursion would be fun,
of course they were the Eagle's fee
when he would fly in with the sun
to maim and kill and set them free.
That's how it went, the eagle came
swooped down from lofty heights at speed
and knocked not only out his frame
but heart and lungs which cat did need
.
The end of cat was rather swift
he never did another raid
the eagle got his batty gift
and pigeons were no more afraid.
But on the Monday of that week
there was a storm, it seems, severe,
the cat's own spouse, just like a freak
killed all of them, oh dear oh dear.
Herbert Nehrlich
Read more: cat poems, fun poems, house poems, hair poems, home poems, sun poems
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824.
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Cataract
A gleaming scalpel in his hand
gloved left hand on the thymus gland.
He slices with extreme precision
the pupil's frontal third division.
Leaves just enough at bottom end
to later stitch it back to mend.
His handiwork has been well learned
to justify a fortune earned.
He operates by the old book,
I hand to him the Crowley Hook
with which he dives into the eye,
inverted lid, attached a sty,
and wiggles until something gives
a miracle if this one lives.
A minute, slightly more, it slips
out, onto cotton balls and drips
with yellow gel and blood-stained gristle
assistant mops, and starts to whistle.
A gentle irrigation follows
until all crud has left the hollows.
We pack the victim now in bed
surrounded by sandbags, instead
of pillows or soft covers,
because his fate now simmers, hovers
until a fortnight well has gone.
And, after that life may go on.
Note: Cataract operations as described
are no longer done in such a 'crude' manner.
Also, instead of leaving the lens crypts
empty and relying on thick glasses to replace
them, today, artificial lenses are placed in situ.
Herbert Nehrlich
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