John Ramm (appearing at Eunoia Review and at Writing Raw)
When first domesticated, John was given
A power tie and a mug with antlers
He was informed about corporate life
Now he paces in the offices
Snorting and bucking, attempting to climb
The heights are sheer
This is what his hooves are made for
They talk about him at the water cooler.
The Ballad of John Ramm (appearing on VerseWrights)
Munching twigs, scenting
the air, hidden in a thicket
of leaves, brambles, thorns,
agile feet take him to flight
but not soon enough
Hailing a cab, trying to make
his way to work, he remembers
distantly what it was like to be
in the wild, but that was so long
ago, it seems like a different
animal lived then
While others preen, he pummels
While others rant, he rams.
Legend of John Ramm (appearing on Squawk Back)
Not sure why he spells his name
with two m’s sometimes. Maybe
it’s just been that long.
You can tell by the way he sniffs
the day, it’s not all good here. He
wants you to think it is. We all do.
How are you, I’m fine. Do they
even give you time to answer? I
sit across, study his antlers, want
to set him free. But his handlers
just won’t let me.
Like Ramms at Play (appearing on Venus in Scorpio)
He was a creature of the forest,
at work and at play,
then forced into an office.
But all that has been said before.
Now the family
must manage the remains,
decide if they will return
to the forest glen, scamper
and rut, or make the continual
business climb.
John Ramm’s Retirement Party (appearing on Poems and Poetry Blog)
This poem is for the recently departed
Mr. John Ramm, a dedicated co-worker
who was found one day grazing in a field,
and who now exists in the halls of this
great company’s memory, a horned figure
once stuffed into a business suit, now
mounted upon the wide victory wall.
Return of the Ramm
Though he is gone,
we remember his name.
The way he would charge at us
when he forgot his manners.
A mug sits on a shelf, gathering
dust. A necktie hangs on a chair.
We cry tears for him.
But there is a young Ramm
playing in the field outside.
Soon he will try on his first suit.