The toothless cat has a mouse in his mouth
The toothless cat drops the mouse from his mouth
The mouse dropped from his mouth races away
The toothless cat chases the mouse across the patio
The toothless cat catches the mouse on the patio
The toothless cat brings the mouse in his mouth way across the patio,
and into the house
The toothless cat drops the mouse in his mouth inside the house
The mouse formerly in his mouth escapes inside the house
The man and the woman who own the toothless cat search frantically in the house
for the mouse formerly in his mouth

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John Roche lives in Placitas, New Mexico, helping Jules Nyquist run Jules’ Poetry Playhouse and edit Poetry Playhouse Publications. He taught Literature and Creative Writing for decades at various colleges, and was formerly President of Just Poets in Rochester, NY, member of the board of BOA Editions, chief organizer of the Black Mountain North Symposium, and an instigator of the annual Cloudburst Council poets’ retreat in the Finger Lakes. Along with editing the five-volume Poets Speak series and other anthologies (including Mo’ Joe), his own poetry collections include On Conesus, Topicalities, Road Ghosts, and The Joe Poems: The Continuing Saga of Joe the Poet. His newest book is Joe Rides Again: Further Adventures of Joe the Poet (FootHills Publishing 2020).

John’s Books at PoetryPlayhouse.com: https://www.julesnyquist.com/johns-books.html
Poets Speak Series: https://www.julesnyquist.com/submissions-poets-speak-.html