He brushed aside the crows feet, as the raven perched on his head,
sitting regally as a black swan.
The old man swatted it away -“Get off me, you ol’ chicken!”
“Your go – you said when you sat down here you were gonna play”
The small bat moved the pawn.
“No, no! We’re playing cards – deal those things!
“Are we playing gin again?”
“No, skat, you silly bat – but gin sounds perfect at a time like this.”
The small bat began to beat the rooks with the queen-
thwack ,thwack ,thwack with the constancy of a metronome.
“That queens gonna ice you good if you keep that up”
He sloshed gin from the old liquor bottle, into the teacup,
washing the faces of the painted orange flowers
and causing one nasturtium to hiccup quietly.
Rocking gently in the corner, the wheelbarrow creaked
as the long dragony tail of the crocodile kept time
with the blues man, his sax crying that black cat blues.
And the old man, grinning like a yellow toothed dog,
danced to the blues man’s tune
with Selene, her raven hair crowned with the crescent moon.
(Meanwhile, the raven and the bat played mumblety peg
with a needle in the haystack until the violinist played
last call.)
*** For dVerse Poetics, Claudia gave us a list to play with -Obelix, a dragon, a crocodile, an old tractor, a bat, a spaceship, Neptune, Superman, a greek god or godess, a chicken, a black swan, a nutcracker, a man who can’t stop clapping, a cup with orange flowers painted on it, a black cat, a dog with yellow teeth, a bluesman playing the saxophone, a violinist, Hänsel&Gretel, the Icequeen, an old liquor bottle, a wheelbarrow, a needle in a haystack, a raven, a blue car, a metronome…
Then an extra challenge, tell us about the old man, the moon and a little bat who meet at night here in the pub for a game of skat.
The Course of Our Seasons 
Love the nasturtium! Jane
Fun stuff to read in this exploratory style. Can imagine as rambling song – in good way!
Wow! I especially love that the entire musical accompaniment started with a hiccup and a squeak!
Enjoyed how this fun scene played out with your interesting characters…”and the old man, grinning like a yellow-toothed dog” ha!
Ah well done Kathleen, I love that idea of a hiccuping nasturtium.
I. SO. LOVED. THIS! Grinned all the way through. Love the raven on his head, ADORE the nasturtium hiccuping quietly, the dragonfly tail of the crocodile……a fantastic write! So enjoyable to read!
lol!! the beginning is so funny the conversation is really interesting!!
You had me laughing with this. I think this must have been so much fun to write. I loved the nasturtium’s hiccups! Terrific use of your imagination. Kathleen.
Bang on with the lovely mix of fantasy characters, & expertly you included all the prompt suggestions; it has a fable/fairy tale vibe to it, yet it feels contemporary too. I, also, liked the image of the “nice” crocodile keeping time to the blues man sax.
Well..Kathleen i did not find you on the end of trail of dVerse today..oFF to the races of REAL LIFE i go..but before..as i find i enjoy you poetry now..i clicked on Kathleen..in the middle OF the list…
generAlly speaking i love the flow of your words..and the emotions they bring..it is an easy river…
not a hard one to paddle up!
So smiles and have a great day dear..or deer if nature is your way..
simple and pleasant
and care free….
but wisdom still deep..with no bottom of well…
I can just picture them sitting at a table in dVerse bar having a flaming good time – great play on words.
That’s just wonderful, Kathleen!
“The small bat began to beat the rooks with the queen- / thwack ,thwack ,thwack with the constancy of a metronome.”…love the lines…this one is the perfect take on the prompt…..
Ha, you have to decide on playing cards or chess – but it’s not easy to be batty.
oh i love how many of the characters you wove in in such a cool way… the crocodile keeping time with the blues man…ha…i always thought they have a good sense for tact…smiles
He sloshed gin from the old liquor bottle, into the teacup,
washing the faces of the painted orange flowers
and causing one nasturtium to hiccup quietly.
Great writing in this whole piece, but I especially like this stanza. Excellent!
I am in awe of your wild imagination Kathleen specially this part:
Rocking gently in the corner, the wheelbarrow creaked
as the long dragony tail of the crocodile kept time
with the blues man, his sax crying that black cat blues.
You created a sweet and amusing scene, Kathleen! I still have to check what sky is. I have never played this game, I think.
Enjoyed this conversation! Such light-hearted fun.
This is so fun. I love your story. What a group of unlikely friends you’ve gathered here to listen and dance to sax music. It’s magical. Wish I’d been invited.
hahahah fantastical fun….oh my what a crew you came up with….a bit of the gin eh? hahaha…gotta watch that mumbly peg…i almost lost a toe once….cool magic in this too kathleen….