The Albany Poetry Workshop
Forum II: Improbable Tales
D. Lee Kratz
GATOR BOY
Reporters scramble for the scoop,
photographers at hand.
Is this real or elephant poop
laid on gullible land?
The circus tents are rising fast,
the barkers know the tune.
Wide-eyed patrons crowd at last
to read a tabloid’s boon.
Lizard mom on gnarled leg
Ole dad was just a man
Baby broke from a tiny egg
to start a brand new clan.
Gator-boy winks back at you
in tab-rag gotcha style.
I wonder if this story’s true
or just another pile?
Must I read the words I see?
P.T. would surely smile
and find that sucker would be me
who paid to read this bile.
This gator boy will fade away
once all the fervor dies.
Next week another expose
will catch the passerby.
June 1997
D. Lee Kratz's questions:
In the fifth stanza first line...does the meter work as it is one syllable
off? Also the last line of the piece is one syllable off...any suggestions?