In contest with a hippopotamus
me and the hippo
race
to lose weight
at such a frantic yet erratic pace
me and the fruit fly vie
to try to not age
to postpone the next stage
to delay each and every turn of every single page
Hey babe! What? I’m staying away from the eggs.
And the butter.
So don’t stay away from me.
Hey boy! Look — I am not old.
I expect to send tingles down your spine,
not receive a courteous nod like you’d give to your great-grandmother
several years after she’s been buried.
Gee.
This dog I have smells.
No bath rids the odor.
No change of diet freshens the breath.
The only remaining option is to the change the dog
for I am getting tired of changing the carpet.
me and the sunset
will meet again
at some appointed time
until then I compete against the shadow it causes the body to cast
seeking any remaining light while vanishing in the darkness
— Zumwalt (May 1991)
Reposted for dVerse challenge: http://dversepoets.com/2011/11/19/poetics-changes/
zumpoems 
Comments on: "In contest with a hippopotamus" (24)
That is a really great poem I love it.
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An enjoyable poem. Made me smile, but please don’t change the dog. LOL.
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smiles…this was a fun read…i like th conversation that happens in the middle and the repeated theme of competing for something…yeha you might need to change the dog if you have to change that carpet often…
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no change of diet freshens the breath -> i used to think that diet changed a dogs breath, but it doesn’t you have to brush their teeth, give them dental chews, and even take them to the vet for a cleaning, sometimes even an extraction 😦
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hehe- Interesting twist in the middle.
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Love the the sense of fun with a subject that seems to drive many to blatant insanity–aging. Oh well. Change happens–the line about the departed great-grandmother, oh so painfully true, cracked me up. Lots of skill in this under the hood.
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Hi, I nominated you for an award because you inspire me, please check out my page for it. 😀
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Hi there I plucked up courage again and entered!! xx
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haha..really like your sense of humor…that was a fun read and the great-grand-mother stanza cracked me up..
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beautiful humor.
wow.
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this was a great poem as well as the whole site there for I’m nominating you for this check it out my friend. http://heartofbella.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/versatality-is-a-gift-the-world-would-be-a-boring-place-without-it/
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willowdot21, Mary, brian, zongrik, Laurie, hedgewitch, nightshade130, claudia, The Noiseless Cuckooclock and heartofbella,
Thanks so much for visting and commenting. Greatly appreciated.
nightshade130 and heartofbella,
thanks for the nomination for this site. Great honor — greatly appreciated!
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Love the fourth stanza…I guess nobody really accepts aging. Great poem 🙂
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your words fly cross so many places, making us realize that, attitude is key for happiness, humor keeps the ball rolling.
thoughtful and wonderful piece on change.
way to go.
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Have nominated you for the Liebster Award. See here for more details!
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Very funny, sad and wise – “a courteous nod like you’d give to your great-grandmother
several years after she’s been buried.” – How many have come to that realize that?
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I have nominated you for the award please have a look as given below;
http://wp.me/p1rRON-8S
Thank you
Regards,
TigerGrove
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Very entertaining poem. I really do enjoy your writing. Keep up the good work 🙂
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this was a true joy to read – what a treat! And this stanza made me LOL – I can totally relate:
Hey boy! Look — I am not old.
I expect to send tingles down your spine,
not receive a courteous nod like you’d give to your great-grandmother
several years after she’s been buried.
I’m still laughing – that was great. thank you!
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Written in 1991? I’d love to read a sequel! Actually, I loved reading this, and felt a kindred spirit in many of the words and definitely in the humor. Might as well laugh. 🙂
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Nice mixture of good humour and quality lines, cheers.
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Lol! This is awesome!
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Ethel and I nominated you for the Liebster Blog Award. Check details out on fourwindowspress.com and enjoy sharing the award with other bloggers. We love your poetry.
Tom and Ethel Davis
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Everyone,
Thanks for the comments.
Edward, Heather and Thomas,
Thanks for the nomination! Greatly honored!
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