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Home Poetry Humor

‘Last Minute Change’ and Other Short Poems by Frank Rable

September 5, 2025
in Humor, Poetry
A A
24
poems 'Last Minute Change' and Other Short Poems by Frank Rable

.

Last Minute Change

Fowl, tragic days,
Hen-house ablaze;
Chickens took flight.
Tofu tonight?

.

.

A Man Eating Chicken

A comma, a pause,
Defines the thought,
And whether a chicken
Eats me or not.

.

.

Musical Chairs

And the music stops.
No chair for me,
I walk away,
Resentfully.

.

.

Frank Rable is a poet living in Pennsylvania.

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Comments 24

  1. Paulette Calasibetta says:
    1 year ago

    Dear Frank, I really enjoyed the brevity and the whimsy; a nice way to start the day.

    Reply
  2. Frank Rable says:
    1 year ago

    Thanks Paulette!

    Reply
  3. Roy Eugene Peterson says:
    1 year ago

    Concise and funny. I like your sense of humor.

    Reply
    • Frank Rable says:
      1 year ago

      Thanks R.E.! I thought about a graduation speech and did the opposite.

      Reply
  4. Jeremiah Johnson says:
    1 year ago

    “Tofu tonight?” – Hilarious 🙂

    Reply
    • Frank Rable says:
      1 year ago

      Served sans plats and drizzled with chicken gravy over the sink. Bachelor convenient! I appreciate your comment, Jeremiah. Thanks!

      Reply
  5. Cheryl Corey says:
    1 year ago

    Words matter, perhaps even more so as with the brevity of these poems, which are finely-honed.

    Reply
    • Frank Rable says:
      1 year ago

      Thank you, Cheryl. That’s very kind of you.

      Reply
  6. C.B. Anderson says:
    1 year ago

    The best tofu I ever ate was something called mock fried duck, but chicken is better. What would our world be like if hens had pens? Nice quips, but what if eggs had legs?

    Reply
    • Frank Rable says:
      1 year ago

      Ya gave me a laugh! If eggs had legs, Secretary Kennedy would have a fit. and could vegetarians eat them? Mock fried duck? Is that bean curd fried in peanut oil with a little duck grease.Yum! Happy to hear from you C. B.

      Reply
  7. Paul A. Freeman says:
    1 year ago

    Three fun pieces, Frank, the first along the lines of ‘Red sky at night’ (perhaps a cue for another competition!). I loved the over-competitive musical chairs.

    Reply
    • Frank Rable says:
      1 year ago

      Thanks Paul. Red sky at night, That’s it! I scribbled that as part of a rhyme in a birthday card, and i guess that stuck with me when i wrote the poem, which was a while ago. The mystery finally revealed! See, my muse is a birthday card.
      SECOND GRADE 1962 Musical chairs, the girls had a plan, one by one the boys lost their chair. But not I, because I was certainly STRONGER THAN ANY GIRL! ‘Twas a bitter lesson as I walked away, resentfully

      Reply
      • Paul Freeman says:
        1 year ago

        Young girls conspire,
        Much to Frank’s ire.
        To his despair,
        Frank has no chair.

        Reply
      • Paul Freeman says:
        1 year ago

        Young girls conspire,
        Much to Frank’s ire.
        To his despair,
        Frank has no chair.

        Reply
  8. Frank Rable says:
    1 year ago

    yes I had no chair, dammit! ha ha hah Good one Paul! It was so nice, I read it twice!

    Reply
  9. Cynthia L Erlandson says:
    1 year ago

    Fun stuff, Frank! I love “Man-Eating Chicken”. I’m guessing you may have been trying to find a rhyme for hyphen, as in man-eating? (All I could find was siphon…. 🙂 ) Anyway, what you came up with was good.

    Reply
    • Frank Rable says:
      1 year ago

      Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. What about”mood I found my WIFE IN” for a rhyme with hyphen?

      Reply
      • Cynthia L Erlandson says:
        1 year ago

        I love it!

        Reply
  10. Russel Winick says:
    1 year ago

    Long laughs from short poems. Great stuff!

    Reply
    • Frank Rable says:
      1 year ago

      Thanks Russel! Like a three panel comic strip, yeah?

      Reply
  11. Adam Sedia says:
    1 year ago

    Though short and light on their surface, these pack deep interpretive possibilities. They offer a much more engaging read than meets the eye.

    Reply
    • Frank Rable says:
      1 year ago

      Thanks for your comment Adam. I appreciate your take on my little poems. I don’t claim that they have deeper meanings, but sensibly, I don’t deny it either. 🙂

      Reply
  12. Susan Jarvis Bryant says:
    1 year ago

    Frank, I love these gleaming grins of poetic wonder. Thank you for my Friday smile!

    Reply
  13. Frank Rable says:
    1 year ago

    Gleaming grins! What a glorious, gracious, and generous mention of my submissions, gentle lady. I am genuinely grateful! 🙂

    Reply

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  1. Russel Winick on ‘Life Is Conflictual’: A Poem by Roy E. PetersonOctober 21, 2026

    Roy, again you have aptly captured one of life’s great truths. Thanks for the nice morning read.

  2. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Life Is Conflictual’: A Poem by Roy E. PetersonOctober 21, 2026

    I love your reference to the Louisa May Alcott quote!

  3. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Life Is Conflictual’: A Poem by Roy E. PetersonOctober 21, 2026

    I appreciate your comment, Sephen.

  4. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Life Is Conflictual’: A Poem by Roy E. PetersonOctober 21, 2026

    So true, Briana. Thank you for your comments.

  5. Mary Jane Myers on ‘The Walking Wounded’: A Poem by Jeffrey EssmannOctober 21, 2026

    Jeffrey This “philosophical” poem is artfully constructed. You have written three 6-line stanzas exact rhymed a-b-c-b-a-c; iambic pentameter (5 )…

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