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Home Poetry Humor

‘Pouting Polly’: A Poem by Robert Nachtegall

June 26, 2026
in Humor, Poetry
A A
9
engraving of a bear by P. Mazell after J. Webber

engraving of a bear by P. Mazell after J. Webber

 

Pouting Polly

Polly Esther finds her vesture positively snoring.
Even worse, her purse looks like a tile of kitchen flooring.
She’s not enthused about her shoes whose hues are lacking flair,
And swears a hairless bear would never dare the ware she wears.
Now Loafing Lester is a bear who fares to live near there.
He sniffed and caught a whiff of someone brooding in the air.
Lester isn’t hairy and but nominally scary.
He is however weary of consuming boysenberries.
Our Lester found poor Polly Esther sulking by a tree.
He stared, and wondered that she didn’t scare or try to flee.
Dear Polly should have run but had resolved she wasn’t done
With mopey frowns of ho-hum gowns and dresses not finespun.
The bear, who didn’t care about her pout or what was fair,
Decided then and there to have his supper medium rare.

 

 

Robert Nachtegall is an operations director in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has also published in The Imaginative Conservative and Agape Review.

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Comments 9

  1. Mark Stellinga says:
    3 months ago

    Alliterarily fairly scary, Robert, but, shareararily, very merrily appreciated, and exceptionally clever as well. 🙂

    Reply
  2. David Filpula says:
    3 months ago

    This was a joy to read, Robert. The internal rhymes evoke flowing waves as well as strides of footsteps, both sailing and marching. And a great apologue on the fashionable and the fundamental.

    Reply
    • RobertNachtegall says:
      3 months ago

      Many thanks David. It was a jumble of fun to write.

      Reply
  3. Roy Eugene Peterson says:
    3 months ago

    I was thinking the ending might be something like: He could not swallow polyester and so he chose not to molest her. In a way your ending was a surprise, since it was exactly what you were leading up to in your poem. I am a sucker for poems with internal rhyme and yours was an excellent example. Your words were creative producing imaginative images both of Polly Esther’s “ho-hum” appearance and of the bear.

    Reply
    • Robert Nachtegall says:
      3 months ago

      Thanks Roy. You might actually have the better ending. My mind was all over on this one. There was too much I wanted to do and ultimately had to settle or never finish. I too have a soft spot for internal rhyme. I sometimes have to check myself or will just fall into it when writing.

      Reply
  4. Michael Pietrack says:
    3 months ago

    Fun!

    Reply
  5. Cynthia L Erlandson says:
    3 months ago

    Indeed, lots of fun!

    Reply
  6. jd says:
    3 months ago

    I enjoyed your poem, Robert, and found your descriptions
    clever and imaginative.

    Reply
  7. Margaret Coats says:
    3 months ago

    A story packed with humorous word sense, Robert. Enjoyed it immensely as the puzzled Lester ponders poorly dressed potential supper.

    Reply

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