Ballad of the Walrus

long in the tooth

“with each day
more disheveled,
more uncouth”

artist: Sue Coccia

by Joe Váradi

I hear the whispers
on the arctic breeze.
Am I mere fodder
for glacial gossip —
and polar sleaze?

They say I’ve gone
long in the tooth,
with each day
more disheveled,
more uncouth,

and to tell the
honest truth,
I do miss the
carefree days of
my jaunty youth —

A lifetime spent
on the ice
(which I admit
is hardly
paradise)

A lifetime fighting off
polar bears
and orca —
(where’s my ballad,
García Lorca?)

and as yet
undeceased,
could not your regard for me
be warmer and fuzzier,
at the least?

Little gets me
chagrined.
Bring it on — I’m
nothing if not
thick-skinned.

The End

the wranglin’ pangolin