Opossum with a Clock Within Its Mouth

In years past I’ve done Botober, a set of sketching prompts generated by AI to hilarious and unusual results. This year, since I was going to travel for two weeks, I decided to skip it. Fortunately, my friend Ken Priebe picked up the idea to hilarious results.

One of Hutchmoot’s traditions is a poetry reading session. Ever since the first year they held one, I’ve been the person who reads something more or less ridiculous to help alleviate all of the soul-pouring-out that normally goes on. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m in a bit of a poetry drought, so I found myself scrambling around for a ridiculous idea to accompany it. This year, it led me back to Botober, where I realized that the following day’s prompt, “Opposum with a clock in its mouth,” was practically iambic pentameter already. Through a series of vile machinations, I wound up reading my poem to Ken that night, who in turn did his sketch as inspired by my poem.

Shared madness is a wonderful thing.

Opossum With a Clock Within Its Mouth

Originally written October 7, 2022; illustrated October 8 by Ken Priebe

The legends speak of silence in the woods,
No chirping crickets, whistling warblers,
Deadened nocturnal noise means nothing good —
But wait! Is that a rustling in the burrs
And bushes, and a subtle ticking sound?
What monstrous mystery approacheth nigh?
Creeping crepuscular critter near ground
Yet oh so ominous, You hear it? Fly!
Fly from malevolent marsupials
Who bear the trophies of their luckless prey.
Once joyful campers, who stayed, those poor fools,
And lost their jewelry aft’ light of day,
O flee the foe in forests in the south,
Opossum with a clock within its mouth.