Calliope’s Revenge

Calliope’s Revenge

written by: Barbara Harris Leonhard

@BarbaraLeonhar4

Calliope springs from the soil.
Her golden crown blinds the sun
with jewels, the light of violets.
She eats my cantaloupe,
sips corona, tweets with magpies.
Sad poets resting in torpor
complain she talks too much.

Homer collects her rambling texts
onto toilet paper rolls to study during Lockdown.
Submits her endless rants to Rattle
under his name, claims
AI did it. 5G made him dizzy.
The magpies out him. PEN pulls
his award, cancels the check.

Calliope’s unrattled. Has new side hustles—
Metaphors Galore on Etsy and
music lessons on YouTube.
Virgil arrives in his Uber to shuffle her
to poetry readings and book launches.
Got any good lines? He asks.
She opens her purse and

fans out words like a fistful of twenties.
“All men owe honor to the poets –
honor and awe; for they are dearest
to the Muse who puts upon their lips
the ways of life.” He caught it all
on his voice recorder and sped off
to write his epic.

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• About
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Barbara Harris Leonhard

OCTOBER 2021 AUTHOR OF THE MONTH at Spillwords.com

Barbara Harris Leonhard, a retired ESL instructor, has written a poetry collection Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir (Experiments in Fiction, 2022), which is about her relationship with her mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s. Barbara is also the Editor for MasticadoresUSA. She lives in Mid-Missouri with her husband and cat Jasper, who refuses to go on rides to count the deer.

Latest posts by Barbara Harris Leonhard (see all)

• Spooked - November 2, 2024
• Calliope’s Revenge - July 14, 2024
• A Squirrel’s Front Teeth Never Stop Growing - May 9, 2024