Hippo Ballet
written by: Michael Ball
Big beast boffins tell us 500
is the number of humans hippos
kill annually — via capsized boats
or crushing under massive feet
or even bitten by monstrous maws.
Yet you and I grew seeing hippos
lovely, comical in Fantasia,
in tutus, jiggling while on pointe.
Recalling too large church ladies
in floral hats and summer dresses
wafting the scent of White Shoulders.
Who would be crass or daring enough
to call out the ladies much less hippos.
Clichés of scrawny swimmers aside,
some are huge in chest and shoulder,
Particularly breast and fly strokers.
They know their power, as they know
once they dive off the starting blocks,
they are as graceful as ballet dancers.
Michael Ball scrambled from daily and weekly papers through business and technical pubs. Satisfaction and feeling like a writer came through blogging and podcasting, mostly political. Born in OK and raised in rural WV, he became more citified in Manhattan and Boston. He joined the Hyde Park Poets Workshop two years ago, and will never again write a manual or help system. He has moderate success placing poems in print and online.
Latest posts by Michael Ball (see all)
- Hippo Ballet - September 9, 2025
- Penn Station Lust - April 25, 2025
- Desert Sisters - January 19, 2025
