Greebles of the Waning Moon

by Jiffy Felis

Once a month, upon a waning moon
in deepest dark of dozing living room,
a portal opens, and out they come
with whispered snickers and taunting hums–
those tiny gnomes, and gremlins glowing,
with bitter taunts, and secrets knowing.
They hammer loose nails, kicks balls of dust,
laugh at crumbs of pizza crust.

My life’s a mess, or so they say,
my mind is dozing through my days;
My work is pointless, my diet bad,
my primordial pouch a growing fad.
I launch at them, with claws outstretched
hunt them till morn’, swat every pest.

At dawn I stretch, meditate in the sun;
I think, I write, I cry, I run.
I bide my time, spend nights with friends,
till greebles I must hunt again.

Jiffy Felis

Originally from the Hawaiian islands, Jiffy Felis now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Jiffy is the author of several poems and a scientific paper on the statistical mechanics of string entanglement. When she’s not writing or doing science, she likes to engage in bird watching over a cup of coffee.