closeup of computer keyboard with black keys and white letters

How will I tell her?

“I messed up again,

I opened my mouth

and let loose words

—I make you zip in.”

How will I pay

for dance lessons

promised, if she’d

just give me less lip?

How will I tell her?

“Do as I expire, when

my words are why

I just got fired.”

How will I pay

for today’s lollipop,

when I’m cracked?

—the sucker just dropped.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This poem was selected from entries submitted to our Creative Challenge Series #2: Word Salad, which required that the words bolded in the text must be included.