“A Mole of My Acquaintance” by J. Patrick Lewis [Poetry Friday]

Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.)

Well. I have been sharing a WHOLE lot of my work lately. I love to do that, but it’s nice to feature other people sometimes, too! Today, I’m sharing a poem by one of my very favorite poets, J. Patrick Lewis. Do you know Pat’s work? I hope so! He does everything–light verse, serious and beautiful free verse poems, history, social justice,  silly stuff…you name it, he’s written it. And he has generously let me share a number of his poems over the years here on the blog. I love the wordplay in this one, and the way it reminds me of Lord of the Rings :>)

Photo: Kenneth Catania, Vanderbilt University (Creative Commons)

A Mole of My Acquaintance

A mole of my acquaintance,
Who I thought extremely bright,
said he could tell no difference
between the day and night.
I asked him, “What is 98
plus 64 less 2?”
“13!” he cried.  (He’d got it wrong,
but sadly, I did too.)
“Then tell me, rodent, why,” I said,
“the ocean is so wet.”
“You should have asked me yesterday.
Today, well . . ., I forget.”
The genius mole thought carefully,
“A riddle, sir, for you—
what bit of cloudy magic makes
the sky the color blue?”
“Is it,” I said, “that rainbows are
Paintbrushes of the sun?”
He looked at me admiringly,
“Correct! You’re one for one.”
And so it went from Mole to me,
and then from me to him,
but he was feeling rather dumb,
and I was feeling dim.
When he began to weep, my face
became a question mark.
He said, “How can a mole be bright
from living in the dark?”
“Oh, as for moles,” I said, “you are
“the Einstein of the block.”
“Don’t patronize me, sir,” he said,
“I live under a rock!”

–J. Patrick Lewis, all rights reserved

Ha! Thank you, Pat. And everyone, don’t miss the Poetry Friday Roundup with poet Violet Nesdoly!