Party Hearty by Barbara Leonhard and Nolcha Fox

Party Hearty by Barbara Leonhard and Nolcha Fox

Rona woke up on 

the right side of the saddle. 

Felt hoarse. Coughed up phlegm 

the color of runny yolks. 

“Good day for a party. They love 

Worry woke up on 

the wrong side of the bed.

Snorfed up dust bunnies

and family ghosts

hiding under the bed.

Crawled out, white

as a sheet.

Told Rona she could party

for Halloween.

Rona’s impatient. 

The trail to October

is long and lonesome. 

But the veil is thin on

All Hallow’s Eve. The Rakes, 

witches, night crawlers, skinwalkers 

can hitch up their brooms. 

Set huge bonfires in the Holler. 

Dance with feral forest folks.

Make s’mores.

Worry tells Rona to hop on her broom,

pick up some coke and some rum.

Worry can cough up 

some ice from her veins,

and vomit up

yesterday’s popcorn.

Rona put Worry back to bed.

A fever of 105. Hallucinations of

partying hearty with the damned. 

Horse races with google gremlins 

wearing email attachments.

“Rest well. Worry. Bigfoot’s pedi 

can wait.”

*Nolcha’s stanzas are standard font, Barbara’s italicized.

*featured image from :https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-holding-masquerade-mask-9391489/

Authors’ Bio

Barbara is a retired ESL instructor. Her poetry has been published in various literary magazines and anthologies. She’s also 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. The book is a best-seller on Amazon. Barbara is also the Editor for MasticadoresUSA. She lives in Mid-Missouri with her husband and cat Jasper. 

Nolcha Fox’s poems have been curated in print and online journals. Her poetry books are available on Amazon and Dancing Girl Press. Nominee for 2023 Best of The Net, 2024 Best of the Net Anthology. Nominee for a 2023 Pushcart Prize. Editor for Garden of Neuro.Website: https://bit.ly/3bT9tYuFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nolcha.fox/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/FoxNolchaMedium: @nolchafox_14571