#96

Lee & Lee

the musteline mammals tale:

Sun Lee and Tun Lee like everyday

park in the low’r lot and are on their way

uphill from employee-only parking

carved in the hill next door to the landing

strip of MonTerra’s airport.

And Sun Lee and Tun Lee like always they

had gotten up at five this mid-week-day

and done all household chores, and fed the men,

and dressed the daughters. Now these two women

were going to do their day’s work.

Sun and Lee planned a full day of sewing,

sewing at a comput’rized machine and

make hundred-dollar ties at sev’n-fifty

an hour. Just like they had done so nifty,

those past fifteen years day after day.

Strolling up the hill, giggling and chatting

happily, latest gossip exchanging

about aunts and cousins, do they mistake

cute animals — sunning for goodness sake

— for pets, cuddly, pretty, the friendly kind.

A plane is taking off for L-A-X.

One of the women stoops, looking for facts,

adjusting her spectacles over almond

eyes: "Grey-black and white creatures". A tail-end

raises up much like a proud cat would.

Sitting still, just like a house cat waiting

for her tail to be brushed. Yet no purring

reaches the woman’s ear. Now both stop.

Intending to pet those mammals, they lock

their sights on those two fury ones.

Sun Lee and Tun Lee are innocently

eying those adorable pets. Sun gently

reaching out into the tails’ direction.

Admiring those bushy tails’ erections,

she is having an adventurous day.

The striped animals just a yard away.

"Oh look! Oh cute!" Lee with glasses does say,

just before freezing within her next step.

By a spray of mist — mucho cloud — greeted

a welcome wagon beyond any words.

Instinctively Sun Lee and Tun Lee rush

to their peers. Holding their noses most blush

on the outside. Laughing some were, how sad.

As over there Lee and Lee helpless sat.

It’s tough to laugh and hold one’s breath.

Sun Lee’s and Tun Lee’s smelly problem is

a big concern to coworkers of his

department. Therefor Jose to answer

he acts just like all the good managers

in no other but his job’s best int’rest.

He, Jose, to stop the problem for good

quickly finds a trapper in the phone book.

Jose summons him to cage those two skunks.

And Sun Lee and Tun Lee are full of thanks

for sympathy and advice from their peers.

Sun and Tun need advise with their clothing,

the stink on fabrics, and hairdos and skin.

Opinions fill the gamut al right

from cooking all clothing in bleach all night

to discarding and burning as well.

Unbearable is getting the skunky smell.

Tae’i Kim logically suggests they shall

be going home at once and get cleaned up,

and Le-Lee Gnuang thinks a soak with a cup

of detergent might be a "beaucoup" start.

Genuinely caring Juana shares

what she knows to work, the solution hers

fresh tomatoes to lather hair and skin

and get rid of all those stinking clothing

"B’leave tomatoes’ take care of it!" she says.

Juana adds: "Tomatoes do not hurt.

Just try!" Only some believe these her words:

"for the worst of the worst of all them smells

use tomatoes and half lemons as well!"

Juana is most sincere, wanting to help.

Juana knows, she has experience.

Her teacher in the-art-to-live-science

was life and travel on the back roads up north.

As stink uploads the air to be un-worth

to breathe a good mouthful is gagging.

Within a few hours Sun and Tun Lee are

back. Sun Lee smells fresh vine-ripened by far

much like those tomatoes once did, sunshine

sweetened, red skin picked direct from the vine

Sun is blushing under the compliments.

Her friend Tun Lee she tried camouflaging

the stink with oily soap and fragrance-ing

successfully as she believes at first,

perspiring her skunky smell is getting worse,

strong and stronger by the minute.

Tun’s coworkers not putting up with her

bad odor make a stink about right there

who red in her face, embarrassed she is,

and crying sparkling tears roll from her eyes

home she goes to scrub and clean her skin.

From the tomato-y lady we know

she took Juana’s advice, as it shows.

Sun Lee had gone home and quickly undressed

and wetted her hair, her legs and her breast

with hot water in a steaming shower stall.

Here under a spray of, warm hot and cold

she readily applied tomatoes bold

rubbing it in, rinsing, washing with soap

again and again using such in hope

the tomatoes would do the trick.

And she cut fresh tomatoes into halves,

Five pounds Sun used,

from top down to her calves

and she was rinsing the reddish juices

of her body, singing to the muses.

unclogging the drain Sun did too.

Tun Lee had gone home to try the juicy

trick too. No canned ones as the remedy

no fresh t’matoes, one lemon was all she

found, ketchup and red sauce did not agree

to what had planned to do, had she.

None of the veges at hand promising

therefore she cleaned herself with soap washing

and applying eau de cologne, which smelled

perfectly correct to the nose she felt

okay leaving home.

Unaware Tun was of the eau de skunks

smell until such came through stronger as Tun’s

body temperature started rising,

and rising did the stink, most unpleasing

and every sensory organ got offended.

Now on her second try, Tun Lee, she buys

tomatoes and returns after this try

an hour later and smelling civilized.

She too gets to watch the trapper, enticed

catching those skunky devils.

The manager Jose now has two skunks

in the storage room, in a box, on hand,

while the trapper bags the cash and he goes

to trap raccoons from a long list he shows

as Jose says: "I take care of the rest!"

"We don’t want em!" the lady at the SPCA

says "That’s country, you got into their way.

You invaded their home-territory!"

Nobody at the SPCA bought his story:

"Skunks attack workers, therefore I worry!"

By late this afternoon skunky smell fills

the store room. Higher up decides. His will,

"...set free those where their habitat had been.

Volunteers are hard to find. They have seen

and smelled and smell the smell.

Brave men grab the skunks’ cage without delay

four hands carry it outside and away.

Just as a plane is coming in to land

the couple is being released in the end

back to freedom, their home-turf.

Since ancient times skunks had circulated

around here. True at times they nauseated

enemies. Mama and Papa they were.

A hungry baby skunk waiting over there

was in the Sagebrush.

And facing home-territory yet tired

one skunk follows the other each admires

the soil stepped on upon leaving their jail.

Stretching their legs they are raising their tails.

Home they are, they do not run.

They eye the men and others, staring back.

One man, a real big guy his hands he claps,

he motions to chase them off and away.

So Papa skunk raises his tail half-stay

before straightening up his flag pole.

Afraid of the musteline’s scent-banner

those folks retreat in a hasty manner.

Cowardly do they all run out of reach

showing finally for the skunks — who did teach

them — respect for they neighbor.

True! Papa Skunk he threatened to eject

an intense offensive odor perfect-

-ly aimed from his muscular walled

glands, if once more hazed, harassed or called

stupid animal by those homo sapiens.

The passengers in the plane from L-A-X are

witnessing two men both running for their

life away from an open cage so small,

they too do not know that the perineal

glands’ register empty.

Only an hour later...

Mama Skunk says to Papa Skunk, "Hon! List’n,

aren’t they cute?" as they watch the two women

Sun Lee and Tun Lee hurrying downhill

to their cars, afraid not stopping they will

not even say "Good Night!"

Now can’t you see these the skunk family’s

attempt to raise their baby happily,

their little Skunk in the multi-cultural

Californian style, that after all

raising a child means sometimes raising a stink.

helmut s. 97/98

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