The Hollywood heavy left the bughouse
to become a public gangster,
then dynamited the studio
out of some imagined rancor.
"I am the King of the Eskimos!"
he declared with eyes gone glassy
he declared with eyes gone glassy
and wore in his hair a plastic rose
convinced it looked quite classy.
His career was a catastrophe
playing ghouls and goons
but they say he gained some mastery
in the place where they count the spoons.
After a time, he married a mime
who made crickets seem loquacious.
They had nine kids--one sublime
and the other eight pugnacious.
He coughed and keeled and passed away
in the middle of his biggest caper.
You can't even visit his grave today--
he vanished into vapor!
______
posted with profuse apologies to Alicia Suskin Ostriker, the subject of this week's Word Garden Word List.
The image is of Lon Chaney Sr.
Music: Betty Booom & Ashley Slater Spooky Scary Skeletons