The High Water of Monumental Delineation
by Michael Doyle

I know I'm not the only one who confesses
A life filled with crashes and messes
Happening as you wait for the snapper in the last frame
To laugh a little and not feel so lame

All the sudden, the smile is just there
To fill your heart with a little taste of cheer
The language speaks clearly without needing a second glance
Reality jumps its curb without any need for second chance

It's there knocking loudly with its bold opportunity
Errors repeated become a design presented capably 
A short distance is traveled in setting up the punchlines
And it gets us through our near daily emotional landmines

An unerring instinct codes the visual art of its impact
It's a gut level appeal given straightforward in its act
A universal laugh only needs a few deft strokes of pen
As we wait for the next comic and the next day's again

Bushmiller offered nothing that could possibly shock,
Just the right number of rocks to become the town's talk
It was a laugh at familiar matter and conservatism
That took a light-hearted jab at abstract expressionism

Three rocks were all that was needed to tell the story
And a wry sense of humor brought it up with simple glory
The semiotics of comics breaks down uncomplicated
That a simple gut laugh will never become faded

While we still live in an age of rampant consumerism
Those who are horrified by this in their pessimism
Find a little hope in the simple visual economy 
Offered in the precision of monumental delineation

(c) September 30, 2023   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved