Jacqueline Jules
Shaggy New Species
Cutting up
his mother’s old green coat
and using ping pong balls for eyes,
Jim Henson put together
a new TV friend—
not really a lizard,
not really a frog,
just a cuddly green guy,
endearing on camera.
Jim christened him Kermit
and coined a new term
for his growing brood
of fuzzy foam friends
who sang with celebrities
on The Today Show, Sesame Street,
and screens all over the world.
Muppets—
not really puppets
not really marionettes—
a shaggy new species
teaching children to count,
adults to laugh,
and everyone to see
how easy it can be
to sing with someone
not exactly like yourself.
About the writer:
Jacqueline Jules is the author of three chapbooks including Itzhak Perlman’s Broken String, winner of the 2016 Helen Kay Chapbook Prize from Evening Street Press. Her poetry has appeared in over 100 publications.
Image: Dolls by Witold Wojtkiewicz (1879-1909). Oil on canvas. 27.1 x 35 inches. 1906. Public domain.
