racket in the attic
uncle bobo
uncle bobo
is an odd fellow
some people call
him a hobo
he wears a hat
that looks like
it was sat upon
he dresses kinda sloppy
in corduroy pants
and a wrinkled tweed jacket
and sometimes a tan overcoat
with a hundred pockets inside
that carry all manner of things
like melted chocolates
and twisted black and red licorice
a wooden whistle
magic jumping beans
a pomegranate
a shark tooth and
a pet cricket
the jalopy
he drives an old jalopy
it’s sunset orange
and it’s round
like an armadillo
and has a snout on it
like an aardvark
on the dash board
are dead lady bugs
he collected
in an antique cup
“they bring good luck”
he says
and there are
dragon fly wings
and an assortment of bones
from unknown sources
and sea shells from
fairy tale island
and postcards
of betty boop
taped where uncle bobo
can see them
while he drives
and a hoola hoop
hawaii girl who dances
when the jalopy bounces
and a nun that you wind up
and she marches
and spits sparks
and there are tons of
ostrich and peacock feathers
that blow everywhere
when the windows
are down
and there is
a harmonica strapped
to the steering wheel
and he plays songs
depending on the
curves in the road
and under the brake
there is a drum pedal
that my dad
helped him put it in
and whenever he stops
or slows down
it hits a cymbol
there is a rubber
honking horn
by his rear view mirror
and a set of chimes
dangling below it
and a tambourine
tossed like a donut
around the gear shift
and when he switches gears
it rattles and shakes
and on the
passenger side
hanging from the visor
is a triangle bell
and a spoon
so friends can play
to any of the
jalopy tunes
that uncle bobo makes
as he drives along
the magic stump
uncle bobo takes me
to the magic stump
and he says
“magic is everywhere
you just gotta find it”
and he puts me
on top of it
and tells me to
make three wishes
and it won’t be long
till i get them
“how can you get things
if you don’t wish for them?!”
he asks me
i wished to meet zob
who lives in uncle bobo’s attic
and bella boop who
is zob’s girlfriend and
lives on a shipwrecked ship
near fairy island
and i wished for a kazoo
so i could play with
uncle bobo’s hobo friends
in their jug band
in the attic or
by the railway tracks
or just play along
when we go for a ride
in the jalopy
pick a pocket
and then uncle bobo
opens his overcoat
and says
“pick a pocket”
and i point
and he hands me
whatever is in it
i got a magic lava rock
from an erupting volcano
a big jagged tooth
from a dinosaur
and a key to
a king’s castle
a glass eye from
an albino tiger that
went blind and died
a vertebrae from
a giant jungle snake
a green fluffy feather
from a dodo bird
and a beautiful
beetle brooch
that was still alive
and uncle bobo put it
on my white shirt
and it crawled all over
and shone like a peacock
or a mallard duck
“transient jewelry”
he said
when the beetle
flew away
“enjoy things
while they visit
but let them leave
when they need to
. . . and be kind
to all creatures
cause they have feelings
like you and i do”
and then one day
i picked a pocket
and inside it was
a rainbow colored kazoo
yahoo!
dragons + angels
he tells
stories galore
of his hobo friends
who are really
angels and trolls
dragons and gargoyles
and they live
by the railroad tracks
and play “jug music”
and blue grass
and the blues
and drink magic potion
from mason jars
“an elixir”
uncle bobo calls it
and they raise
their glasses and
toast to happiness
and sunsets
and they cook hot dogs
and eat beans from cans
and roast marshmallows
on stix for dessert
one of the dragons
secretly starts the fire
with a blow of his breath
and he hides his tail
and his scales
under his old rumpled suit
and big ole sloppy pants
held up with
a skipping rope
and the leprechauns
hide their curly toes
in weird shaped shoes
and the angels
hide their halos
beneath furry caps
and their wings underneath
wool sweaters with holes
and oversized coats
that are missing
their elbows
“there are angels
leprechauns
and dragons among us”’
uncle bobo said
“but they want to be discreet
and keep their magic secret
so they disguise themselves
and dress like human beings
like you and me
but not like zob
and that is why he
stays in the attic
but zob can camouflage
so he can go out
in the daytime too”
the junkyard boys
sometimes uncle bobo
asks his hobo friends over
to make some
racket in the attic
he calls them
his jug band and
the “junkyard boys”
i have met a few of them
at bon bons restauraunt
where we go for
smashed potatoes
sometimes in the morning
i met al the neandrathal
he is big like an ogre
and he is a drummer
and billy who plays the banjo
and max the chatterbox
he sings and talks too much
and wolfgang who
plays washtub bass and
used to be in the circus
and leo the liar
whose pants are on fire
and jughead who eats too much
and makes sounds by
blowing into a jug
and doctor zeus
who talks like a poem
and dances like
he has ants
in his pants
miss kitty
i like to dress up
like cat woman a fairy
a jester or an elf
i have found
great clothes
in uncle bobo’s attic
and in aunt aurora’s
tickle trunk
in her school bus house
parked in the woods
along gumboot road
and uncle bobo
buys me special stuff
from antique shops
and in the basement
of churches like
my red polka dot raincoat
and the umbrella
that matches
i have a green
velvet elf outfit
with an elf hat to match
and pointy jester shoes
with bells on the toes
and a crinkly purple
ballerina skirt
and a purple feather boa
and a black cat
woman cloak with a
hood and sharp ears
and a black mask
a leopard dotted jumpsuit
and a cape to match
and a blonde curly wig
in the shape of
a beach ball
and wooden clogs
for parades
i usually wear
my leopard dotted cape
my star or heart
shaped sunglasses
and a mix mash of
whatever costumes
i fancy that day
plus i wear my magic
purple rubber boots
that uncle bobo
helped me make
by gluing on rhinestones
and medallions
and special things
that my dad gave me
and i never
go anywhere
without my magic wand
though sometimes i hide it
in my purple furry
alligator bag
with all the treasures
from uncle bobo
including my new
rainbow colored kazoo
i have a pair of
purple wings too
that i wear
for special things
like going to the zoo
or the amusing park
or to the circus
or to a parade
sometimes i wear
my purple ballerina skirt
with my purple wings
plus my purple
feather boa
my mom use to call me
“the purple people eater”
but i really don’t eat people
i just like purple
i also have a
sparkling angel halo
that i wear to the
iggledy piggledy parade
and mom used to say
“but you ain’t
no angel”
my name is kate
but uncle bobo
and his pals
call me miss kitty
and i am seven
i play with uncle bobo often
especially since my mommy
went to heaven
i have no brothers
or sisters
i live with my dad
on the farm
he is an
inventor
zob
uncle bobo tells me
many tales about zob
“he is a creature
of fine distinction”
says uncle bobo
“he is part dragon
part sea horse
and naturally
part gargoyle”
“he swims and flies
and he can bounce
till the cows come home”
uncle bobo claims
“he knows how to breathe fire
but prefers not to
because of the incident”
he lives in the “lair”
which is the attic
in uncle bobo’s shack
also called the flophouse
and ramshackle castle
“zob likes it there”
uncle bobo says
“he likes the tunnels
and the secret passages
and there are
lots of costumes
and hiding spots
and games like twister
tic tac toe
and chinese checkers
that he plays with visitors
in the attic”
i know zob
likes to color and paint
and write stories
on rainy days
and he comes out
on blue moons
to go for a glide
on his dragon bike
or some bouncing
off the top of the roof
so once in a blue moon
you mite see him
flying high in the sky
or bouncing in the moonlight
other times he comes out
but he camouflages
so you can’t see him
it is like he
is invisible
“he is quite
a friendly fellow
though he looks
a bit grouchy”
uncle bobo tells me
“but then he is
part gargoyle
which explains it
he must protect and defend
his kingdom the attic
and all creatures in it
but his heart
is like a cloud
where angels lay their heads
when they need a rest
white and soft
like a feather pillow
his heart isn’t gold
but perhaps it’s silver”
uncle bobo
has seen him
tough as snails
like when someone tried
to step on one
of the attic spiders
like a soldier
defending a king’s honor
he saved his friend
and prevented a day’s
worth of rain
and zob can
weep like a willow
like when he sneezed
and his girlfriend’s eyelashes
caught on fire by accident
from his uncontrollable
dragon breath
since then
he brushes and flosses
till his teeth look like chiclets
and he tries to keep
his temper in check
to prevent any more mishaps
and he plays
the bagpipes sometimes
to relieve dragon stress
bella boop
“his girlfriend’s name is
bella boop”
says uncle bobo
“she is a lovely creature
of fine distraction”
“her dad was a dragon
her mom a mermaid
she has wings and a tail
her grandpa was a gargoyle
her nana a unicorn
so she has one horn
in the middle of her head
and a gargoyle temperament”
he tells me
she has big wide eyes
and long eyelashes
like betty boop
hence the last name
and her hair is
burgundy lately
and down to her shoulders
and she has bangs
but not always
and zob calls her
missy boop
for her nic name
she practices magic
and taught zob some tricks
like how to fly through walls
without hurting his head
she also writes comics
and zob cartoons them
by painting pictures
to match her words
she plays accordion
xylophone and banjo
depending on her mood
and she lives in
a shipwrecked ship
that is half in
and half out
of the ocean
near the island
of fairies
and she sings
with the mermaids
which sounds ghostly
over the ocean
and sometimes
the angels join in chorus
like a choir
and the music
reaches heaven
lighthouses and viking
and pirate ships
she often comes
to the attic
to visit zob
and make comic books
write songs and
play music
with him
she likes bluegrass music
and brings her banjo
and accordion along
she taught zob
how to yodel
and play percussion
with spoons and a slinky
their favorite song is
“frogs went a courting”
she wrote a love song for zob
called “meet me at
the blue moon cafe”
which is where they met and
when the incident happened
and as soon as she
hits the banjo’s d-string
their creature friends
within earshot
come out to play and sing
some fly through
the attic window
others climb the
rickety old ladder
leaning against the outside of
the ramshackle castle
and they crawl in
there are instruments
everywhere in the lair
an old church organ
bells, chimes and bongos
a rickety old piano
a harmonica
and half an angel’s harp
sometimes bella’s xylophone
banjo and accordion
and of course zob’s bagpipes
plus a tambourine, trumpet
a tuba and a trombone
an old washtub bass
a fiddle, some cymbols
and other gadgets and gizmos
to bang on and blow
strum and hit
everyone that comes
must join in
and make a wonderful
racket in the attic
blue moon
i had been to
the lair before
but never met zob
or bella boop
but uncle bobo says
“don’t despair”
and that “patience
is a virtue”
sometimes i hear
music in the attic and
i have seen zob’s paintings
scattered on the floor
i have even seen
his self-portrait
on an old wooden easel
and a manual by zob called
“the art of
delicate dragon breath”
and i have also
spotted cartoon books
made by him
and bella boop
but one day
inside the ramshackle castle
while visiting uncle bobo
i hear a sound
a note on a banjo
“oh . . . oh . . .
that sounds like the d-string”
said uncle bobo
“you know what that means?!”
my heart beat so fast
i thought
i was a drummer
“there’s going to be
some racket in the attic”
he whispered
i could hear sounds
. . . footsteps
i could hear instruments
being picked up
he put his fingers to his lips
and waved me to follow
we climbed up the ladder
through the trap door
and snuck quietly
into the attic
i cud hear
bells and chimes and
the old church organ
being wound
and some notes
on the xylophone
as my heart
beat like a bongo
as we got closer and closer
till we entered the lair
racket in the attic
i saw glimpses of
dragon scales and tails
and angel wings
as some of the musicians
took off their old
sweaters and overcoats
and others loosened
their skipping ropes
i saw al the neandrathal
with drum sticks
in his hands
and max the chatterbox
standing on a soap box
and i saw billy
picking up a banjo
and i spot doctor zeus
and leo the liar
and jug head
and more of
uncle bobo’s pals
and friends of
zob and bella boop’s
i am sure too
and they set up
their instruments
like they were part of
an orchestra
then we heard
noises on the roof
“shhhh, listen . . .”
said uncle bobo
and we all got quiet
and then we could hear
bagpipes outside
“that’s zob playing
for bella boop”
it sounded like
a beautiful love tune
and then the bagpipes stopped
and i heard a bounce
. . . then two
as i remember
that i forgot
that tonite
is a blue moon
so they were
going for a glide
and i’d have to
meet them later
or some other time
al the neanderthal
started drumming on a pail
wolfgang picked up
the hockey stick
attached to the washtub
by srtings and
started plucking them
and jug head was blowing
into a big glass jug
and chaterbox max
was still on the box
and he started singing
“frog went a courting”
for zob and bella boop
but he kept
changing the words
but it was still
the same tune
and doctor zeus
started dancing
like a lunatic
“zob went a courting
and he did bounce uh-huh
zob went a courting
and he did bounce
off the roof
into the midnite sky
uh huh
he met missy boop
down at the
shipwrecked ship
uh-huh
and they flew off
into the blue moon dusk
uh-huh
he looked missy boop
rite in her eyes
and said bella boop
wont u be my bride
uh huh uh huh uh huh
missy boop did bat her eyes
uh-huh
missy boop said
will you marry me too
across the roof
as the blue moon shone
uh-huh . . .”
and the room lit up
from the glow of
halos of angels
as the other musicians
took off their hats
and tukes and joined in
and their halo glow
shone onto
big wide dragon grins
and the leprechauns
prickly faces
and the trolls
furry pointy ears
“he played a love tune
for missy boop uh-huh”
the dragon breathe
warmed up the room
as they blew through
trumpets and trombones
and part of a big red tuba
the leprechauns
were dancing on
the old church organ
hitting notes with
their curly toes
and a troll was jumping and
shaking with tambourines
tied to his knees
and another one was
doing somersaults
off the piano
the angels hit
bells and chimes
with drumsticks
and silver spoons
and one played
half a harp that hung
from the ceiling
and i played the kazoo
and marched with cymbols
around the room
and pluncked notes
on bella’s xylophone
and we all took turns
on each instrument
like musical chairs
drumming on everything
that was in our path
and blowing in anything
that created a
sound or a squeak
we sang and we danced
and we banged things
and we made a
racket in the attic
for zob and bella boop
while they bounced
around the blue moon
and we decided to keep going
like there was no tomorrow
we decided to keep
singing and playing
till the gargoyle dragons
came home
More fairy-tales to come …
© 2018 Estate of Kat Kosiancic