Seesaw: Quirky Poems

by Ken Tomaro, Nolcha Fox

Seesaw - Quirky Poems Poetry Collection

By Ken Tomaro & Nolcha Fox

Born from a shared love of dark humor and playful wordplay, Seesaw is a delightful balancing act of wit, whimsy, and poetic mischief. Ken Tomaro and Nolcha Fox first crossed creative paths in the Thursday Night Poets group, where their mutual knack for quirky, offbeat humor sparked an unexpected collaboration. What began as playful exchanges-plucking words and phrases from each other's poems to craft something new-quickly evolved into a collection that swings between the light and the dark, the serious and the absurd.

Seesaw is poetry at its most spontaneous and fun, a reminder that even in life's heavier moments, there's always room to laugh, twist the narrative, and dance on the edge of meaning. Dive into this collection and let the playful push and pull of their voices keep you balanced-right in the middle of the seesaw.

Reviewers

Seesaw is a daring collaboration of well-crafted stream of consciousness poems. Some of these poems are gross and lovely at the same time. Some question the ultimate meaning of life, providing unforgettable answers, "God is way bigger than my ass", "life IS chaos" and "Screw it, just give up!' It is apparent from the first poem that Fox and Tomaro are two poets very familiar with each other and comfortable playing to each other's skills. In this fun and very enjoyable collection words do not fail them.

~Tim Moder, Author of The angel of Coincidence

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An Engaging Anthology Celebrating the Themes of Life, Love, and the Absurdities of Existence



Seesaw is a delightful collection of poems by Ken Tomaro and Nolcha Fox celebrating a quirky sense of dark humour. A unique interplay of stanzas reflects the authors distinct voices inviting readers to the plateau of chaos and beauty of human experience.

~Munmun "Sam" Samanta, Author of Yellow Chrysanthemum

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I recall the seesaw, that teeter-totter on the playground. Seated on each end of the balanced plank, kids could swing up and down by taking turns pushing their feet on the ground. Likewise, In Seesaw, Ken Tomaro and Nolcha Fox alternate with their stanzas in a playful, rhythmic manner in this poetic collaboration, in which the stanza transitions provide balancing hinges. These two skilled poets swing with wacky abandon. The poems are quirky conversations about food obsessions, apathy, gravity, cats in hurricane debris, body image, ghosts in the garden, God's screw-ups, alienation, innertubes, sun-blinding chaos, The Grim Reaper getting a makeover, and other themes balancing humor with existential struggle. As Ken Tomaro says, "Chaos IS the meaning of life." So get ready for the quirky banter. To quote Nolcha Fox, "Joy is a con artist." These poems will trick you into smiling.

~Barbara Leonhard, Author of Three-Penny A Poetic Memoir

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Nolcha Fox is a treasure, one of the jewels of the small press. Her poetry never fails to elicit a smile from the reader, and "Seesaw" is no exception. True to its title, this collection bounces back and forth with one fanciful, whimsical poem after another. Together, Nolcha Fox and Ken Tomaro have created a chapbook filled with poems sure to delight. What fun they had! And it shows. A must read.

53 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2025

Reviews

[Roberta Cheadle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry collaboration between Nolcha Fox and Ken Tomaro is darkly humorous and most entertaining. The poems celebrate daily life in all its boring ordinariness and, by demonstrating how much worse it could be if these chores and activities were not undertaken, highlight the charm of ordinary life. They also 'take the mick' out of people's ridiculous obsession with social media and watching life being lived by others. These poems made me smile and reminded me of the poetic works of Roald Dahl.

Two short extracts that highlight the style and content of the poems:

"Debris that hurries by
becomes a melody and why
aren't we taking cover
instead of videoing
this hurricane
on our phones?

Aluminum siding
and a trampoline whiz by.
So, I'll snap a pic
for all the wandering eyes,
just to break the monotony
of cat photos
on my phone."

"I come to a door
I open it.
Not because it is easy,
or because I'm curious,
or because I'm bored,
but because it is the only one
that will open.
I take weak little steps.
Not because I am unsure,
but because I am tired.
I follow the same path.
Not because it is worn,
but because all paths are the same.

The only door that opens
is to dirty dishes, unmade beds,
laundry someone left behind.
By the time I clean this house,
I'll be too weak
to find a pathway out of here."

A book that will give your spirits a lift as you laugh at yourself and life.

[Pam K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from LibraryThing in return for an honest review.

Written by 2 poets taking turn with stanzas. It seems to be all over the place with no sense to it at times. But if you read the poems a second time, they make more sense now that you know where they are going.
Such random topics like eating from a dump that ends up his home, watching a hurricane, being apathetic or pathetic depending on your point of view, and a King Cake.
He is a House and Too Blue were pretty good. As Surely As was funny, it made me laugh out loud.
There are no real titles to the poems, the first line of each poem is the title.
My favorite line from the whole book has to be "God is way bigger than my ass. That's comforting to know."