|
|
| |
| forum, perky, invite, utmost, spitfire.Image from the Internet.
The opening poem contains all the words (or variations of them) from today's Jumble.
Comments are welcomed! And couching them in Poetry is definitely NOT required.
Do not explicitly reveal any of the actual answer words until after closing time, but embedding them surreptitiously in comment sentences is encouraged.
Pretty literal illustration of the solution.
ReplyDeleteI 'like' the depiction of the parents -- they seem like cliche middleclass urban dragons.
FLN, Misty ~
ReplyDeleteI found another quotation, this one verbatim, from Mark Twain on the German language.
(He actually had a LOT to say about German; this is one of his shorter unloadings...)
"The Germans have an inhuman way of cutting up their verbs. Now a verb has a hard time enough of it in this world when it's all together. It's downright inhuman to split it up.
"But that's just what those Germans do. They take part of a verb and put it down here, like a stake, and they take the other part of it and put it away over yonder like another stake, and between these two limits they just shovel in German."
- Mark Twain's Speeches, "Disappearance of Literature"
~ OMK
ReplyDeleteKit used all her skill to design & create the perfect application to the HS international forum. She got it off in the mail just before the deadline & hoped for a favorable reply. This was...
"Kit's (De)sire!"
The perky young art major thought it the utmost honor
to be invited to the forum for international relations.
She had worked hard throughout her high school years
& hoped to represent the U.S. in the conclave of nations.
When she opened the fancy envelope, however,
she was surprised and admittedly disappointed.
She wasn't called upon to be the American rep,
it was for her calligraphic title cards that she'd been anointed.
~ OMK
You nailed it, Sandy!
ReplyDeleteIt 's the '50s "Father Knows Best" necktie sported by Daddy Dragon that does it.
~ OMK
"Resolution"
ReplyDeleteThe club required a quorum
for an issue to discuss at their forum.
One of their members was a spitfire
with some fans that did her admire.
The club wondered how to indict her
and decided it was best to invite her.
There they told her she was quirky,
but she maintained she was just perky.
She promised to do her utmost
to become a better host.
And so a relationship in a mess
their discussion had made a success.
They all had learned a lesson:
if in conflict, hold a session.
Ol' Man Keith, yes, I know, I know, some mills in my verse this morning, but I just can't help wanting to rhyme the Jumble words.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Mark Twain quotation. Does he offer an example of how that works in German?
And, OMK, I couldn't believe how you worked all four Jumble words unobtrusively into the first two lines of your verse, with solution in the title. Superb!
And OMK, check out her fingernails, coif and 'sweetheart' blouse. And his pouffy hair too.
ReplyDeleteMore conspicuous in the b&w version.
It's a fine poem, Misty.
ReplyDeleteI really don't want to harp on the topic, but I can't help pointing out how mills can be easily resolved.
I am all for your self-imposed challenge of rhyming the Jumble words. You give yourself a major duty by taking it on, and I want to support it if I can.
Sometimes when I'm laboring to make a rhyme happen, I find I just need to reverse the lines. It can often help to fix the tense, to take a verb in the present tense and place it in a different position.
That's the case with your first mill. Try this:
"Some fans gathered to admire
a member they thought a spitfire."
The second also benefits from reversing the lines:
"And so their talk made a success
of a relationship that had seemed a mess."
I don't mean to give you the impression that I think mills are a terrible thing, a "sin," or worse.
I'm probably sensitive to them as an old actor, because they assume a "different" melody when read aloud.
Usually, they are merely casual slips.
When I'm writing couplets, my larger problem is getting out of their sing-song predictability.
Speaking for myself, my rule-of-thumb is to restrict couplets to only four or maybe six in a row. After that they start to throb like a fatigue headache.
I have my own solutions, but I gather you are more comfortable with them.
~ OMK
Sandy ~ You have a sharper eye than I do.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the Mommy Dragon's blouse was a "period" item with its own name.
Seemed like a blah singlet top to me, but your memory holds a larger repertoire of female garb.
~ OMK
Wow! You're absolutely right, OMK. Your adjustments keep the point of my lines in place, but do sound much more natural. Wow! I'm going to have to start working on this rhyme/mill problem a little harder from now on. Thank you, thank you, for this extremely helpful discussion with very helpful illustrations. I really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteOMK, the scallops around the neck led me to call mommy dragon's top a sweetheart blouse, though the neckline isn't actually the right shape. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteI thank you for the invite. I'll try not to be blown off course.
ReplyDeleteFor mine is a tale of hopelessness , despair and utmost remorse.
I had my fling of the fast life, quite the perky spitfire
But alcohol became the master and I had only one desire
Sure I enrolled in college , I explored the various forums
Of learning with those fossils spouting verbiage when they had a quorum
I fiddled and diddled skipping class and using a proxy
While I was off in some beer hall chasing some doxy
Come Spring I'd peddle popcorn at the baseball park
Watching the Oriole mascot; it was an entertaining lark
I'd completely detached from serious , studious endeavors
Abruptly I was summoned by the Dean. "We're not doing you any favors
Pampering you. " His words cut me to the core.
"Shape up or ship out. For you they'll be no encore!"
Did I follow his advice, if I had it might have paid off in the end
But I paid no heed , I was on another path. for alcohol was my friend
WC
As you see I took three days worth. This is the first five minutes of Chet's sharing at the Speaker meeting.
ReplyDeleteMisty, Sandy... Have fun hunting down 14 J's and 3 riddle-solutions
I've been all over the place today. And yesterday. We got a dog, had a dog and lost a dog in 24 hours.
I'm going back to check poetry
More to come with Chet
WC
Boy, Wilbur, I guess Chet dropped out.
ReplyDeleteMe too, but not for alcohol. I dropped out to get married, though in retrospect, it's more likely I got married as an excuse to drop out!
Went back at 37, after two children and one divorce. It definitely took, the second time -- education, that is.
Complicated, interesting verse, --very impressive. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteWilbur ~ Yes, I gathered this was just the opening to Chet's apologia.
ReplyDeleteBut if this is his first 5 minutes, as you say, the entire thing promises to be epic.
I see you & I both found the value of echoing proxy with doxy. Given the confessional circumstances of his presentation, it is a most natural rhyme. The speech is hardly an occasion for a "G" rating.
I expect he'll have to dig himself a deeper hole, maybe several holes, before reaching his Come-to-Jesus moment.
Or the agnostic equivalent.
~ OMK