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Thursday, November 4, 2021

4 Nov. 2021

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|Smiley face| _excel, clone, mishap, unsure, presence.
Image(s) 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.

10 comments:

Sandyanon said...

Nice pun, IMHO.

OwenKL said...

The wonders of the age we live in,
All past ages do excel!
We visit thru our smartphones,
Tele-presence does so well!

For those who are unsure
Of how far we've grown,
Next time they need an organ,
We can grow a custom clone!

No more will our bodies,
Frail shells to hold our souls
Need fear the mortal mishap
Nor falter with our age's tolls!

Ol’ Man Keith said...

”His Whirligig Genomic Thingamajiggly!”

He was unsure of the genetic modification,
and a mishap occurred as he tried to clone the pig.
Instead of swinish poise, his new boar excelled in jactation.
It had all the presence of a crying jag—but danced a jig!
OMK 

Misty said...

"Recovery"

Milly fell and suffered a mishap
that created for her quite a flap.
Could she walk again? She was unsure
and no longer felt secure.
She was now afraid to be alone
and wished she had the company of a clone.

But it was the presence of friends
that offered her new active ends.
They helped her in exercise to excel
to make sure she would speedily get well,
and in aiding her with her recovery,
Milly's friends were her best discovery.

Misty said...

"Recovery"

Milly fell and suffered a mishap
that created for her quite a flap.
Could she walk again? She was unsure
and no longer felt secure.
She was now afraid to be alone
and wished she had the help of a clone.

But it was the presence of friends
that brought her to new ends.
By helping her in exercise to excel
they made sure that she would soon be well.
And so Milly found in her recovery
that friends were a wonderful discovery.

Misty said...

Sorry to post two (not identical) copies of my verse. When I tried to copy it the first time, the verse disappeared. And so I had to type it in again, not exactly remembering the last two lines. Then after I posted it on my second attempt, there was my first version on, after all. Too much, I agree.

Ol' Man Keith said...

What a cheerily optimistic view from Owen today!
How I wish I could share that bright view of the (near?) future, but it would take more than replacing a faulty organ to elicit my joy in aging!
Organ replacement is usually conceived as a means to stave off mortality, but not--alas!--as a way just to improve the functions of those several organs by which we seniors just manage to get by. I'm for replacing all the inner functions that are just so-so.
And while we're at it, maybe we could envision not only physical breakthroughs, but spiritual ones as well--some way to clone & insert the upbeat natures we had in our youth, the secret ingredient in frisky puppies and springtime flowers.

Meanwhile, I shall do my best to be grateful today, for our Owen is at least on the right track!

Misty ~ Don't apologize, for you have given us a double treat. It is a pleasure to compare your two versions.
The main differences between the two are in your choice of longer or shorter words. I note you mainly keep the same meter even when you change the syllable count. On the whole, I tend to prefer the longer words. There is something about the way they spur a reader to a verbal gallop that I enjoy.

I would choose the first version, especially for the extra syllables and double "k" sound in the final line of the first stanza, and subbing in the concluding couplet of the second stanza from the second version.

Speaking for myself (& who else?!), I find the more vigorous tempo (of the extra syllables) goes well with the theme of your piece--which, in a way, answers the ingredient I was writing about above. Milly is finding the answer to her recovery not in physical cloning, but in the emotional support, the spiritual factor, in this case not from a futuristic boost, but from her friends.
~ OMK

Misty said...

Many, many thanks for your kind forgiveness by being willing to discuss both versions of my verse, Ol' Man Keith--and, I must say, you found far more changes than I did, and neatly discussed their poetic effects. You are not just a wonderful poet, but also a wonderful critic! Thank you again for this kind and interesting discussion.

Now your terrific brief poem both delighted and flustered me in all sorts of ways. I loved the craziness of "Thingamajiggly". And I had to look up jactation, a word I've never heard before (hey, I didn't learn English until I was ten or eleven and am still a decade behind). So if 'jactation' is either the throwing or tossing of the body or a boastful declaration, is the pig doing both when he's dancing a jig? Challenging, challenging verse, OMK, and lots of fun.

Misty said...

Owen, your poem today is just lovely, both in its elegant sound and rhythm, and in its elevating theme. A gift for everyone, especially the elderly (like us)!

Ol' Man Keith said...

I was only aware of the nervous tossing-and-twitching aspect of jactation, Misty, so glad to learn of a secondary meaning.
I made up the allusion to a crying jag only 'cuz I wanted to go for a "jig" and a "jag," (like zigzag, y'know).
Some words stir associations that don't have to make any sense whatsoever--right? It's just that their sound is fun.
~ OMK