RHYMES AND OBITUARIES Options

[Alan]

RHYMES AND OBITUARIES

Conflated times : when all is good,
luscious fruit’s plucked from money-tree;
living, so easy, turns one’s mood
to waxing dreams - and poetry.

Inflative bubbles growing large
hide looming dearth from poets’ views,
until a last triumphant charge
presages doom's “Burst Bubble” news.

Ex-bubbles gumming all our lives,
such pink and sticky goo-some mess.
Ex-bosses, -jobs, possibly -wives,
burst’s woes which poets must address.

Hence silence on our writing front,
these are hard, non-poetic times.
Recast, retrain, or, to be blunt,
pen obituaries rather than rhymes.

Alan McAlpine Douglas

[Maggie]

Hi Alan,

These are indeed difficult times, my friend! I would agree, but maybe we can still write rhymes about the times, just change the content, as you have done. We can write for catharsis and then edit as a form of sublimation, and indeed my daffodils once again came up and blossomed this year as before in the better times. We can also write to persuade the misled idiots who are running our country into the ground to change their ways as well. Look at Greece and Ireland. They've spent themselves into a terrible situation. At least the dollar is still holding up pretty well, at least until China recalls all the money we've borrowed from them.

Thanks for writing the poem!!! It hit me in a tender spot!!!

Peggy

[Thoth]

Quite so Alan.

I'm in agreement with most of it. Hard time have produced some fine writers and poetry. It is more a problem of find time to write these days as we all work harder to make ends meet.

An old acquaintance died last week and I attempted to write some words of comfort to the family. After a few Hours I gave up in frustration.

You have a fine poem here Alan, my only nit is the last line which is way off metrically. Leading stress and has too many syllables.

Hence silence on our writing front,
these are hard, non-poetic times.
Recast, retrain, or, to be blunt,
pen obituaries rather than rhymes.

Perhaps;

Hence silence on our writing front,
these hard and non-poetic times
recast, retrain, or to be blunt,
create obituaries of rhymes.


Thanks for putting to rhyme what we all feel.

Wally

[Guest_ohsteve_*]

Alan, yes hard time in financially and politically, so why not poetry...I think poetry can find a way to express our ways in and around the hard times, and also encourage us to think of better times that were and we hope will be again. it seems except for the occasional challenge my muse seem depleted. but I am ever hopeful that something will send that thrill of inspiration coursing through my mind.

Interesting take, but you take care
Steve

[Alan]

Dear Steve,

I have noticed that in times of crisis most poetry boards shrivel. Don't like that !

Back to the stone age - whole day spent trying just to survive, no time for the finer things.

Just wait til the Greens achieve their desires for us !

Love
Alan

[Sekhmet]

Good morning Alan - Would you not agree that hard times have been a source of inspiration to many of our best poets. The Thirties were a decade of harsh recession - but much great poetry and literature emerged.
And then, think of the War Poets of WW1. We will, pray God, never see the hard times endured by that sacrificial generation of young men. A true poet will write about what he/she feels and witnesses - be it poverty, war or degradation. It is only those who can't cope with a dose of hardship who let their muse float away on a flood of bitter tears.
As half of a couple who live solely on the Old age Pension - we know all about hard times. Last week, a rat built a nest in our twenty year old old sofa, and we had to throw it away. Just upright chairs left to sit on. Very hard on the aging bottom!
Yet still we manage to laugh about the absurdities of life.
Possibly, at the end of winter, the creative sap is at its lowest; but just you watch, spring is about to pounce. Then, we will see the boards fill up again.
Hugs, Leo

[Larry]

Hey Alan,

A very timely poem indeed. Like Peggy says, it is cathartic to spill one's disgust or worry about "Hard Times". Hope they end sooner rather than "too late-r".

I noticed your poem is in tetra except for two places: S1L2 & S4L4.
My suggestions to maintain your meter throughout are:

ripe fruit is plucked from money-tree;

and

pen some obituaries' rhymes.

Take or toss and thanks for sharing thoughts which are running through each of our minds.

Larry

[Alan]

Dear Peggy and Wally,

So sorry to miss replying to your fine responses. Peggy, you have my point. There is ALWAYS something we can write, obits are my little joke, but we are needed now especially. Th eartist is the dreamer who in effect sets the civilization's goals.

Wally, again, you have my point. Scratching around for a crust linits the time and energy for more cerebral matters, like spotting the evil deeds of our "rulers". The last line was quite deliberately longer than the rest, does it jar too much ?

Love
Alan

[Alan]

Dear Leo,

I do like your war-time spirit ! Hard chairs ? Never mind, stiff upper lip etc etc ! Of course there is always some fine art produced from adversity, but what I see now is much less general output, so less chance of something fine emerging. The need to keep body attached to soul precludes much soul-searching, sadly.

Re sofa, try googling Friday-Ad, your area, here there are many suites available for say £ 50. Many people buy new and more or less "chuck" the old. What part of UK are you ?

Love
Alan

[Alan]

Dear Larry,

Thanks for the visit. I suspect you read "luscious" as 3 sylls, while I see it as pronoounced in two ? And the last line I deliberately let over-run. Does it jar too much ?

I am quite limited on "knowledge", I write by ear, and read it aloud before done. The tongue cannot glide over errors like the eye can.

Love
Alan