"The's" Plea, The case for cutting some slack for "The Options

[jgdittier]

I am an article, my name is "The".
A solitary blot on this blank page...
I count at best as much as any "da",                      (1
But here I am, the boss has set the stage.
He's writing dashes just above my eyes...              (2
There's some asleep and some in leaning stance.  (3
He's mumbling now, a topic I surmise...
His pencil poised, the ceiling wins his glance.
He grunts, "Aha", he sees despite closed eyes.
The pencil point descends, just missing me.
The line I head, he fills with words, then sighs,
And further right he prints a letter key.                   (4
He almost stabs my naked feet, then adds
More words while ranging to the right again.
If ending words don't rhyme he gasps, "egads"
And seeks a rhyme that he can put to pen.
I'm not too bright but I maintain it's true
That I deserve a "dum", I need a turn.                   (5
This world of "da"s, devoid of depth, I rue.
"Be bountiful, my bards, and 'the' don't spurn!"

(1- an unaccanted syllable, -
(2- the intended cadence, -/-/-/-/-/
(3-da s are asleep, dums leaning
(4- the rhyme scheme,ababcdcd...
(5- the dums are accented, /

I've always wondered if others do it this way---

[Guest_jtb_*]

Excellent, Ron!  You maneuvered a dum for "the."

Well done!

jtb

[Guest__*]

Dear Ron,

Very good. As I see it, you have 2 x "the" as Dum, one on the very first sentence !

Love
Alan

[heartsong7]

Hi Ron...I almost missed this delightful and insightful little poem....about poor little "the"
I thoroughly enjoyed every line.
2 small suggestions to reduce your "The" count...hehe

L1" I am an article...."
Last line "....and 'the' don't spurn"

Good one.
Sue

[JustDaniel]

Delightfully I read this little piece,
though run-ons spoil the joy, I must admit...
as do the capitals. I want to spit!

Here's irony: your 'da' is on a DUM;
'da' always is where 'the' is placed, alas,
but nonetheless, this poem has great class!

in deLight, Daniel  

Note: I hope you take my comments as construrctive, supportive and tongue-in-cheek.  I like the piece!

[Cleo_Serapis]

Hi Ron!

I've finally had the opportunity to read this piece while prepping the June Jamboree!  :grinning:

What a great imagination you have to personify the word! Very clever!

My only nit (as the PP around here - punctuation police) - would be to remove the Caps where not a start of a new line.

Otherwise, I enjoyed your ditty very much!

Cheers!
~Cleo  :pharoah:

[jgdittier]

Dear Cleo,
Glad you came to read this one as it is relatively rare for me to come up with a unique thought. I'm much more proud of the concept than my presentation.
Those who read my postings are aware I write in the old style and am probably the only one with that characteristic who actually fears for the future of rhymed and metered poetry and for continued reverence for the works of the bards of yore.
I'm aware that there is no longer a typographical reason to capitalize lines that don't lead a sentance. I continue to capitalize all lines when I'm writing in that style of yore. I want my "style of yore poetry" to look the part.

My thought about caps is no farther removed from that of writers of free verse who capitalize nothing, including "i".

I follow the rules of prose capitalization when writing modern-light like limericks.

Cheers,    jgd

[Guest_Tao_*]

Hello J. Greenleaf Dittier,

You know I rarely get the right da dum
for in my verse, I’m prone to just scan duh?
So gladly I observe your pendulum,
tribute fitting the poor neglected "the."

My 2c? Write as you like, all caps or none. The reader can choose to like or dislike. :)

David