Oscar Wilde snippet challenge, JUST IN!! Options

[Psyche]

Hello all poets and writers!!

You're invited to use the Oscar Wilde snippets listed below. Use them in any order, but do not change them at all, except to capitalise when necessary.
FV or the form of your choice, even a short story is welcome.

The name of Oscar Wilde's poem is not given, because we're sure most poets know it...and it would be fun to compose something totally different!

The challenge is to pick out 10 snippets, but if you can include the whole 16, then that would be wonderful! You'll be a champion!

Here goes:



his scarlet coat

poor dead woman

a cricket cap

with sails of silver

sky above my head

oak and elm

is delicate and rare

cried out for blood

numbered tomb

faces seemed to peer

hempen rope

with fetters bound

their brothers maim

pit of shame

the thing he loved

flattering word



Good luck, folks!!!

[Larry]

Charon’s Hand

With fetters bound, the poor dead woman hung
from hempen rope above the pit of shame.
Consigned to numbered tomb by lying tongue
so crowds cried out for blood. The people came

to watch the hangman work; his scarlet coat
was open like the sky above my head.
A noose, the thing he loved, would seem to float
above the oak and elm-wood gallows bed.

His expertise is delicate and rare
though flattering words seldom reached his ear.
Below a cricket cap his black eyes stare
at morbid folk; their faces seemed to peer

as if their brothers maimed her death might fix
with sails of silver-grey that cross the Styx.





16 Snippets used: with fetters bound, poor dead woman, hempen rope, pit of shame, numbered tomb, cried out for blood, his scarlet coat, sky above my head, the thing he loved, oak and elm, is delicate and rare, flattering word, a cricket cap, faces seemed to peer, their brothers maim, with sails of silver

[Psyche]

As ever, Larry, you amaze me with your ability to answer these challenges. Including the whole 16 snippets!

This one is especially interesting, as it's about dark mythical scenarios.

I'm not altogether sure whether Charon's Hand and the river Styx fit in well with some of the content of the poem! I hope some good soul remembered to put coins on her eyes, or in a pouch, to pay the boatman to cross the fetid river Styx. Some poor souls wander forever on the shores because they had no coins or simply forgot to take them...Myths vary such a lot. Apparently, some of the "dead" managed on their own to reach the river, but were absent-minded about the details. Psyche was one of them! Although she went on a mission while still alive.

" ...his scarlet coat
was open like the sky above my head."

The above lines made me laugh! Amusing comparison...LOL.

"...as if their brothers maimed her death might fix
with sails of silver-grey that cross the Styx."

Great finale, although L1 is a bit confusing. I suppose the meter would be wrong if you put "their maimed brothers". And I believe the boatman used oars, without any silver-grey sails!

Never mind, I'm deeply amused at how you've contrived to put this sonnet together. It flows beautifully and is very colourful. Besides, The Ballad of Reading Goal is itself a groan/grim/grin poem, which I used to know by heart in my younger days.

I apologise for commenting here. I have no idea whether it's allowed in this forum.
Fantastic reply, enjoyed immensely!!!
Syl

[Larry]

Thanks for the visit Syl,

I’m glad I can still amaze! To answer your questions and point out a few things, I’ll start with the last comment. No apologies necessary because comments are always welcome, even in a Challenge Forum.

I know that Charon rowed the souls across the river Styx but using a bit of poetic license, tried to pun my way through the last couplet. As stated in the challenge, I couldn’t change any of the snippets except to capitalize, pluralize , etc. The pun might be a bit far- fetched but here is how I tried to use it: Pennies, when buried for a while oxidize and have a silver-grey color thus it might have read “sales of silver-grey” the dead used to pay for their passage.

I couldn’t rearrange the order of words in the “their brothers maimed” to “their maimed brothers” due to the stipulations of the challenge. Lastly, the hangman could be construed to be the right hand of Charon because of all the business he sent; thus “Charon’s Hand” as the title. Everything from the beginning of the poem lead to bad people crossing the river Styx and that is where Charon came in. The hangman just lent a hand. I’m rambling now so I will end this convoluted explanation. Glad you enjoyed.

Larry

[Psyche]

Hi Larry,

Thanks so much for explaining how you "punned" your way through the couplet!
It's still amazing. And of course I apologise for not remembering that particular snippet "their brothers maim". I was just figuring out the meaning. Wasn't doing any detective work!

Interesting about the pennies getting oxidized when buried. I would commiserate with the dead if they had to get hold of silver sails/sales (I imagine the pun is here), but never mind...lets hope we're not headed for Hades. Come to think of it, I've often wondered why our Christian religion is not considered mythical, since on reading Revelations (or Apocalypsis) we've got plenty to face before reaching heaven ourselves. The worldview at present is quite apocalyptic, considering the way events are unfolding. Must keep our faith and be ready, as Jesus says. The Gospels are my guide.

I understand your explanation on how you weaved together this sonnet, including Charon's Hand, the hangman and the Styx. Perfectly reasonable line of thought! Charon must have become quite rich, since everybody went to Hades and became a shade...wow.

I hope Daniel comes up with another sonnet. He did last time.

I'm beginning to feel cold despite the good heating. This morning greeted us with a lovely snow-filled landscape, so pretty! It snowed till about midday. I think it'll be muddy and perhaps icy tomorrow, as the forecast says sunny with a min. of about -4ºC and a max. of 6. No good for snow.

Cheers,
Syl