Sunday, April 29, 2012

Day 29 ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day


Hello, everyone. It's the eve of the last day of National Poetry Month and NaPoWriMo and the Poem-a-Day challenge. Ain't it grand?

Okay, penultimate prompts! Maureen Thorson suggests a clerihew or a double dactyl. Andrea Boltwood says, lune! — either the Collom or Kelly types. Robert Lee Brewer tells us: "Take a favorite line or image from an earlier poem this month and re-work it into a new poem." That's a marvelous idea, Robert; I might not do that today but I'll certainly try it later.

I recently wrote clerihews for an office reception for a colleague who's stepping down from his current position, so I was primed for Maureen's prompt. Here are a couple of new clerihews on Presidential politics.

Two Clerihews

President Barack Obama . . .
Bet you thought I would rhyme with yo mama,
But there's also hosanna and flora or fauna,
There are more rhymes with Romney — don't wanna.

Governor Willard "Mitt" Romney
Would give all of us imsomni—
If Mitt became President or even just veep,
None of us would ever get any sleep.

—Draft by Vince Gotera     [do not copy or quote ... thanks]

I also started to work on a clerihew that rhymed Gingrich with getting rich; I envisioned third and fourth lines that would rhyme getting paid with getting lei'd but decided maybe it would insult the state of Hawai'i, and so I abandoned it.

Catherine wrote clerihews on Presidential politics as well. When she sent them to me, she wrote they were "really fun and really pathetic." But that's the point with clerihews: they should be over the top, irreverent, slapstick, even silly. All in good fun, right?

Two Clerihews

Senator Rick Santorum
says we aren't allowed to abort 'em
but we can't take pills to prevent 'em
So I guess we will all be called Mum.

Secretary of State Hill Clinton
I sure wish you won, but you didn't
Here's hoping that twenty-sixteen
will bring the US its first queen.

—Draft by Catherine Pritchard Childress     [do not copy or quote ... thanks]

Our featured NaPoWriMo site today is MaureenThorson.com where the NaPoWriMo.net poet has been posting her NaPoWriMo poems, (How many times can I say "NaPoWriMo" in one sentence?) When you get to her homepage, click on "Blog" near bottom right.



Perhaps I should have featured her website earlier since her poem-a-day pieces go "poof" after 24 hours. The one for Day 29 is up right now; click above and look at it — remember, select "blog." Here today, gone tomorrow!

Well, that's it for today. And almost it for National Poetry Month 2012. Just one glorious day left. See you at the "Last Day" festivities, then? Please write a comment below. Thanks! Ingat.


POEM-A-DAY 2012 • Pick a day in April: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

If the Daily Show had a poetry night, these four Clerihews need to be UP there!

Still shivering from the Mitt Romney one!

Vince Gotera said...

Meena, thanks. We should pursue your idea of a clerihew chapbook! Or maybe an anthology?

Did you see my description above of the Gingrich clerihew I started writing? I did think after a while that maybe it was too mean.

Vince Gotera said...

You know, John Stewart WOULD love clerihews, wouldn't he?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for pointing that one out... I admit to have breezed through the commentary... With the latest illicit affair scandals hitting the new stream... wow... let's keep this PG13 (still chuckling to myself).

I am certain that John Stewart would be in love with them :)

I am game for a chapbook or an anthology of clerihews broken down by performing artists, professional sports and politician..

Vince Gotera said...

Meena, John Stewart would love the idea even more if we roasted HIM with a clerihew too.

You know, of the four above, Catherine's Santorum clerihew is the one that's most in the spirit of the form because it connects to something directly out of his life. The other three don't really get inside the experience or background of the person being talked about. Though I do really like my rhyme of "Romney" and "insomni-" ... that kind of silliness is very much a part of the clerihew tradition.




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