Day Ten ... NaPoWriMo / Poem-a-Day 2014

Day Ten. A couple-three days ago, actually exactly between two days and three days, we were a fourth of the way through National Poetry Month. Today we are a third. The month is going by too quickly. Robert Lee Brewer's prompt today is for us to try to "write a future poem. The future might mean robots and computer chips. The future might mean apocalyptic catastrophes. The future might mean peace and understanding. The future might mean 1,000 years into the future; it might mean tomorrow (or next month)" (Poetic Asides). After giving some examples of poetic language used in advertisements, such as for Burma-Shave, Maureen Thorson said, "Today, I challenge you to write your own advertisement-poem. You don’t need to advertise Burma-Shave. Any product (or idea) will do. Perhaps you could write a poem advertising poetry? It certainly could use the publicity! (NaPoWriMo). Earlier today, I was having a hard time combining the two prompts. However, after reading Alan's sprightly and spicy jingle below, I was inspired to write the following ditty. It's a commercial jingle for Chevrolet twenty years in the future, but not Chevrolet the automobile company . . . it's Chevrolet the firearms conglomerate. Jingle of the Chevrolet Arms Co. in 2034 Rule the USA with a Chevrolet Using jacketed hollow-point rounds. Put them in the clay, it's their Judgment Day, If they mess with you, they’re out of bounds. On a gun range, or a holdup by a heavy, Firing is sweeter, automatic or repeater, Nothing like a heater that’s a Chevy. We don't smoke cigars, don't manufacture cars, We make you well-armed and unafraid. We don't soar to Mars, don't smash electric guitars, We just sell the best guns ever made. —Draft by Vince Gotera    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] Wasn't that a fun bit of doggerel? Well, maybe not "fun" exactly since it may not be that far from the truth, except for the Chevrolet part. It's singable too. Here's a link to the original Chevrolet jingle I'm parodying in case you want to try singing my jingle: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhR8GZ_WWMM. And now to Alan's "sprightly and spicy jingle," as I called it above. Our good friend Alan says, by way of introduction to his Day Ten composition, "Today's poem combines some of the recent prompts, to write a version of a famous poem, to write a poem about the future, and to write a poem that is an advertisement. I promise that after today there will be no more versions of 'We Real Cool' in any form from me for the rest of the month." Jingle for the 2016 GOP Presidential Candidate We cold caste. We Praise past. We Uptight. We All white. We Pray sweet. We Pack heat. We Deep drill. We Soft kill. —Draft by Thomas Alan Holmes     [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] "I know this one is overtly political," Alan continues, "but recent events, including my state senate's voting to permit gun owners to open carry weapons even if they have had no training at all — one has to have training to concealed carry — have left me wondering what has happened to the American electorate to place such people in office." Well done, Alan. It was your phrases "pack heat" and "soft kill" that inspired my poem above. Alas, though, the GOP is not all-white, and I don't understand it. Nonetheless, bravo. Won't you comment, please? To make a comment, look for a blue link below that says Post a comment; if you don't see that, look in the red line that starts Posted by Vince and click on the word comments. Ingat, everyone. Anyone else want to write a poem riffin' on "We Real Cool"?   ヅ

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