Where Did I Leave That Poem?
Jean McLeod's most recent poem to appear here was Sacred Cows, published as part of Contributor Series 9: If Men Had Ears. Hey! Wait a minute! Cows?!?!
Where Did I Leave That Poem?
By Jean McLeod
By Jean McLeod
I have a notebook full of words.
Full!
What it needs is
verbs for energy
instead of cut, how about
slash, geld, excise, excoriate,
claw, tear, puncture, slice, thrash, squash,
gash, crumple, break, squash, saw, amputate?
Nouns to BE active:
Cows are not all that active,
passive, really, they pass time,
pass gas, pass a tree, pass, well,
manure. Dumb, they pass right on by their barn.
No, certainly not cows.
Burglars?
They seem quite verbal,
that is to say, they DO things
which might well be verbs, like plan,
scale, scout, scare, shoot, shout, clamber,
fake, fall, fail. All in all, I should think burglars,
nouns that they are, with all their verbing around, might
make a serviceable poem if, unlike cows, they tried.
Poems have adjectives.
There's some controversy about adjectives,
but SOME poems: you know, I'm just sayin'
have adjectives like blushing, combative, delicious,
husky, rambunctious, tentative, unctuous. Adjectives all.
Aww, heck, why not throw in adverbs?
Slowly, alarmingly, brilliantly, briskly, avidly,
cautiously, carefully, curvaceously, drunkenly,
fancifully, hastily, intilijuntly, lazily, militantly, oddly,
enough, now I'm entirely sick of adverbs.
One would think the above
would be enough words to make a poem.
But it's getting late and I don't think I'll bother.
Posted by Annmarie at 9/12/2011 11:30 PM 
Categories: words to linger on
Tags: Jean McLeod poem words writing
Categories: words to linger on
Tags: Jean McLeod poem words writing
Thanks for the language lesson out of your notebook. Interesting poem.
Reply to this
Mmmm, not quite instruction, Jeanette! More like a spoof written too late at night. Thanks for reading it!
Annmarie! Thank you for indulging my occasional flight of silly!
Reply to this
Jean, I would read your work anytime. I love it because it's not cookie cutter.
Reply to this
Thank you, Jeanette. You are so supportive and sweet-natured.
Reply to this
I love it when you play with words. The consideration you gave to cows and burglars was most insightful. You are a delight!
Reply to this
Kay! Love me some cattle and burblers--burglers--not so much! Thank you for your kind words. Jean
Reply to this
What fun! Sometimes we need the delightful whimsy of words to remind us that poetry communicates humor as well as the more serious aspects of life. Thank you, Jean, for making me chuckle.
Sharon
Reply to this
Yes, fun indeed!
Reply to this
Sharon, Thanks for appreciating the silliest of things! Jean.
Reply to this