'I'm always looking for the Hows and the Whys and the Whats,' said Muskrat, 'That is why I speak as I do. You've heard of Muskrat's Much-in-Little, of course?'
'No,' said the child. 'What is it?'
- The Mouse and his Child. Russell Hoban.

Go here to find out more.

Saturday 13 April 2013

Being Happy 2


Have you a set of those fridge magnets that consist of itty-bitty words that you can put together?
We do.
It seems to take very little effort to make poetry-of-a-kind.*  Sort of like colour-by-number paintings, only not quite.  Because unlike colour-by-number paintings, the finished product takes shape much more spontaneously, which is odd, considering there are only about 200 words one can use.

Anyhoo, somehow, quite pleasing verse can be composed by the most unlikely guests, seemingly painlessly, possibly because there are a limited number of words, and therefore necessity is the mother of invention.

The only problem is, because of the lack of joining words, the results are treacly-thick with adjectives and whey-thin on verbs.

But, and this is the most important thing, it makes me happy!

Fridge poem.  By Me.
Improved version:

Colour is My Inspiration

Be it
Floating cherry haze in spring, or
Golden dusk: autumn orchard shimmers as
A dark ruby sunburst spear ignites a plum.

See the
Orange ginger exotic idol shine against a
Dusty indigo empire army uniform,
or that
Ghostly cream feather float down in a sultry jungle night.

Above
An ebony lunar eclipse poised amid ethereal cloud's veil,
or there
Silent turquoise skyline silhouette
And
Bright violet moonlight cloaks a chill northern night.

In the garden a feisty crimson silken dragon lily glows.

In the forest a tender moss froths the plummeting waterfall.

Colour, pray absolve, dissolve me.
Delight my soul.
Carry my intoxicated spirit.

Dusk from the front garden, one evening last week.

* Probably wouldn't win any literarary∞ competitions...
∞ literarary is one of those words that's easy to say, but difficult to stop.  Like cinnaninnamon.


Today's post is inspired by Jay of the Depp Effect.


10 comments:

  1. Silken dragon, lily glow. Nice string of words.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had in mind those orange tiger-lillies Terra... but I had already used up the orange on the ginger flowers...!

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  2. WhenI lived in a house with several roommates we had these and we would entertain ourselves while waiting for the day's designated cook to finish dinner by making haikus of our day. or making suggestions for dinner.
    I had forgotten about that until now!

    as for the eagles - they are in a protected area that is designated for bringing them back to the Lake Ontario region, so it is not so common a boardwalk. you can only use the boardwalk and cannot enter anywhere else in the wetland area.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can see your house's fridge in my mind's eye VioletS.
      Your post about the eagles captured my imagination. I even told my Particular (birder) Friend about it. He was no-where near as excited about it as I thought he should be, probably as he has just come back from the Gulf of Carpentaria and has no room in the excited part of his brain for anything but pelicans.

      Delete
  3. I absolutely adore your "improved version" -- coming, as it does, from a bona fide visual artist who knows whereof she speaks. My only regret is that, living as I do on the tail end of things time-zone-wise (and it's a rude awakening for an American to discover that fact, let me tell you), I am among the last to tell you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you adored my pome Robert.
      As for your natural regret at not being first to get the new day, please concede New Zealand some small tidbit, down here, as we are, at the forgotten bottom of the world, often even hidden completely by the publishers name...

      Delete
  4. Brilliant. Love it.
    A great way to express yourself while the kettle boils.... next time I see them I am getting some!

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  5. Fi, you can get them from Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Original-Fridge-Poetry-Magnet/dp/B00387CQ68

    There's also a set of 'funny' words, too.

    I don't remember where I got ours from. Maybe someone gave them to us.

    ReplyDelete

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