“How come you’re so incensed, Alexa?”
“What’s incensed?”
“Mad. Raving mad.”
“I’m trying to write a poem, and nothing rhymes right!” my little sister wailed.
“What have you got so far?”
“Promise you won’t laugh or make fun of me?”
“Would I ever?”
“Promise?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a fork into my eye.”
“All right, here it is.”
She removed her hands from a crumpled piece of paper with numerous pencil scribblings, most of which were crossed out.
“Let me read to you what I’ve got:
(dramatic pause)
Down the slope she likes to skid
But her fear she cannot get rid
of.”
She looked up at me expectantly.
“What do you think?” And in the same breath, “I don’t like that ‘of’ after ‘rid’ – it ruins it all. Do you think I can just do without it?”
“No, it’s required. – Have you got more?”
“Yes, one more. Listen to this:
Moisture is a kind of damp
which makes it hard to light a lamp.”
“That one has a perfect rhyme, and it makes sense. Were you going to combine the two in a bigger poem?”
She gnawed on her pencil.
“Yes, that would be nice. Why don’t you help me, Mike. You’re the best rhymer.”
“No, I’m not. What makes you say that? I usually don’t speak in rhymes. In riddles maybe, but not in rhymes.”
“Yes, you do. You’re a, you’re a – I’ve got it – a master rhymer.”
I scratched my head for show.
“How about this then:
Once of her fears she had gotten rid
she went down the slope in a great skid.
However, it had rained a lot that day,
which is why she slipped on clay.
Her fancy pants got very damp,
But her brother said, You’re still my champ.”
“Oh, that’s really neat, Mike! Let me copy that one down on a new piece of paper.”
“Who’s this poem for, anyway?”
“Why, it’s for your birthday!”
I had to laugh.
“And who told you which words to rhyme?”
“Oh, that was off the Internet. Something called Three Word Tuesday or Wednesday, I forget which. I only used two words, though. The third one I didn’t know. It was the one you used before. You know, that word for raving mad.”
– Leonard “Given to Silliness” Blumfeld (© 2011)
Silly and contrived, I know, but it uses all three words from 3WW (damp, incensed, skid).
“What’s incensed?”
“Mad. Raving mad.”
“I’m trying to write a poem, and nothing rhymes right!” my little sister wailed.
“What have you got so far?”
“Promise you won’t laugh or make fun of me?”
“Would I ever?”
“Promise?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a fork into my eye.”
“All right, here it is.”
She removed her hands from a crumpled piece of paper with numerous pencil scribblings, most of which were crossed out.
“Let me read to you what I’ve got:
(dramatic pause)
Down the slope she likes to skid
But her fear she cannot get rid
of.”
She looked up at me expectantly.
“What do you think?” And in the same breath, “I don’t like that ‘of’ after ‘rid’ – it ruins it all. Do you think I can just do without it?”
“No, it’s required. – Have you got more?”
“Yes, one more. Listen to this:
Moisture is a kind of damp
which makes it hard to light a lamp.”
“That one has a perfect rhyme, and it makes sense. Were you going to combine the two in a bigger poem?”
She gnawed on her pencil.
“Yes, that would be nice. Why don’t you help me, Mike. You’re the best rhymer.”
“No, I’m not. What makes you say that? I usually don’t speak in rhymes. In riddles maybe, but not in rhymes.”
“Yes, you do. You’re a, you’re a – I’ve got it – a master rhymer.”
I scratched my head for show.
“How about this then:
Once of her fears she had gotten rid
she went down the slope in a great skid.
However, it had rained a lot that day,
which is why she slipped on clay.
Her fancy pants got very damp,
But her brother said, You’re still my champ.”
“Oh, that’s really neat, Mike! Let me copy that one down on a new piece of paper.”
“Who’s this poem for, anyway?”
“Why, it’s for your birthday!”
I had to laugh.
“And who told you which words to rhyme?”
“Oh, that was off the Internet. Something called Three Word Tuesday or Wednesday, I forget which. I only used two words, though. The third one I didn’t know. It was the one you used before. You know, that word for raving mad.”
– Leonard “Given to Silliness” Blumfeld (© 2011)
Silly and contrived, I know, but it uses all three words from 3WW (damp, incensed, skid).
I like it! I'm always drawn to conversation poetry!
ReplyDeleteHow delightful..nonsense verse with plenty of sense..I don't think I've read a TWW which is about writing a TWW..Jae ;)
ReplyDeleteSheilagh Lee said too funny this is very amusing and totally captivating
ReplyDeletehaha...this was a delight to read...i may talk to myself when i write poetry but it is never this funny...smiles.
ReplyDeleteThis is too cute! I loved the story, and it was fun that it mentioned 3WW. Great job!
ReplyDeleteFun! nice one shot!
ReplyDeletethis was cute. loved the beautiful interaction between the siblings.
ReplyDeletetrisha
http://sharmishthabasu.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/incensed-for-3ww/
I could envision the scene being played out between these two siblings. Really cute.
ReplyDeleteNicely done.
So precious
ReplyDeleteThis was SO awesome!
ReplyDeleteMade me burst out laughing, and reminded me of Enid Blyton's character Fatty, and how he always churned out the perfect rhyming poems, and completed all of Ern's when he was stuck with them. He was a master rhymer too :)
That was great! You can feel the sibling love there.
ReplyDelete