The POTW: Verse Til It Hurts

<< PREV
    

POTW #854
(Week of 3 November, 2013)

    
NEXT >>
I spent some quality time yesterday with the three-year-old daughter of a friend. She had me "reading books," which in this case did not mean what it usually does, and did not involve actual books or reading, but rather, holding a single-fold greeting card and pretending to read while making something up out of thin air. We did this for rather a long time, and I began to feel like Scheherazade spinning stories for a thousand and one nights. I suspected that Piper really just wanted to see how long I could keep it up. And if there had been a requirement that these "stories," usually less than a minute long, had to hold up as such in any way, I would have been in big trouble, but the three-year-old audience is very, very forgiving about such things, and seems to take great pleasure in the magical act of storytelling itself, regardless of the details of the story being told. Success is dependent on an entirely different factor:

Once-and-Never Tales

The characters were moot
An acrobat, a talking boot
A giant jealous piece of fruit
Whatever madness came to mind

Plot and drama didn't matter
To the sun on magic ladders
To prevent it getting flatter
Pieces randomly combined

No weighty relevance or theme
Just cricket pies and whipping cream
And what the kitchen faucet dreams
While it's filling up a pail

Unperfected, uncontrolled
No gracefully becoming old
Forgot as soon as they were told
These were once-and-never tales

There were marshmallow pajamas
And aristocratic llamas
Even President Obama
Made a comical appearance

Flying pizzas, plants of glass
Special parks with tickle grass
Sharks in kindergarten class
Clad in vivid incoherence

Never matter whence inspired
Making sense is not required
Maybe not even desired
When the audience is three

Extemporaneous and free
A rampant storytelling spree
Where creativity is nice
But it's endurance that's the key

Copyright © 2013 by Dave Grossman

Permanent link to this entry: http://www.phrenopolis.com/poem/index.php?p=854


Subscribing:

The POTW has been on hiatus for a few years now, but you never know when I might pick it back up again. If you use a blog reader of some sort, you can add the poem to it using This Link. Or, if you like, you can have the POTW sent to you by email every week (it's FREE). With our high-tech automated system, all you have to do is send an email to subscribePOTW@phrenopolis.com from the mail account where you want to receive it, and we'll put you on the list. You will receive a confirmation by email, although it may take a while as the automated subscription process is quite complex and arcane. (You can see just exactly how complex and arcane it is by taking our guided tour.)

No strings are attached. No salesmen will visit your home. No spam will occur. Your privacy will be vigorously protected. If you have questions, consult the FAQ.


Buy This Book:

Interested in more? Check out "Ode to the Stuff in the Sink," Dave's illustrated book of "guy" verse (concerning the deeper philosophies of things like not doing the laundry, putting your feet on the furniture, and of course beer) at the Maximegalomporium (our store). And did I mention it was illustrated? Pictures!


Where Do You Get Your Ideas?:

Like any self-respecting citizen of the modern age, I use machinery.


Other Frequently Asked Questions:

Consult the POTW FAQ.