POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

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keithgood838
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by keithgood838 » Sat Nov 06, 2010 11:14 am

Devotees of this lighthearted thread will have noticed
that I like to leaven it with occasional seriousness;
also that I tend to pontificate on the subject of fearlessness
towards death. Here I am able to achieve both objectives
simultaneously: the words birds and stone spring to mind.
I found the following sonnet written in longhand on a scrap
of paper and tucked inside the pages of a old velvet-bound copy
of a book of verse by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. It was untitled
and left no indication as to authorship. Unless you know better ...

Come not to mourn for me with solemn tread
Clad in dull weeds of sad and sable hue,
Nor weep because my tale of life's told through,
Casting light dust on my untroubled head,
Nor linger near me while the sexton fills
My grave with earth - but go gay-garlanded.
And in your halls a shining banquet spread
And gild your chambers o'er with daffodils.

Fill your tall goblets with white wine and red
And sing brave songs of gallant love and true
Wearing soft robes of emerald and blue
And dance, as I your dances oft have led,
And laugh, as I have often laughed with you
And be most merry - after I am dead.


8)

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keithgood838
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by keithgood838 » Wed Nov 10, 2010 1:00 pm

DULCE ET DECORUM EST

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick boys! - An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime ...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.

Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)

Note. Dulce et decorum est
translates as: It is sweet and right.

FOR THE WAR DEAD

Here dead we lie
Because we did not choose
To live and shame the land
From which we sprung.

Life, to be sure,
Is nothing much to lose,
But young men think it is,
And we were young.

A.E. Housman (1859-1936)

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ROBERT M.
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by ROBERT M. » Thu Nov 11, 2010 1:16 am

Did you see my minor attempt at the Time Change poem on the appropriate page, Keith ? :wink: :)
"My Tears Will Fall Now That You're Gone,
I Can't Help But Cry, But I Must Go On" :(

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keithgood838
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by keithgood838 » Thu Nov 11, 2010 4:04 pm

Yes Robert, a noble attempt. Why not write a piece
about Hull City's current fall from grace? Make it come
from the heart, your attachment to a club that has recently
ranged the entire emotional spectrum, and from the head,
letting your imagination soar. Rhyming is the least important
(sometimes dispensable) ingredient in the making of a poem.
Good luck!
:idea:

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ROBERT M.
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by ROBERT M. » Mon Nov 15, 2010 1:09 am

COME ON CITY :)

The Tigers, The Tigers were burning so bright,

Then a dark cloud appeared one early summer's eve,

We lost an important football match that fateful day,

Which filled all Tigers fans with such heartfelt dismay,

We can only but dream now, of life in the higher echelons,

But we will keep our burning dream alive for tomorrow,

Because if we work hard, with encouragement and skill,

You'll see us staunchly and proudly, climb back over the hill,

For the thrills we had yesterday, may one day come our way again.

:)
"My Tears Will Fall Now That You're Gone,
I Can't Help But Cry, But I Must Go On" :(

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keithgood838
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by keithgood838 » Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:03 pm

Robert, I read your gallant attempt immediately after listening
to the Singing Taxidriver and there seemed to be a certain
emotional symmetry between both posts. Not long ago Hull City
scaled the heights of the Premiership yet now sadly find themselves
languishing in the foothills of the Championship.
I hope the restoration of their good fortune won't turn out to be
an impossible dream.
Keith :)

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keithgood838
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by keithgood838 » Fri Nov 19, 2010 1:10 pm

NOTIONS of NOVEMBER
(November always seems to me
the Norway of the year
- Emily Dickinson)

November is the Cinders of the calendar;
the month that doesn't make it to the Ball;
stuck between Christmas's pious pleasure
and the feckless fag-end of the Fall,
when the dree of BST's departure
hangs on the period like a pall.
God, bring on all-dancing December
and give a morale-boost to us all.

Keith Good

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ROBERT M.
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by ROBERT M. » Sat Nov 20, 2010 12:44 am

Keith, December will be here before you know it :wink: ..............please don't wish time away, because it passes soooooooooooo quickly :(
"My Tears Will Fall Now That You're Gone,
I Can't Help But Cry, But I Must Go On" :(

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keithgood838
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by keithgood838 » Sat Nov 20, 2010 2:36 pm

STOP & GO

Time slams the brake
on the pleasure habit
when decreeing we have none,
but opens the throttle
of his 'winged chariot'
when we are having fun.

:)

One for the Today's Joke thread:

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

:wink:
Last edited by keithgood838 on Sun Nov 21, 2010 12:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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keithgood838
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by keithgood838 » Sun Nov 21, 2010 12:58 pm

SELF-EFFACING DEFORESTATION

My jokes' fate is to fall flat;
it is the way I tell 'em;
I'm a lumberjack in that
I find good gags and fell 'em.

:wink:

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Gray
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by Gray » Tue Nov 23, 2010 7:21 am

:)

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keithgood838
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by keithgood838 » Tue Nov 23, 2010 12:27 pm

Hi Gray
I'm glad to see Leeds United are still in contention
for the prized possession of promotion. In case it may
have slipped through the net of your busy life, a new
book entitled Promised Land (The Reinvention of Leeds United)
has been published to literary acclaim. Christmas present material?

Returning to the theme of dreary November,
Edna St Vincent Millay displayed her illuminating intolerance
of November-like tedium thus:

My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night,
But ah my foes, and oh my friends,
It makes a lovely light!


At least our American friends have their Thanksgiving
antidote to dull November. The following lines are by
our old friend Anon:

The year has turned its circle;
The seasons come and go;
The harvest all is gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.
Orchards have shared their treasures;
The fields their yellow grain,
So open wide the doorway -
Thanksgiving comes again.

Happy Thanksgiving to our transatlantic
forum friends on Thursday.

:)

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Gray
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by Gray » Wed Nov 24, 2010 7:09 am

HI Keith

I love the Thanksgiving poem, thanks for posting that.

Yes, Leeds are doing their very best, which is all we can hope for! :)
Although their form is a bit up and down, oh my word I would of taken this position at the start of the season!

How are you doing?
Hope you are well!

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Marian
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by Marian » Wed Nov 24, 2010 8:30 am

All our family are off to see Reading v Leeds on Saturday Gray!
I'm not too good at the moment , chest infection, but everyone else is fighting fit. :(
Hope your family are all okay too. :D

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Gray
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Re: POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

Post by Gray » Thu Nov 25, 2010 7:12 am

Hi Marian

I am so sorry to hear you are feeling unwell.
I hope you are fighting fit again very soon.

Re: the Reading / Leeds game, I heard last night that Leeds have sold out all their 4,300 allocation.
Reading stated there are only 1,000 tickets left anywhere in the ground.

If your family haven't got their tickets yet, they may need to do so pretty quickly!
I imagine there will be Leeds fans trying to get them also.
Hope your family enjoy the game, and that you get better soon!

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