Unapologetic

Unapologetic

A splash of color made with paint…

it’s abstract. Does it show restraint

or is it an enforced aesthetic?

Is it unapologetic?

Was Kandinsky’s Moscow era

influenced by some chimera?

Was Kandinsky’s muse poetic

or just unapologetic?

Questions might outnumber answers,

growing steady like some cancers:

Was his vision sympathetic?

Was he unapologetic?

That splash of color resonates

no matter how the mind translates.

It draws one in.  It’s quite magnetic...

Also, unapologetic.

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Notes:  The poetic form is Kyrielle.  The poem was inspired by Red Spot II, the Kandinsky painting which was posted as the prompt for this week from Magpie Tales.

Illuminated!

Image courtesy of Maisa Gonzalez's Portolio

Quidquid

“Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur.” (Anything said in Latin sounds profound). ~Anon

If you speak Latin, you’ll sound smart,

like Einstein, Plato and Descartes.

But even more, most will not know

what you have said.  Just goes to show

that but a few words, known by heart,

proves you speak Latin.  You sound smart!

Thus when you postulate, ‘quidquid,”

just say it once.  Then say, ‘ibid.”

Or then say, “Bibo ergo sum,”

Some ‘Python’ fans will know, by gum,

your toasts to Latin are so smart!

So, “ergo,” now, here’s THE best part…

To “carpe diem” (seize the day)

use Latin.  You’ll be “illiant-bray”

and so profound,  You’ll stand apart:

if you speak Latin, you’ll sound smart.

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Notes:  Dang it!  My original notes just got wiped out!  Gotta start from scratch now.  Grrrrrrrr!

Breathe, breathe...

Okay here goes:  The form is called Quatern.  I know, I know, dear reader...you are mega-surprised because you were expecting another Kyrielle Sonnet, right?  Well, to be honest, the Quatern is similar in many ways to the Kyrielle and the Kyrielle Sonnet, which is why it was easy and fun to write.  The prompting for writing this form  comes from Walt and Marie, those nice folks over at Poetic Bloomings. Every week, they do something called In-Form Poet, which is all about poetic form - and this week, the form was Quaterm.

Now, believe it or not, I didn't originally set out to write a pun[ish] poem about Latin.  Instead, my thought was to write something on 'balance' since that was the prompt word over at Theme Thursday.  (Yeah, I know today is Friday.)  The goal was 'neco duos pennipotenti per unus calx'  which basically means (according to a couple of online translators) to kill two birds with one stone.  It's not exact, mind you, especially when you translate it back from Latin to English, but whatever.

Anyway, I started searching for humorous 'balance' quotes, which is actually more difficult than one might expect.  Most 'balance' quotes have a more inspirational kinda aura about them (as opposed to funny.)  But, one hyperlink (and subsequent website of quotes) led to another - and suddenly, there I was.  Latin.

So...did I strike any sort of balance with the above poem?  Hmmmm.  It's a stretch.  But if you put Pig-Latin, Monty Python and certain individuals of considerable intellectual weight (among other stuff) on the scales of life, then perhaps I did, on balance, complete the task.

Okay...okay...Gemitu!  (That's Latin for *groan!*)

Ya never know what ya might find when ya make a wrong turn down a road...

Image courtesy of voodoochili

The Road of Curiouser and Curiouser

“I guess when you turn off the main road, you have to be prepared to see some funny houses.” ~Stephen King

I once turned left instead of right

and saw a really oddball sight:

the road I turned on suddenly

revealed a funny house and tree.

Who could have guessed?  This house’s hue

was lemon, pink, cornflower blue.

It had a pinwheel balcony.

It was a funny house and tree.

The tree grew tea cups from each limb,

just like a scene from Brothers Grimm

or Carroll’s Alice.  Could that be?

Uh huh.  A funny house and tree.

I made a left instead of right

and saw a funny house and tree...

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 Notes:  In continuing with my January poetic form theme of Kyrielle Sonnet, here's yet another one.  Poets United Thursday Think Tank provided the prompt of 'The Road' today.  After I saw the Stephen King quote, I knew what road I would have to take to get to this poem.

FOAF

Image courtesy of howstuffworks.com

FOAF *

An urban legend gets its start

by someone who then must impart

a story which may not be true.

Will you tell next?  That’s up to you.

You think, perhaps this one’s on Snopes?

You say, “I’ll check it first.”  High hopes.

Turns out it’s fiction, on review.

Will you tell next?  That’s up to you.

You heard it from a friend of a friend?

It’s such a social media trend,

but if you find it’s ballyhoo

then don’t tell next – that’s what you do.

An urban legend gets its start…

Will you tell next?  That’s up to you.

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Image courtesy of sriks6711

Jane’s Who’s Whos

“You’ll never guess what Jane told me!

This is the truth, I guarantee

‘cause Jane is THE best source for news…

all gossip, gab and – yep! – Who’s Whos.

“So, Cynthia broke up with Rick,

who’s now with Carla.  And the clique

of ‘rah-rahs’?  They all got tattoos!

It’s gossip, gab and school Who’s Whos.

“And guess what Jane did say of you…

It’s on her Facebook page.  Who knew?!

You’re still a friend I’d hate to lose

to gossip, gab and Jane’s Who’s Whos.

“You’ll never guess what Jane told me!

Her gossip, gab and – yep! – Who’s Whos.”

 

###

Notes:  Okay...okay...so yeah, I'm hooked.  On Kyrielle Sonnets, that is.  Anyway, for the uninitiated, FOAF means 'friend of a friend.'  You know what I mean, right?  It's hearing stuff second-hand, and it's the stuff that urban legends are made of.  

Bad grammar aside, Robert Lee Brewer of Poetic Asides provided the prompt, which is (obviously!) 'friend of a friend.'  Check it out to see some really superb poets' takes on the subject.  And tell 'em you heard it from a FOAF.

Kvetch

Image courtesy of 3fatchicks

Kvetch

I never met a one like you

whose negativity shines through.

This poem’s the salute I sketch

for all you do.  You kvetch, kvetch, kvetch.

You criticize, I must confess.

No matter what, you must redress

your point (to death) in acid-etch.

Yes, all you do is kvetch, kvetch, kvetch.

The food’s too salty, sweet or cold.

If someone’s wronged, you’re wronged two-fold.

You sound like an ungrateful wretch

and all you do is kvetch, kvetch, kvetch.

And if you go to see a show,

you will complain, “It sucks, you know.

The acting’s bad.  The plot?  Farfetched.

And all you’ve done is kvetched, kvetched, kvetched.

You never compliment your host,

unless it’s qualified, at most.

You whine, you sulk, pretend to retch

and all you do is kvetch, kvetch, kvetch.

But can you take it?  No, you can’t.

Constructive words just make you rant.

You are the king of Kingdom Quetch*

‘cause all you do is kvetch, kvetch, kvetch.

I never met a one like you…

See, all you do is kvetch, kvetch, kvetch.

###

Notes:  The inspiration for today's Kyrielle Sonnet (and then some) came from the prompt of 'complaining' - thoughtfully (and without any whining whatsoever) provided for by Daniel Ari on his Imunuri blog.  I just couldn't resist.  Wine and cheese, anyone?

Ghosts of the Theater - Acts I and II

The Majestic Theater

This poem is an ode to what

was once a classic show-house, but

she’s now a ghost of her grand past

since Vaudeville was not meant to last.

 

The famous and the passing-thru

performers would wait for their cue

to grace the boards.  The long-gone cast

of Vaudeville were not meant to last.

The silent films and talkies turned

the stage show into something spurned.

Majestic’s lavish time had passed:

like Vaudeville, she could never last.

This poem is an ode to what

(like Vaudeville) was not meant to last.

###

Image courtesy of shadesofthedeparted

 

 

Theda Bara

A siren of the silent screen,

she was ‘The Vamp,’ a movie queen.

Her costumes were once thought ‘risqué’

but Bara, in her day, held sway.

In Hollywood, the Walk of Fame

contains a star for Theda’s name.

‘Though Mary Pickford had cache

Ms. Bara, in her day, held sway.

In more than forty films, she played

assorted roles, ‘til time did fade

her popularity. Today

exotic Bara still holds sway.

A siren of the silent screen…

La Bara, in her day, held sway.

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Notes: The inspiration for the two Kyrielle Sonnets (yes, I'm at it again!) was Sepia Saturday's prompt of 'theater' along with their posting of the archival photograph of the Majestic Theater (see above.)  At first, my thought was to write a poem about one of the old grande dames of the silent era (Theda Bara) but then I decided to pen something about the old Majestic, too.