Bonnie didn't want to offer a prompt because she did not write a poem for the last one, but I told her I am sure no one will mind, and would want to hear from her. So her prompt is:
Indignities
I think we could even consider dignity and indignities, give it a bit more breadth.
Very interesting subject, much like the last one. Life presents useful ideas. Glad Bonnie is posting. Yes! Hugs to you both.
ReplyDeleteAnt and Grasshopper Reprised
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time there was an indignant ant.
"It is undignified," she cried,
that we must carry burdens all day long.
My Brothers and Sisters,
let us rally against these indignities.
But nobody listened.
So the ant went out into the world
and looked for someone to listen to her.
She went about waving her feelers
and shouting her complaint. But the birds were nesting,
the mice were scurrying, the bees were buzzing,
and no one paid her the least bit of attention.
The ant grew even more indignant.
"Will no one listen?" she cried.
"Will no one pay any attention." A grasshopper spoke up.
"I like what you are saying; I'll turn it into a song."
The ant said "Good." So the two of them formed a duo
and sang together in a dignified way.
Everyone listened and clapped and bought tickets.
Their performances were so popular
their singing dates were booked way in advance.
The ant made up new songs and was no longer indignant;
the grasshopper had a friend to sing with,
and they lived and played together all the day long.
your ant and grasshopper sound like simon and garfunkal tash - love paul.
DeleteCute. But the ant needs to go back and fight for ant rights!! LOL. Very prosy for you.
DeleteTrue, and sometimes I feel prosy, so that's how it came out.
DeleteI love the story.
DeleteTHE LITTLE THINGS
ReplyDeleteshove from a cop
trip on a bottle top
queing for hours
abuse of powers
no! i wont do that
and i wont vote for that spoiled brat
rather have a tommy gun
that goes rat - a tat - tat!
than be told what to do
by some drunken bum
pissed in the street, 'cos they closed the public loo
stuck on trains forever
'cos the train company thinks it's clever
it's the culmination of little things
that wear us down and depression begins.
Good poem, indignities implied not stated.
DeleteI like this. But those seem bigger than little things. Now I've got this song stuck in my head too.
Deletehttps://youtu.be/lvV6HQWuR-s
It's the little things,
those itty-bitty things
like the way that you remind me
that I've been going soft.
It's the little things,
the itty-bitty things,
it's the little things...
that piss me off
thanks vic. it's the little indignities that add up, till you think " aaawww fuck it! " and look for your own set of rules - love paul.
DeleteI like it a lot up to the point where it stops making sense. Fighting back against abuse of powers - refusing to vote for the spoiled brat - what does any of that have to do with drunken bums? They're not your enemies. They're not shoving you with fascistic authority of a cop. They can't possibly tell you what to do. The only reason for the drunken bum to be in the poem is to rhyme with gun, and it's not even a good rhyme. Maybe you should use that tommy gun on a nun, instead?
Deletegonna get hurded on to the train soon, with the rest of the cattle. there will be no seats and foul smelling business men. like i say, it's the little things that add up - love paul.
ReplyDeleteENDINGS
ReplyDeleteAviatrix, doctress.
Slowly they leave.
Bachelorette
authoress,
actress, benefactress.
But not fast enough.
Many still stand,
gross, churlish,
marching in generic
lockstep in meaning.
"He's a prince" means
a good man
kind, caring, generous.
"She's a princess" means
self-centered, greedy.
A god stands
above, is a ruler.
"She's a goddess" means
breathtakingly
beautiful.
Major. Military
rank, someone in charge.
A majorette
holds baton,
often wears a short skirt.
I don't even want to
talk about Smurfette.
If women want
equality
language has to catch up.
Great take on the prompt! Right on, too, How about Waitress, Stewardess, and Poetess! Oh My! Love it!
DeleteWell, at least we still have dominatrixes.
Delete"poetess" and "dominatrix" were both supposed to be in the poem, but didn't manage to make it.
DeleteAnnie Finch is kinda pro-poetess. She's written about the poetess tradition - https://www.ablemuse.com/v5/a-finch_poetess.htm
DeleteI realize this is not exactly what you're talking about, but in a way it is, because you're talking about how the feminization, in language, of a profession or calling, is always diminishing, and she's saying that while that was true in the twentieth century, a new and healthier definition of "poetess" is developing in this century.
good points victoria. always baffled me that if there was only smurfette, where did all the little smurfs come from? something was going on in smurfville - knew a goddess once - love paul.
ReplyDelete