Sunday, April 20, 2008

For better or for verse

I'm pigeonholing the dreary marriage tale for these two gems someone sent me. I think I want to be a poet, mom!

POEM #1

I know him well, his name is Lang,
He has a 'lectric sign.
And since old Lang is VERY old,
We call it Old Lang's Sign.


POEM #2

A dreamy little poet
Sailed off to a south sea isle.
He met a girl named Laurie
Who smote him with her smile.

Often she would dance for him.
She was his closest pal
But no one ever told him
That she was a cannibal gal.

So one fine day she ate him -
A pity! But that's his fate.
How sad to be remembered
As the poet Laurie ate.


And while on the topic, here's something said to be from an old manuscript found in a barn in America.

Two pumpkins lay in yellow wood,
And sorry I could not harvest both
And one pie make, long I stood
And looked over one as best I could
To where it anchored in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was brassy and wanted air;
Though as for that the sunning there
Had ripened them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another pie!
Yet knowing how many pies end in the sty,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two pumpkins in a field stood, and I - -
I took the lesser for my pie,
And that has made all the difference.


Some feel this is a cheap imitation of the master's work, but most scholars agree that this is the real Frost on the Pumpkin!

16 comments:

Unknown said...

The last one is hilarious! What a way to rewrite poor Frosty's take on forks in the road! 'Frost on the pumpkin'! Hahahahahahaha! LOVE the puns here, including the one in the title. :D
Did someone really send them or is it an attempt to be modest? :P

Bhel Puri & Seekh Kabab said...

Did you know that April is National Poetry month (in the US,at least)?

The Frost poem reminds me of the one I mangled in my comment on one of your posts (Naren wooing the future Mrs.Shenoy on their balcony):

The traffic is snarled, loud and deep.
But I have a girl to sweep,
Aye, mucho wooing ere I sleep,
Aye, mucho wooing ere I sleep.

Deepak Misra said...

Many Happy Returns of the Day Old Man


Deepak

Narendra shenoy said...

drenched - Alas, not one of them is original! I could of course have put my name to them but my conscience, and Google, would not have agreed. But they're trés witty, n'est çe pas?

bpsk - As someone said, if Frost were alive today, he would be turning over in his grave.:-D

Deepak - Thanks, old chap. As Floyd (the pink one) put it so succintly
One runs and one runs to catch up with the sun but it's sinking. Racing away, to come up behind one again. The sun is the same in a relative way but one is older, shorter of breath and one day closer to death. Intended, no doubt, to highlight the fact that the passage of time merely draws one closer to, what is that word Jeeves uses, ah, got it, quietus.

I'm planning to spend a week in Mysore this time instead of the Riviera, and I hope to inflict myself on your society. Cheers and have a good vacation. Stay clear of all manners of hot dogs.

Preeti said...

Ok, so now it's your birthday?

If yes, Happy, Happy Birthday, god Bless, Keep smiling and all that jazz...If nope, keep it as an advance/belated wish! :)

Poems generally take a super fast flight (if there is something like tat) and zoom past my (not so) tiny head, BUT these I loved! I especially liked the Poet Laurie ate! :D

Unknown said...

Oh, it's your birthday?

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, woo-hoo!
Stop all sugar, mithais, desi ghee!
Whee! Naren turns forty three!
:D

Okay, bleh rhymes but I am wishing, right? That's what matters. :P
I didn't sing it. If I had, I'm afraid I'll be hired by the Indian Army against terrorists. Mooh kholo, sab janta in coma and yay, India terrorist-free.

And if it's not your birthday (or if you want to hide it considering your age et al), even then, take the wishes. There's no other forty-three year old who I can give them to. (Did you notice that I am harping on about your age? Mwahahahaha!)

Bhel Puri & Seekh Kabab said...

It's your birthday?! Sorry, didn't pick it up from the post. Happy belated birthday, sir.

V said...

i haven't read Frost on the Pumpkin, so i can't say if it's a cheap imitation but it's funny nonetheless...

cannibal girl was kickass though.. is that a take on some poem too? yes, i display my ignorance without any effort.

Narendra shenoy said...

Preeti - Yes, my boiday. My forty third one (n-1, n being the number of years my parents have been married). I thank thee, miss,
For thy kind words,
Thou are indeed a dear.
I'll make so bold
To smile today
And treat myself to a beer.

Drenched -
I thank thee too,
o drenched one,
E'en tho thou jest mine age.
I prithee, lass,
consider this,
Old Richard Gere's the rage.

BPSK -
My rhymes are runnin' out real fast
And before they all disappear
I think I had better thank you bro
You've been a real buccaneer
(I actually wrote "dear" and then realized that sounded a bit gay)


V -
You haven't wished me Happy B
A crime that few will dare commit
So apologize, young rascal V
I've run out of rhyming words dammit.

V said...

oops, sorry .. happy bday. i didn't even know man!

Anonymous said...

belated wishes Mr Shenoy! What did the missus give you? ;)

Anonymous said...

Bah! I want wedding story:(((((.

-Ok

Cynic in Wonderland said...

appy budday.

Narendra shenoy said...

v- just kidding, brother.

wolf -Thanks! In addition to a demure smile, I got a nice blazer - sort of dual purpose one, which can double up as a waiter's uniform if I should ever think of moonlighting. No, I'm just being nasty, a nice stylish casual coat.

cynic -Tanks, bai.

ok - Right, marriage tale ahoy!

Preeti said...

Awww,Shenoy uncle wrote me a poemmmmm *sniff* Damn, I'm sniffing too much! I'm actually gonna save this one up...*sniff* And hey, mind sharing that beer ;)

And the fact tat ur parents r married for 44 years! That's even more a reason to celebrate!!! MY daddy-mummu r reachin the Big 3-0 this year! :)

Preeti said...

I really thought I should try and get a lil smart and considerin I've got no work (as alwayz) I decided to write u a small return-gift poem ;) Here goes:

Oh dear Uncle Shenoy,
You are sweet as Chips Ahoy,
Entertain us, you do,
With your Chronicles of Life, oh-so-true,
Hope you enjoyed your boiday, beer et al
And may you have many more, hair set and all!

;)