Sarah told me to link to the locked thread when I want to post something in that thread. So--I am starting Part 2 of Favorite Verses:
A new favorite poet of mine is Gelett Burgess because he is similar to Ogden Nash. Here is a famous poem of his:
The Purple Cow
I never saw a purple cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.

An anonymous parody:
I've never seen a purple cow.
My eyes with tears are full.
I've never seen a purple cow,
And I'm a purple bull.

[This message was edited by Kalleh on Thu Jan 2nd, 2003 at 9:48.]

Some years later, Burgess wrote a rueful sequel.

quote:

---

Ah yes, I wrote The Purple Cow.
I'm sorry now I wrote it.
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'll kill you if you quote it.

---

PS: Kalleh, your parody reminds me of the ram who was driven to suicide when he heard the band playing "I Know I'll Never Find Another Ewe".

Is it cheating to put something you wrote yourself here ?

Years ago (I was about twelve or thirteen I think so it is years ago) I decided to write something with a rhyme for Axolotl. This was it.

An axolotl's
A pet what'll
Live content inside a bottle.
Don't confuse it with an ocelot
What'll not.

Well I like it.

Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum

Read all about my travels around the world here.

As do I, Bob. In the same vein, here's some Ogden Nash.

Oh, once there lived in Kankakee
A handy dandy Yankakee,
A lone and lean and lankakee
Cantankakerous Yankakee.
He slept without a blankaket,
This rough and ready Yankakee,
The bachelor of Kankakee.
He never used a hankakee,
He jeered at hanky-pankakee;
Indeed, to give a frank account,
He didn't have a bank account.
And yet at times he hankakered
In marriage to be anchachored.
When celibacy rankakles,
One dreams of pretty ankakles.
He took a trip to Waikiki
And wooed a girl named Psycheche,
And now this rugged Yankakee
'S a married man in Kankakee.
Good night, dear friends, and thankakee.

Enjoyed the verse, B.H. Its structure brings to mind one of my all time favorite verses, by Richard Armour:

Shake and shake the ketchup bottle.
None will come and then a lot'll.

From Stephen Crane who is from New Jersey but spent most of his life in Surrey, England:

'A Man to the Universe'
A man said to the universe,
"Sir, I exist!"
"However,"replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."

While I know that free verse is very much in vogue and old-fashioned rhyming verse with meter is considered old hat (Though how did this happen?!) I still prefer the latter. If you will allow me, Kalleh, to "improve" Crane's verse:


"A Man to the Universe, Part 2, The Sequel!"

A man said to the Universe,
"You know I'm truly real!"
"So what?" the Universe replied,
"Get lost! Go 'way! Big deal!!"


Ah, yes... That's much better!

Just came across this poem which I quite like. It's by Roger Stevens

Poem For Sale

Poem For Sale
(One careful owner)
With simile
(as lucky as a dime)
Two exquisite
And erudite adjectives
And one rhyme.

Going
For a song.

Roger Stevens.

Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum

Read all about my travels around the world here.

If nobody smiles and nobody cheers
And nobody helps us at all,
If each person only looks after himself,
Who then helps when we fall?

If nobody cares just a little for you,
And nobody cares about me,
We then have to face life alone everyday,
Never knowing what good friends can be.