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Monday 19 June 2017

Ogden, Alvin, and Donkey

It's Poetry Monday, and this post turned out to be a bit of a struggle.

I'm still feeling blue-ish, so at first I thought I'd try to lift my mood by posting a poem by Ogden Nash. Here were the choices:



The Cow

The cow is of the bovine ilk;
One end is moo, the other, milk. 

And:

The Ostrich

The ostrich roams the great Sahara.
Its mouth is wide, its neck is narra.
It has such long and lofty legs,
I'm glad it sits to lay its eggs.
 

But I didn't have the heart--or the imagination--to write anything to go with them. I did research ostriches to see if they really sit to lay their eggs, and apparently, it's true. I also found out that they can run so fast in part because they have only two toes, and I considered whether I could run faster if I chopped off three toes from each foot, but wasn't really interested in finding out through personal experience. The cow poem inspired me even less than the ostrich one did. And this is coming from someone who loves Nash's poetry.

So then I thought maybe if I read some poetry on depression I might feel better. You know, the old misery-loves-company approach. A Google search quickly pulled up ten poems by famous people about depression, and just reading the descriptions made me feel worse, so I abandoned that idea too.

While all of this was going on, in the background the weather kept running through my mind. It has suddenly turned hot and humid here; it's the kind of weather we usually get in mid-July. It's electrical storm weather; it's frizzy-hair weather; it's hubby-please-put-the-air-conditioner-in-the-window weather.

And just like that, a line of a Christmas song popped into my head: "the weather outside is frightful." That inspired me to write a different ending. Here's Let It Snow, by Alvin and the Chipmunks, in case you've forgotten the song I'm talking about. (Why Alvin and the Chipmunks? Just because it was there in the search results, and I've always had a soft spot for those little rodents.) 

Without further ado, here's my contribution to the world of literature this week, and may lightning not strike me for putting those words together in a sentence.


I Love Snow, I Love Snow, I Love Snow

The weather outside is frightful;
The heat makes me so spiteful--
In humidity
I will guarantee
I'm the opposite of delightful.




(And just let me say that I try very hard not to complain about winter--except to the extent that it keeps me from visiting my grandchildren--in order that I may complain freely about summer. Hah.)

Ahhh. I feel better now. Ish.

What do you do when you feel blue--do you write about it, distract yourself from it, or hide in a closet?

And do you have a poem to share today? Please feel free to leave it in the comments, or on your blog if you have one. Just leave us a link so we know where to find you. Don't forget that Diane and Delores also post poems every Monday.

I hope everyone has a week with good things in it, or at least a week where you are not chased by an ostrich, because, my friends, they can run pretty darn fast and they're so heavy one could probably flatten you if it sat upon you. More ostrich facts can be found HERE.


Mr/Ms Ostrich is slightly amused by Donkey's scribbles. But not overly.

(photo courtesy of Pixabay, as usual; big thanks to the good folks who share their pictures there)

P. S. I don't know what happened to my font but I don't have the patience to fiddle with it! Let's blame it on the heat, shall we?)


36 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

I love your poem. Heat and humidity turn me into a sad, soggy and grumpy mess.
When I am down I turn to books, chocolate (too often), nature and/or silliness. With the last in mind, I will give you another Margaret Mahy this week.
George's Pet
When George and his gorilla
Go bounding down the street,
They get respectful nods and smiles
From neighbours that they meet.

If George owned a puppy dog,
Or else a kitty-cat,
His neighbours wouldn't notice him
With courtesy like that.

I do hope your mood lifts. Hugs.

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

The heat gets to me also, but the humidity takes my breath away. The good thing about it is that it allows me to put off things (like trimming the bushes and shrubs) that I really don't want to do.

Ostriches have the funniest faces. You gave me my first smile of the day with that picture.

Terry said...

I quite liked that. I knew I would which is why I read it. Poems can be clever when you think about it.

only slightly confused said...

No problem with the font. All you tiny typers don't get me down lol...I just "control+' to my hearts content and your type gets bigger and bigger and.....
I love your poem. Hot and humid is not one of my favourite weather variations either. What do I do when I'm down? Turn on the lights, crank up the tunes, yell at whoever is pissing me off, eat something good, get some fresh air, write down what's bothering me and then rip it up....all kinds of silly things.....but most of all when I'm feeling down I take a moment to count my blessings.

Red said...

My challenge is to recognize I'm blue. I'm on medication that provides the blue. Once I recognize what's going on I'm OK.

Diane Stringam Tolley said...

Come out and visit me! We'll have some giggles in the cool air!
When I'm blue? Happy music!
And I love your poem! I think we could make a song . . .

jenny_o said...

I love your poem, too, EC! Thank you for that. It helps. Books are also good. I read two (long) ones on the weekend. It was too hot to go for a walk, which I think might have helped, too. Hugs are always welcome - and mine fly back to you.

jenny_o said...

They have such an unthreatening appearance, don't they? Who would think they are so dangerous! Glad to cause a smile :)

jenny_o said...

Thank you, Terry - high praise coming from a non-poetry-loving guy! I'm finding out, through the Poetry Monday challenge, that there are all kinds of poetry I like, which is a bit of a surprise to me. Mostly I like the funny stuff.

jenny_o said...

Tiny typers - ha ha! Control+ is a wonderful trick I learned from Elephant's Child - it is very handy.

Counting blessings is an antidote I need to remember more of the time.

jenny_o said...

That is an interesting problem, Red. And I can see that knowing it's the medication would help it to be okay. I think time will help me.

jenny_o said...

You have cool air? I'll be right there :)

I didn't realize until your comment that the words don't actually go with the song I stole the first line from ... it's meant to just be a limerick!!

John Going Gently said...

I just have no talent for poetry i wish i did have

Yorkshire Pudding said...

You danced behind
Your ostrich feathers
Teasing me
While I buried my head
In the sands
Of my depression
And wept.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jenny, I don't like the hot weather either and it is baking here. As my brother in Yorkshire would say "The sun is cracking the flags". Flags are another name for the square paving stones which when laid form the pavement/sidewalk etc.

I love ostrich faces, they remind me of the cute dinosaur in the first Jurassic Park film, you know when it turns into a killing machine and the stream turns red from its kill.

This is my poem in response to the weather we are having at the moment.

Three Forces Of Power.

The sun has the power
To reduce to dust the land.
To scorch all living things,
Until nothing is left to stand.

Another force to be reckoned with
Is the wind with all its might.
It can make the strongest tree
Fly in the air like a kite.

In its constant and subtle way
Does the sea wear out the land.
Then all we'll have to stand on
Is a tiny grain of sand.

These are the three forces,
If nature has its way,
To end our world forever,
But hopefully not today.

Next week I should be in Devon after our move. Fingers crossed. Have a good week.

Joan (Wales)

John M said...

I try to find something I like to do
when I'm blue.
Maybe that will help you too.

jenny_o said...

Neither do I! I think mine is more properly called "doggerel" or "ditties" :)

jenny_o said...

LOL!!

Er, I mean - sorry!

I'm not sure what I mean :)

jenny_o said...

You've made me glad I never saw that movie!!

Another thoughtful and thought-provoking poem, Joan. Thank you. Nature is such a powerful force, you're right.

Best of luck with the move; I hope everything goes smoothly. Let us know how it went.

jenny_o said...

I think you've left us a poem as well as very good advice, John!

dinthebeast said...

The weekend heat wave has broken. It wasn't that bad here, 90 for a few hours in the afternoon, not like southern California where it was hotter than 115 in a few places.
When I did home delivery back in the '90s, I used to sometimes drive through Pt. Reyes Station, which is a little town in Marin County where, among other things, there is a little farm where they keep ostriches and alpacas.
Being at work, I never got to stop and check them out, but I always wondered what they did when it rained.
These days, if I'm feeling a little down, I listen to music and play with the cat, and usually feel better fairly quickly.

-Doug in Oakland

Geo. said...

Mark Twain wrote:""The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up." And I notice you do that regularly. As to your question, I find a glass or two of local Cabernet and 0.5 mg of Lorazepam most efficacious.

Janie Junebug said...

As usual, I love your poem. I'm in a bad mood because it has rained so much that my backyard is a pond. When I'm sad, I write, I read, I watch a good movie, or the best one of all: I hug Franklin and Penelope.

Love,
Janie

jenny_o said...

Our temperatures are supposed to moderate on Wednesday and I'm really looking forward to it. Music has been mentioned a few times here as a cure for the blues. It's not something I'd pick, myself, but maybe I need to try it.

jenny_o said...

Since I don't have any of those, I'll make do with root beer and almonds! Kind words, Geo., and perhaps I've had good role models both in real life and on the internet ...

jenny_o said...

You can probably tell I don't take poetry-writing overly seriously :) I'd be unhappy with an unplanned pond out back as well. Maybe some ducks will come and live with you to entertain the furry ones, eh?

Martha said...

I'm so sorry you're feeling so bad. What can I do? Tell me what you need and I'll be over right away :) I do hope you're feeling better soon! Whenever I feel that way, I just let myself sink right into it until it passes. I listen to a lot of music during that time, read for hours and visit blogs. Eventually the fog lifts and I feel better.

jenny_o said...

Thanks, Martha; it's not terrible, just blue-ish ... and I think it will pass as this month passes. There are so many days that remind me of my dad in June. And that fire in London really made me sad. Mostly I can keep perspective on news that I can't do anything about, but that one got me.

Steve Reed said...

Ostriches look so silly, it's hard to imagine them being at all dangerous. I'm sorry you've been feeling blue. I'm honestly not sure whether I do anything special in those circumstances...I think it's more a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward bit by bit! The heat can't help. Get that air conditioner sorted! :)

Janie Junebug said...

These dogs would probably be afraid of ducks.

37paddington said...

I could be that people born on May 3 hate summer! Because I hate that sucker, too. I love it when the cool fall weather rolls back in. In solidarity, xo

jenny_o said...

Well, ducks are, you know - fierce!

jenny_o said...

I think you're right. Anything else I've tried has been only temporary. It will take some time before the memories will be not so raw. The London fire just hit me harder than most news; it seems so completely preventable.

jenny_o said...

Hah! Yes, fall is a good, good time. Thanks for the moral support, A :)

baili said...

Oh dear i love your way of writing so much .there shines a slight yet brilliant touch of humor that lifts my soul up.
hope that heat waves passes soon and you feel better .
loved your fabulous poetry and what an amazing rhythm!

i am sure your air conditioning is more effective than mine as heats defeat every effort to keep us cool down .

jenny_o said...

Thank you for your kindness, as always, baili. I cannot imagine living with such heat as you have - your temperatures are brutally hot. I hope you find a way to stay cool in the midst of it all.