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Monday 28 January 2019

Poetry Monday: Socks

We're back, Delores and I, while Diane is away cavorting and restoring her pome-writing brain cells.

(Note: I know I promised not to use "pome" any more, but dang it, sometimes you need a one-syllable word and "poem" just doesn't fit. This is the case again today in my poem below.)

Join us if you dare for this week's topic:  SOCKS. Feel free to leave a poem on either of our blogs, or on your own blog, with a comment here to let us know where to find you.

*****

Now, I suspect that socks are not something our friends in the Southern Hemisphere want to even think about, with the extreme heat they have been experiencing.

Although I wonder if wearing wet socks would have a cooling effect. I hope I can remember to try this in July.

From October to April in my part of the world, socks are pretty much a necessity. I even have special bed socks I wear to fall asleep in. They are fluffy and somewhat loose. Somehow, by morning, the socks are off even though I don't wake up to remove them. I guess the sentence "sleep knocks my socks off" might apply here. Maybe. Or maybe not.

Anyhow, there are plenty of other uses for socks besides wearing them.

I think many people have seen or heard of a sock monkey:





And sock snowmen:





But have you ever seen a sock parrot?





Sock sheep?






A sock owl?




A sock koala?









Sock kangaroos, with little 'roos in their pockets?









A sock sloth?

\



I could go on and on; just Google "sock animals" if you'd like to find more. (Or go to Craft Passion; most of these photos are screen shots from her blog. She does exquisitely detailed pieces; they are amazing. I'm hoping against hope that she doesn't mind me showing her work, although, if she does, and contacts me, I will remove them.)

One last thought on socks: have you ever read Dr. Seuss's well-known children's book called Fox in Socks? Fortunately, Dr. Seuss didn't use up all the words that rhyme with fox and socks; he used only box and Knox, another character in the story. Then he moved on to a bunch of other rhymes. Whew. So there should still be some rhyming words left for me.

Here we go.

*****

Fashionable Raptors

I'd like to pen
A pome on socks
I can't use fox
Or box or Knox
They're all in use
By Dr. Seuss

Instead I'll write
Of hawks in socks
Who go for walks
In bright red crocs
And take abuse
For their sock use

I'd like to say
The hawks in socks
Don't mind the knocks
Are not flummox'd
By jeering moose
Or sneering goose

But I'd be wrong
The hawks in socks
Form up in flocks
And clean the clocks
Of moose and goose
. . . And kick caboose*


*otherwise known as "kick butt"


You want me to wear WHAT??? No. Just . . . NO. I can kick butt, including donkey butt, without any stinkin' socks or bright red crocs . . .  wait, do you have any yellow crocs instead? . . . you know, to match my handsome (if I do say so myself) yellow markings . . .



*****

This was a tough poem to complete, because once I finished the first verse I decided to challenge myself to stick with the same rhyme scheme for the rest of the verses: abbbdd. If you look closely you will see I managed all except the "a's" and I had to add a " 'd" on "flummox", but the storyline suffered. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing learned! I'm happy with it, considering it took thirty minutes to complete, including the final picture and caption. Hah. That's what happens when my "craft" side overpowers my "poetry" side and uses up all the writing time looking at pictures of things made of socks :)

Have a good week, people! Try to stay on the path you intend, instead of wandering off into the bushes at the side of the road like a certain donkey I know . . .

*****

 When Delores and I come up with a topic for next week, I'll be back with an update!


UPDATE:  Next week's topic is . . . SOUP . . . thank you, Delores!


And here is a picture provided by my son after he read this post:

Is that not awesome??? Yellow "socks" and red crocs :)






44 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Huge smiles.
At any time of the year socks make my feet claustrophobic. I 'might' wear them once or twice a year.
Loved the sock critters and smiled broadly through your poem. And of course the hawks clean the clocks of the lesser birds...

River said...

Rhyme scheme? there's rules for this? no wonder poetry and I don't get along (*~*)
I love your poem and really love the sock animals. Who knew there were so many uses for socks? I still wear socks, even in the heat, because I'm a sweaty person and the socks take care of that so my shoes don't get stinky. I can't be buying new shoes all summer and going barefoot is only okay inside. The outside has hot surfaces and things like spiders, broken glass etc.

kylie said...

Wandering off into the bushes is a lot more interesting than most paths!
You did a great job on the pome and the sock animals are fabulous.

only slightly confused said...

That was so good....both the prose and pictures and most especially, the poetry (or pome). Great job. A theme for next week...golly it really makes you appreciate Diane doesn't it? How about SOUP? Yes, my poetry challenge to you for next Monday is SOUP.

Steve Reed said...

An admirable effort! I love how you worked "flummox'd" in there. Very Shakespearean. :)

Red said...

Challenges are good for us. Now I learned that socks can be used for many other things than keeping your feet warm.

Marie Smith said...

Lol. Socks in bed are my delight but ne’er to find at end of night.

Joanne Noragon said...

Wow! That was a masterpiece.

jenny_o said...

It seems that just as there are morning larks and night owls, there are sock people and non-sock people! I know a few folks like you, EC - they never, ever wear socks when they are indoors, even in winter, and they wear sandals (without socks) from early in the spring to late in the fall. Their feet are like yours, "claustrophobic"!

I'm glad you got a smile from today's poem :)

jenny_o said...

Well, there are no rules HERE, River, so if you want to give it a try, there won't be any talk of rhyme schemes or anything else, I promise!

Yeah, barefoot outside doesn't work for me, either, but mostly because I'm a tenderfoot :)

jenny_o said...

Thanks, kylie - and aren't those animals something else?

jenny_o said...

SOUP IT IS! And yes, I always appreciate Diane's ability to come up with a topic! And now I appreciate yours, too :D

jenny_o said...

Oh, my - high praise! I preen'd! lol

jenny_o said...

"Challenges are good for us" - that is SO true, Red.

jenny_o said...

Well done! I love it. It's so true! lol

jenny_o said...

Careful, Joanne, I need to get my head through the door later - LOL

Thanks for the encouragement :)

jabblog said...

Hawks in socks- I would pay good money to see those!

jenny_o said...

I'm picturing socks like the ones made into the sock monkey, but for a different take, see the photo I added at the end of the post!

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

Your pome was excellent and it only took you half an hour. You get extra points for that. Socks are worn nine months a year and the other three, my toes run free (almost a pome).

I had a cousin who never wanted to part with his sock monkey. He even took it with him to college. He is a 70 year old retired teacher now and I wonder if he still has it.

The Happy Whisk said...

You challenged yourself and it looks like YOU won! Great job on the poem and yes, I remember sock monkey. I had one. I think I had one. I'm almost sure I had one. Or, maybe I just think I remember I had one. Either way, fun photos. Love the pink one near the end. Too cute.

jenny_o said...

I like your poetic statement on socks!

You need to find out if your cousin still has his sock monkey. NEED to.

jenny_o said...

Ha ha ha! I do that thing sometimes, too, with the memory :)

dinthebeast said...

I once had a pair of electric (heated) socks that kept my feet from going numb in the goose-blind. They didn't work that well and the batteries were heavy and kept tearing their holders off when I walked...
I like the argyle parrot quite a bit.

-Doug in Oakland

jenny_o said...

Electric socks sounds like a good concept with poor execution!

Isn't that parrot wonderful?

jono said...

Got my woolen socks on now and wear them year round. I like my feet warm and toasty. Now if I could keep my fingers warm...

jenny_o said...

Piece of cake, Jono - wear woolen socks on your hands. You're welcome. :D

37paddington said...

That is a fine pome and your son’s contribution is perfect.

jenny_o said...

Thanks, Angella :)

Martha said...

HAHA! Some were hilarious and others cute. And some were cute and hilarious. It's been a long time since I went to bed with socks. Not that I don't need to since my feet always feel cold but we've been using an electric blanket during the winter for years and that's been awesome!

jenny_o said...

Don't forget about bed socks if your power goes out, though!

I've always worried about electric blankets. If there was some way to get electrocuted using one, it would be me who would find it. I'm glad you like yours!

PipeTobacco said...

I am so glad the poems are back!!!! I am vowing to eventually TRY sometime this year to construct a poem myself using your inspiration... and hopefully create one that is not too "cringe inducing". I fear it may be so, but will strive for something good.

I really liked the sock PARROT!!!!! it was adorable.

PipeTobacco

jenny_o said...

Writing is like anything else - practice makes it easier. Do try, and don't be put off if the first one isn't the poem of your dreams :) Maybe start with a short one? Less work . . .

Wasn't the parrot wonderful?

Diane Henders said...

I love the argyle parrot and the sock-sloth! What creative ideas! Your pome was awesome, too - very Seussical. :-)

jenny_o said...

Thank you! And now I must store "Seussical" away in my brain as a rhyme for "musical" . . . and hope I can find it when I need it :)

John M said...

Nice way to make use of socks.

jenny_o said...

Some people are so creative and talented.

Mr. Shife said...

Excellent work on your poem, jenny_o. Nicely done. I am going to have to spend some Googling sock animals. I did enjoy the sock parrot and I am really curious to see what else I might find. Take care.

Diane Henders said...

Maybe this will help: https://www.mtishows.com/seussical :-)

jenny_o said...

Ha ha ha! Perfect!

jenny_o said...

Thanks, Mr. S. I hope you find something good :)

Cherie said...

Some people like to wear posh frocks
But my addiction's hand knit socks
A little knitting here and there
Behold I made another pair
With gorgeous multicoloured yarn
(I've even thought of knitting plarn)
A stripe appears before my eyes
'You made them' everybody cries
The look upon the face of friends
They say 'your talent never ends'
But really, you should have a go
Just take your time and go real slow
You'll struggle for a little while
But once you master it you'll smile
And then you'll be addicted too
you'll make a pair for every shoe.

jenny_o said...

What a wonderful sock poem, Cherie! You even managed to work "plarn" in there :D

You have many talents, your friends are right!

The Blog Fodder said...

Long black socks by the dozen make sorting as easy as pie even when my head's a buzzin' and I've enough to last till I die.

jenny_o said...

Ha ha! Thanks, TBF! Having all one colour and kind of socks really does make it easy to match them up :)