Gremlins

[Hawkman]

When you step upon a plane
Beware of Gremlins, they’re insane,
They like to nibble at the wires,
Break bits off and start up fires
And such events may be construed
As undesirable by you.

For with no engines planes can’t fly
And may just fall out of the sky,
So when you make an aerial trip,
Take a ‘chute and check the rip.

But when volcanoes do erupt
The ash may aircraft’s jets corrupt,
So now they stay upon the ground
Until solutions can be found.

But this disruption to their plans
Undoes the work of Gremlin hands;
Icelandic ones though, are still busy,
Keeping all that magma fizzy.

[Revolte]

Icelandic ones, of course, are busy
Keeping all that magma fizzy.

I didn't get this, why are they keeping the magma fizzy? Other then that I love this poem, as I do all of your monster poems. Though to be honest I have always had a fear of Gremlins and I'm a little freaked out now lol.

[Hawkman]

Hi Revolte,

Thanks and I'm glad you got a giggle out of the poem.

With regard to keeping the magma fizzy: - It's to do with how (some) volcanic eruptions work. As the magma in the chamber which feeds the volcano fills up and builds up pressure it has volcanic gasses disolved in it. When the cap gives out and the magma spills out (like taking the top off a coke can) the release in pressure causes the super heated gasses to explode out, taking the magma with them in the form of ash. So the Icelandic Gremlins are keeping the volcanic eruption going... Hope it makes more sense now, lol.

All the best. H

[PrinceMyshkin]

Light and dark! And though I haven't scanned all 306 pages of the Forum, I'd bet this is the first time any poem here has used the word "fizzy." Fizz away, oh poet!

[lallison]

Haha, this one immediately brought to mind William Shatner's foray onto the Twilight Zone, although the event depicted here is current.

I would cut out the last two lines of the first stanza to make all stanza's an even four.

I spent last Saturday afternoon eating pizza and reading the first canto of Lord Byron's Don Juan. If you've never read it, you might enjoy it (although I'm not sure I'd take on the whole book). It shares your sense of humor and wit, and I don't think it's a piece that needs to be read straight through.

This one brought a smile to my face, thanks Hawk. : )

[dizzydoll]

Jeepers, how scary is that. :flare: Its all your fault if I dont sleep tonight.

[Bar22do]

I was waiting for this one. I wasn't sure which one - you or B/V - would write about our paralyzed Europe and the surrounding, but I certainly ignored Gremlins were responsible!! Thanks for broadening my education!
Cheerful poem about serious matters... some of my friends are stuck far away waiting for the solutions where I shyly suggested they should start looking for a donkey or an ostrich to ride on back home...
Anyway, Hawkman, thanks for the de-stressing entertainment!
With some hope the present situation will open some new vistas for men, plus remind us of our limitations and cool down the boast! Bravo for this poem! Bar

[AuntShecky]

The last stanza is the best in this.
The name of the Twilight Zone episode which comes to mind is "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet."

[Hawkman]

Beware my Prince of things that fizz,
They may disrupt commercial biz
Though being not a bit dyspeptic
It means the end for things electric;
For anything which has a fuse
Should not explode when it is used…

Lallison,

(with apologies to Poe)

Ah distinctly I remember sometime in the bleak December
When the Third Reich’s dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly they wished the morrow; from cartoons they sought to borrow,
From Bugs Bunny ease of sorrow - through his brief unseemly brawl
With a Gremlin in a plane - Though Shatner’s Twighlight Zone encounter,
I less perfectly recall.

You are right about the first verse.

Yes, I like Byron too and dip into his works periodically but sadly I’m not in his class.

diz, sorry, but I didn’t invent the Gremlins, they’ve been around since the first aeroplane. Remember, forewarned, is forearmed!

Bar, thanks for dropping in: Have you noticed how quiet it’s been lately. Not a sound of an aeroplane to be heard. Under the flight paths round Heathrow (and other airports) they can hear the sound of birdsong and insects again. It is inconvenient to the modern world though, and one’s sympathies are with the stranded. I guess we’ll have to go back to sailing ships, except the winds are probably wrong. Maybe rowing galleys are the answer – Hortator!

Hi Auntie and thanks for reminding me of the episode's title. Always happy to provide something you appreciate :)

Best to all and thanks for all your comments, H

[blank|verse]

I wasn't sure which one - you or B/V - would write about our paralyzed Europe
Write occasional verse?? Who do you think I am, the Poet Laureate (http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/poetry/article7101902.ece)?!

A nicely witty piece Hawkman. I dare you to go to Calais and read it out loud to the nice people who have been waiting there for days, and see if you get a laugh!!

[Bar22do]

B/V, it doesn't hurt to be the Poet Laureate! ;), though hmmm... it's true CAD is head and shoulders beneath you (let it not swell your head or make you a snob!) - but Hawkman made of an "occasional verse" a very witty one, which changes all! doesn't it.

[Hawkman]

If I were poet laureate by fickle fate’s command
Rewarded with a butt of sac for verses on demand
Although reviled by colleagues for this kudos undeserved
I’d soldier on regardless for my verse would be preserved.

Even though the job required I write about volcanoes
Or even in these temperate climes occasional tornadoes
The status of the office would ensure that I was fêted
At least until it was repealed or otherwise debated.

Would any of us here rebel at honest recognition
And turn historic office down upon their own volition?
Regardless of degree of skill the nature of the beast
Might yet prevail and laughing lead us on toward the feast.


Thanks B/V and Bar - H

[lallison]

hey, nothing wrong with writing about volcanoes.

[Hawkman]

I quite agree, Has anyone had a crack at Krakatoa I wonder?

[lallison]

I had a crack at it about two years ago, and the whole 9th grade at the school i work in will visit next week. Amazing little island, what's left of it, especially when its erupting.

[Hawkman]

Technically, its Anak Kratoa now isn't it? I wonder if anyone wrote a poem about the the last big bang, the one which was supposed to have been heard in Australia, and which had so devastating an effect on the region.