Famous Quoted Line Poetry Contest

Ok this is I believe due. I have enjoyed every single entry.

Prendrelemick: ''Anne and Will'' is a scream i enjoyed it a lot now where is that guitar? haha.

Melanie: cha-ching indeed. Is that supposed to imitate the sound of Kerching?! this piece is clever and says a lot about modern time marriages.

Pendragon:
''Love does not lie in looks, in status, in wealth so fleeting
Love lies in hearts entwined, in shared experience, in synchronized thinking''
Great lines and a very enjoyable poem.

YesNo: I like this piece especially the last stanza. every line reads perfectly.

and so the choice is difficult but since there can only be one winner i think i will have to go for YesNo!!! because the last line just did it for me.
Congratutaions YesNo.

Thanks, cacian!

The next quote is from Wordsworth:

Nature never did betray the heart that loved her

This is from lines 122-123 of his Tintern Abbey poem: http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww138.html

Deadline: June 22

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cacian

Melanie: cha-ching indeed. Is that supposed to imitate the sound of Kerching?

---

Congratulations YesNo!

I never heard of kerching so I looked it up out of curiosity and read a bit of trivia saying that was the original word used but then a popular children's TV show used it repeatedly as a response to sarcasm.

Since cha-ching is a slang word, dictionaries like Urban Dictionary and Wiktionary posted definitions:
"Onomatopoeia, imitative of the sound of a mechanical cash register when an amount is rung up. Popularized by the 1992 movie Wayne's World..." ~wiktionary

well done YesNo, that was well deserved.

Nature's Lovers

I caught the golden gleam in the sky
and for a moment the shadow passed
across my face, and I knew my heart
soared up there caught within the
raptors claws, and thus I had no choice
but to follow.

I became lost within the prevailing mist,
but I heard a song that called to me,
and I trusted myself to the music,
guided blindly through the strange
dreamlike haze which descends
as soft dew around me.

I emerged upon the precipice
as the water rushed beneath my feet
to tumble down below, roaring in my ears,
I heard the subtle undertones, the language
as old as time, and I knew the truth
that Nature never did betray the heart
that loved her, so I spread my arms
and flew.

The wind rose up to meet me
and it was only too soon that I was
rejoined with a flash of golden feathers
of a raptor which held still unscathed
my heart between his kingly talons.

Down together we tumbled,
we fell among sweet meadow grasses
and the bird was no longer a bird
but a man who played beautiful music
upon a willow reed pipe, he sung Bardic
songs which made even the stars weep
and Nature held us there within her arms.

Congratutaions YesNo!

Natural Feelings

Love is something that defies all odds
Goes beyond every limit, point of no return
Sometimes it shapes us, a new lesson learned
The stars are not right, we have angered the Gods

Love can be fickle, love can be strong
Fleeting at best, or unshakable magic
Leading to bliss, or tearfully tragic
Portents of heartache, love gone horribly wrong

We all are just human, with feelings that blur
Love turns sour, our eyes turn away
Human emotions are bricks made of clay
But Nature never did betray the heart that loved her

Cling to Mother Nature to avoid being hurt...

Pendragon
(C) 6/5/2013

Jack’s Magical Fruit - A Poem in Three Parts

PART I (You are what you eat)

Weaned on that lofty beanstalk that sprung
out of the earth from which magic beans were hung,
our boy Jack thrived on fruit of the vine
that transformed his GI to something far from divine.
5.. Whether kidney, charro or baked by Heinz,
potential suitors only closed their blinds.
There was Beatrice, Sally, Delilah -all disappointments
each departing, feigning false appointments.
Enter Fairy Godmother, a stereotypical caricature,
10.. who proclaimed; “Only true love can silence thy nature.”

PART II (There are many fish in the sea…one is destined for you)

Let us head south to gastronomic Lyon,
where proud parents coo at their new scion.
Her Christian name is given as Abbey Le Pew
Odors most foul, she would tersely eschew.
15.. Her stepsister’s chores held her in thrall
dashing Abbey’s dream to attend the ball.
Saturday morn while trimming the shrubbery
she espied a young prince on Rue de la Nunnery.


PART III (where true love conquers)

Jack cleared the streets with his invisible specter.
20.. It was over a Boxwood when he finally met her.
Jack’s bowels suddenly seemed out of sorts.
This pretty French Lima quelled his reports.
Out of his mouth spewed a fusillade of flatter,
the bum end was mum it would no longer chatter.
25.. Abbey was heaven scent, by the Godmother it seemed.
They attended the ball - with true love all is redeemed.
My work here is done, mused the Fairy Godmother;
“Nature never did betray the heart that loved her”

When the Abbey’s a rock’n
30.. Don’t bother knock’n

Great stuff, YesNo!

The pacing of this poem is off, I know, but I'm unsure of how to fix it.


Crossed
Adol09

The woman at the wheel of her stuffy car
crossed at the priest who touched her boy
sped by a homeless man.
One will for justice was all but spent
One will to live was at an end,

Days later a priest chuckled
as someone announced "Not..."

Some time thence,
a street-dweller met a long-lost kin,
the day joy’s undertaker made his grave
Maybe, just maybe someone found happiness,
or maybe a few states away
a woman had crossed her chest.

“Nature never did betray a heart that loved her.”

She said, as she went to hug her tree,
And so she chose a natural therepy.
Forgeting her cancer was nature too.

“The spirit must be cured first” her Guru said,
“The pathway to health is within your head.”
But so was the tumour.

“Modern medicine has forgotten so much.”
She chose instead the faith-healer's touch,
But cancer is its own deity.

It was the pain that made her relent,
But by then she was wasted and spent,
And the cancer was thriving.

I spread her ashes under the tree,
And as grief passed I began to see.
Her death was a natural one.

nature never did betray the heart that loved her
but it did stand still for the world that caught her
balance her porter
steel her mortar
nothing else would oppose her

The Miracle
(true story of Kristen)

"mama", "dada", "twee"!
she pointed at
our tall backyard tree
she loved trees.

the trunk held our hammock
she reached up to
rock with her daddy
in his arms.

the weight uprooted
the tree as the
trunk fell over her
tiny head.

but nature never
did betray the
heart that loved her so.
and wondrously...

a perfect straight trunk
had just one crook
right where her head was
and never touched.

how did the tree know
to grow a crook
for what was going
to save her?

Beautiful little story, Melanie. Mystery and miracles go hand in hand because coincidence cannot be proven.

Thank you for all the entries!

Dark Muse: This was an enjoyable fantasy with a happy ending.

Pendragon: I liked the "unshakeable magic/tearfully tragic" lines.

Gilliatt Gurgle: Nice line about "heaven scent" and the "rock'n/kock'n" last two lines. I suspect the whole village was glad Jack found his true love.

Adolescent09: There is an interesting parallel in two uses of "crossed". The second short stanza puzzled me.

prendrelemick: One should probably take the guru's advice only when the cancer can't be cured in any other way. It is all natural.

cacian: Nature also seems to stand by and wait as I think you are pointing out in the second line.

Melanie: I agree with cafoliini that this was a very nice story.

I enjoyed them all.

The winner: Dark Muse

Well done Dark Muse!

Thank you, I will have the next line up soon.

Congratulations Dark Muse! Beautiful and skillfully penned

Thank you!

Ok the next line is:

Of a demon in my view

-From Alone by Poe

Deadline July 15th

Night of the Demon

Trying to fall asleep but the reality
There is a nightmare crouched on my chest
Now he could be delusion, a night time illusion
All that I know is that he keeps me from my rest

I put on a CD, of sounds of serenity
Didn't block the eyes of the demon in my view
He digs in his back claws, torments me without cause
I need my sleep but what the hell can I do?

Tossing and turning, my eyes red and burning
There's still the weight of a demon in my view
I'm getting frantic, headed for major panic
Wonder if he'd move on if he swallowed a bullet or two?

Pendragon
(C) 6/25/2013

It is almost July, and so far only one entry. Is there anyone else?

I'll take a crack at it, but it may be another week or so.
Very busy at work right now.

Were those two angels standing there
In human flesh and middle-age?
They fought like children, didn't care,
And used their children as a dare
To punish, satisfy their rage.

Was that an angel standing there
Or just a demon in my view?
I'll say an "angel". I don't care.
Let's celebrate this birthday where
Just one turned sixty-two.

He was only a demon who tried to be good,
You might even say he was misunderstood.

At his trial he confessed to helping the damned,
Cooling the fires and holding their hand.

The devil summed up, assessing his crime
(The devil, like all of us, loves to make rhyme.)

"For behavior unbecoming of a demon in my view,
I've no choice but to throw the book at you."

You're banished from all of my infernal realm,
So hand back your spear and diabolical helm.

You won't be needing them where you're going, m' lad,
And you wont get them back till you learn to be bad."

Then he sipped some brimstone from a skull bone cup.
And nodded to the constable and said "Take him up."

The demon hung his head and shed a hot tear,
Behind him The Heavenly stairs did appear.

And on his way up he turns and he says,
"I'll miss the old place to the end of all days."

A Meeting With the Marriage Counselor

Relax, take a sip of Amontillado.
Much obliged, forgive my angry vibrato.
Nevermore will I return to that raven,
now it’s the usher that she’s craven.

I feel as though I were a man used up,
trapped in a pit, my soul sways to and fro.

Doc, In my view she is of a demon.
Of a demon?...please continue.
Yes, and I aim to be repeat’n -
she’s of a demon in my view.

Aedes albopictus

pending doom
all too soon
demons will attack

every summer
come the gunners
well armed maniacs

here's one now!
on the prowl
a demon in my view!

Tiger mosquito;
flying torpedo,
dive bomber demoniac!



Tiger Mosquito: Known for
it's black & white stripes
and relentless aggression.
http://i1312.photobucket.com/albums/...pse2c1bf0a.jpg

This was really tough becasue they were all quite good. I was rather torn on who to choose this time around.


Pendragon: I enjoyed the eeriness of this one, it did create a very dark atmosphere, and yet there was also something almost comic about it which I enjoyed. Also loved the fact that it put me in the mind of one of my favorite paintings. The Nightmare by John Henry Fuseli. Don't know if it was intentional or not, but I enjoyed the allusion to that work.

YesNo: Quite an amusing poem. I am not sure if I fully understand it, but was entertaining to read, and I enjoyed the originality of it and rather liked the humor.

prendrelemick: This was great. I really loved the altered perspective on this one. The demon being sent to Heaven as punishment for being too merciful. A comical and entertaining poem. Also I really liked your clever use of rhyme.

Melanie: Really liked the original direction you took with this one. I also enjoyed the way in which it seemed to offer multiple possible meanings. The mimimilstic style created a great deal of impact using but few words.

And the winner is....

Gilliatt Gurgle: Loved the opening line, the reference to Amontillado was great, and I enjoyed the allusion to Poe throughout the poem. I thought this one was quite clever and enjoyable. I really enjoyed the ending, and liked the way you incorporated the line within your poem.

Hey, thanks.
It's been a while since I read it, but The Cask of Amontillado still gives me the chills kind of like Pendragon's line "There is a nightmare crouched on my chest".
Nice work all around.

The next line comes from Coleridge quoting that "gray beard loon" from the Ancient Mariner...For all averred, I had killed the bird

Dark Muse: Yeah, that was the inspiration for my poem! Congrats, Gillatt Gurgle!

Tony Rocco Was an Odd Bird...

My pleas unheard, I was interned
Buried while I yet drew breath
For all averred, I had killed the bird
With malice aforethought--sentence: Death

That's how it goes down on this end of town
Vengeance is swift and saccharine sweet
The bird I slew was someone who
Was considered quite elite

And all averred I had killed the bird
Due process was just a joke
He owned the courts and my trial of course
Was held by his kinfolk

So they buried me down underneath
In the pitch dark catacombs
Though I shrieked with fear they brought me here
And now I find I'm not alone

For it seems absurd but that bloody bird
Haunts me from dusk til dawn
I killed him indeed but now he's killing me
And I don't think I will last very long

Down with the dead, voices in my head
The Reaper stalks the endless halls
For what all averred that I killed the bird
Is the naked truth after all...

(C) July 16, 2013
Pendragon

Congrats Gilliatt! Well, deserved.

The Final Hour

Once again I spend
another sleepless night,
for every time I feel slumbers
embrace near, it comes awake,
and insists that I too must
waken to its harsh screeching cries.

However many times I have tired,
civilly to make it hush,
it is determined to intrude
into my dreams, and rob me
of such sweet delights.

Perhaps I am loosing my mind,
but I begin to detect
something sinister in its squawking,
I imagine when I pass down the hall
it watches me malevolently
already plotting its next torment.

No more can I take of this,
something must be done,
half out of my mind, with blood shot eyes,
hammer held in trembling hand,
I venture my way into the shadow
draped hall where ghostly the curtains
seem to dance.

I steel my nerves for there can be
no turning back, it must be done,
all too soon I find myself standing
before my nemesis, and at the midnight hour
as it prepares once more to devastate me,
I bring the hammer down.

For all averred, I had killed the bird,
the cuckoo has chimed its last,
wretched the clock now pulverized,
briefly I wonder what the family would think
to see their heirloom smashed to smithereens,
but alas what care I?

For at long last
solace is mine.

The Surfin' Mariner

He said,
You are the third,
He said,
Let me tell you about the bird,
He said,
Have you heard,
The word,
About the bird?
The bird is dead
He said
For all averred,
I'd killed the bird,
But Have you heard,
The word,
About the bird?
He said.

promotional bump and set deadline - end of day Saturday August 10th

You haven't heard? I killed the bird!
I shot it good and dead.
Now comes the curse, but what is worse
They've hung it from my head.
They think that this will help them miss
The consequences. Well,
We all must die. I can't deny
With this I look like hell.

Looking good...

A parody from the Sound of Music's "My Favorite Things"
and The Ancient Mariner's "For all averred I had killed the bird"

Bird drops on noses, plucked feathers on chickens
Bright yellow yolks that are poached to perfection
Thanksgiving turkeys all trussed up with strings
These AREN'T a few of my favorite things.

Cream colored egg whites baked into a Streudel
The Colonel's fried chicken is sold by the oodles
Super Bowl Sunday serves barbecue wings
These AREN'T a few of my favorite things.

When the deficit bites
When spending cuts sting
When we're feeling had
I'll simply remember, as for all averred
That I had once killed Big Bird.

It is difficult for me to judge others poems, since I am not well acquainted with the "nuts and bolts" of the form coupled with the fact that the past few weeks have been extremely daunting at work, so my muse has been suppressed. On the other hand, I think it's safe to say that this particular category is not to be taken too seriously, so having said that I'll apologize in advance for completely missing a key point or other underlying message you were hoping to convey.
All right enough with the disclaimers!

Pendragon

Tony Rocco along with Camshaft, China Charlie, Sally, et al., did I get the connection right? Either way, I was reminded of the private eye saga you and Sancho had going that was quite entertaining. Messin with the mob is not a good idea, especially when it involves the kingpin. Killing the “bird” in life, only sealed your eternal fate to fear him in death. Prometheus perhaps.

Funny thing; at first read I wasn’t clear on the significance of or who is Tony Rocco, so I did a search and found this…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d63llHoKPA

Dark Muse

Haha, you had me proceeding with trepidation as I entered another of your dark realms, carefully taking in each word so as not to face embarrassment at overlooking a deeper sincere message you were trying to express.
A coo coo clock! masterful.

Prendrelemick

Forget the fact that I killed the bird, that’s beside the point.
I’m asking you, have you heard the word?

btw- Putting the original Trashmen aside, this is my second choice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjpHUXqHfCI

YesNo

Simple, clean and well metered, though I couldn’t tell what meter/form, all I know is it rolls off the tongue as smooth as a peeled boiled egg.

Melanie

Initially, I was struggling with the connection of the first two stanzas with the last one, but now I believe I got it; the “killing” of birds for gluttony or those that devour the budget. Hehe
You nailed the meter to the tune, the last stanza I was having trouble with until I recalled that part of the song; again it is on the money. A humorous piece.

---------------
It was nearly a coin toss between Pendragon and Dark Muse. I couldn't locate a suitable coin and besides that would be taking the easy way out.

Pendragon, welcome to the winner's circle.

Well done all.

Thank you Gilliatt and congrats to Pendragon

Thank you for those thoughtful critiques Gilliatt. I liked your interpretation and it was humor, however, my poem was more literal and in reference to when Mitt Romney was campaigning for President and stated that he was going to cut the budget by cutting all funding to PBS. Big Bird is the star of PBS's popular "Sesame Street". PBS fans accused Romney of wanting to kill Big Bird. Fans were irate so SNL and other comedians picked up on it. So the poem is a lament by Romney as he back-peddled his statement and tried to say he was on Big Bird's side (romney being opposed to poultry processing in the poem). Romney never recovered from that nor other campaign missteps. In retrospect, I can see where I didn't give enough info about the PBS incident in my poem. That's why feedback is helpful. Thank you.

Congratulations, Pendragon!! Good poem!

Ah, thank you, thank you. Aside, Tony Rocca just sounded like a mob name that's all. As Freud said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar!"

The new quoted line is from Lewis Carroll. It is in the poem of The White Knight from Through the Looking Glass.


"I'll tell thee everything I can, there's little to relate."

Winner posted last day of August!

God Bless!

Pen

"I'll tell thee anything I can.
The rest will have to fade.
Before the universe began
The cosmic egg was laid.
Its nest was that fresh field of green
Eternally aware
And when it hatched though yet unseen
It rushed out without care."

That's when he paused. I had to know
Who laid that wondrous egg.
Did silence mean his mind was slow
Or that I'd have to beg:
But why would someone do such things
So marvelous to see?
"You wonder why the singer sings?"
The white knight smiled at me.

I want to know the truth for once
And not some fairy tale.
I dared that knight. I'm not a dunce.
"No harm done when you fail.
And then it all became so bright,
Like light was just turned on,
The universe was set for sight.
The cosmic egg was gone."

Where did it go? You're so unclear.
Your evidence is slim.
I felt the knight move slowly near.
My eyes stayed fixed on him.
"Who wants to know?" He softly said
And then came this surprise:
"Who needs to know? The field's a bed.
The universe now flies."

The black knight suffered his disgrace
One that I might have made
While I was busy with that face
With cosmic eggs around the place
With wonders I would soon erase
As from my mind they fade.

A Tragic Tale of Lies, Deceit and Death.

I'll tell you everything I can,
There's little to relate,
I first set eyes on Billy Brown,
Coming in the garden gate.

He had a tiger on a string,
And a monkey on his arm,
A parakeet was on his head,
but he kept a sense of calm.

About his coat some field mice ran,
Pursued by a tabby cat,
And from his waist coat pocket,
Emerged a fat brown rat.

Around each leg there coiled a snake,
One red, the other blue,
And in the air above his head,
A flock of ravens flew.

He crossed the lawn to where I stood,
And raised his parrot hat,
In educated tones he asked,
If I had seen his gnat.

"I had him half a mo ago,
I swear I heard his buzz,
But now he's gone and wandered off,
It's the kind of thing he does."

"He's in with a bad crowd you see,
Of mosquitos lowly bred,
He's out all hours sucking blood,
He thinks it gives street cred."

I'd seen a cloud of midges,
Dancing in the sun,
but that was half an hour ago,
And certainly more than one.

There were greenfly on the peonies,
But their colour was all wrong,
So I couldn't tell Billy Brown,
Where his gnat had gone.

"If you see him send him home,"
Adding "Eric is his name,"
Then he whistled to the tiger,
And left the way he came.

When He'd gone I hung my head,
Filled with guilty shames,
For well I knew that on my arm,
Were Eric's squashed remains.