Famous Quoted Line Poetry Contest

Man of Mystery (Chapter 3 of 1)


Nobody heard him,
the dead man had left
as unceremoniously as
he had arrived; only with-
out aid and evidently
not hindered by locked
doors and windows

He would awaken in the
distant past - his failsafe
programmed for just such
an event; sub-molecular
processors managing trans-
time as easily as one might
fall asleep

Trans-time. It might just as
well be trans-dimensional,
not that dimensional travel
was possible, but what good
was trans-time if it only
served the past ? Not being
dead for one he mused

He now moved about in a
new reality, an identity
forged in mystery, a man
immortal - consigned to
progressing haphazardly
forward to his own time -
knowing all was lost

3/28/2015

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

Thanks to all who took part.

There were several highlights, and many good things, but with special mention to Hawkman for "as bloated he floated face down;" I declare Gilliat Gurgle the winner for his witty, clever and irreverent poem.

Congrats Gilliatt Gurgle !

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

Thanks mate and Mr. STATELY, nice entries all around.
For the next line I'll borrow from Sir Edward Dyer's poem, My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is; both title and opening line.
Oh yes, that ^ is the line to use for the next round.

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/engl...yer.1_2.tp.pdf

My mind to me a kingdom is
That keeps sweet peace or heats up war,
That understands or fails at this,
That’s satisfied or grabs for more,
That hits its targets when it will
Or lets them be remaining still.

Thanks YesNo and just to clarify for you and others, I hope I didn't create any confusion.
I didn't mean to imply that the line must be used both in the title and in the body of the poem, that was just a point I added on Dyer's poem.
Use it however you wish; in the body, in the title, both as Y/N did, whatever...same routine as in the past.
Let's see where we are in a couple of weeks.
Carry on.

What care I if they laugh or play,
Or while the lazy noon away
To chase some idle fantasy?
A Kingdom is my mind to me.

What worthy thought can nurtured be
In their social cacophony?
Let me in solitude solace find:
To me a Kingdom is my mind.

This loneliness, though, I regret,
My "friends" will often me forget;
My only consolation this:
My mind to me a Kingdom is.

My mind to me a kingdom is
Where no flag flies at dawn.
No tyrant calls the morning his,
No merchants cry, no maiden's song
Disturbs the silence of the streets;
No echoes even there call on.
The walls, long breached, to Heaven reach.
Like ghosts at daybreak, all are gone.

It's an age thing.

My mind to me a kingdom is,
And anarchy is rife,
Shaken is the sovereign state,
With rebellion and strife.

The barricades are going up,
Across synaptic gaps,
I can't recall your name at all,
It's another memory lapse.

Thanks all for contributing, I'll make a selection tomorrow (Sunday).

Edit
Here we go...

RE: Yes/No's poem
I drew from this, two possibilities; the conflicts within our own mind and the potential impact the outcome could have on those we encounter on a day to day basis if we allow the heat of war, for example, venture beyond the skull. My second impression was that of a dictator’s mind and those who are at the mercy of his/her whims.

RE: Joe's poem
The curmudgeons lament? This one hits close to home with me as one who struggles to understand the daily “cacophony” of facebooks, tweeters, ‘friends” as you quoted, etc., the need to be continuously connected, clicking, tapping, walking into sign posts transfixed on a device, folks who carry on audible hand device conversations in rood proximity to others trying to savor the last moments of solace on a train, in the elevator, before punching that time clock.
I know, I know, don’t knock until you try it…well that’s going to be a long time.
Sorry for the digression, heck I may be way off base with your intent, but that’s how your piece struck me.
Last but not least, I enjoyed the triadic scramble of the given line.

RE: Pompey Bum's
For me this evokes strong imagery of a village, perhaps the world, ravaged by war, but I’m struggling to understand whose mind it is that desires such a “kingdom”. Is this the sentiment of a frustrated God, who finally reached a point of saying; “to hell with it, I’m ready for a break”?

RE: Prendrelmick's
I had a good chuckle with this. Synaptic gaps had me thinking of spark plug gaps either too corroded or too wide. This one has hints of that earthy aged oak finish prevalent in Jim’s, or was that Joe’s poem above.

In conclusion-
I’m giving the edge to Joe for a piece that truly struck a chord and for his creative scrambling of the ‘famous line”.
Your turn __Joe__

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gilliatt Gurgle

... I may be way off base with your intent, but that’s how your piece struck me.

---

Thank you for your kind words and, yes, I'm afraid you have misinterpreted my submission. I was writing about someone who enjoys solitary intellectual pursuits, someone who sees their mind as a "Kingdom" unto him-/herself and the loneliness that accompanies such an attitude.
That said, I find your reading of it very interesting. The many different ways a poem can be read is the thing I love most about poetry :)

For the next quoted line, I choose a line from "Resolve" by Sylvia Plath:

No glory descends

Feel free to interpret it as you see fit and not necessarily in the larger context of the poem.

No glory descends.
One expected as much.
What one sees though depends
How one’s heart aims to touch.

Congratulations, _Joe_, on another really great poem. It was my favorite of this group, too. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gilliatt Gurgle

RE: Pompey Bum's
For me this evokes strong imagery of a village, perhaps the world, ravaged by war, but I’m struggling to understand whose mind it is that desires such a “kingdom”. Is this the sentiment of a frustrated God, who finally reached a point of saying; “to hell with it, I’m ready for a break”?

---

The image was meant to be a ruin (although that was not revealed until the second to last line, as a kind of denouement). No mind desires such a kingdom, of course, which was sort of the point. The speaker starts off defiantly: "No one bosses me around here, and I don't have to listen to bothersome prattle like merchants calling out their business." But lovely sounds, like a young girl's singing, are gone, too. And isn't the sound of merchants calling out merely commonplace? Isn't it actually better than the empty streets where not even an echo is left? Yes it is, the poem reveals, because this is not the free and peaceful kingdom the speaker thinks it is, but in fact a long dead one.

Ultimately the speaker was me. It was a satire of my own self-satisfaction in retirement. I was also spoofing Dyer's pedantic and self-satisfied tone in the original poem. Clearer now? :)

No glory descends.

Mourners at an empty throne
When a life ends
No glory descends
- It is but a loan.

Keep 'em coming, people.
Let's set the deadline for Sunday, May 3rd.