The winner is the one
who swallows the most hot dogs
in the allotted time
multiplied by the number
in his or her chosen group
who die of starvation
in the same period of time.
The art, in choosing one’s group,
is to distinguish those
who are close to starvation
from those who are merely very,
very hungry.
I always wondered and shocked by the irony (or is it hypocrisy) of eating contests, when one is forced to eat while others have no choice but starve. The way you present it makes the poem a winner.
"But do you really, seriously, Major Scobie," Dr. Sykes asked, "believe in hell?"
"In flames and torment?""Oh, yes, I do."
"That sort of hell wouldn't worry me," Fellowes said."Perhaps not quite that. They tell us it may be a permanent sense of loss."
"Perhaps you've never lost anything of importance," Scobie said.
Yeah, our part of the world is looking more and more like the latter days of the Roman empire in all it's bacchanalian excess. Too bad I don't get to partake, although 60 hot dogs in my tummy is not how I would choose to do it.
Insightful and reflective, Prince.
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its' own reason for existing." ~ Albert Einstein
"Remember, no matter where you go, there you are." Buckaroo Bonzai "Some people say I done alright for a girl." Melanie Safka
How is it that I ramble on and on and on and end up with poems that don't make sense to sensible people, and then I see these two-liners by you, and sigh and say "there, now."?
There, now, PrinceMyshkin.
.
...the smell of flowers through metal labyrinths.
This one makes you think. I agree with the message.
The first stanza is very effective, economic word use. It's efficient. Establishes tone and context.
Well done!
While the truncheon may be used
in lieu of conversation,
words will always retain their power.
Words offer the means to meaning,
and for those who will listen,
the enunciation of truth.
Thanks a lot, Haunted. I hesitated to post this poem because - as you yourself feel - the concept is so ugly!
And thank you Grit, Symphony and Qimisung.
Last edited by PrinceMyshkin; 05-17-2013 at 01:33 PM.
It is and then followed on by the show 1001 ways to die where a woman who liked to be vomited on during sex sought out these winners of hot dog comps choked to death when one lodged in her own throat seems to be the most grossest form of justice there is...still it would be hard to write a stanza about that part!
Before sunlight can shine through a window, the blinds must be raised - American Proverb
Yours are the poems I always find more within on rereading.
For those who believe,
no explanation is necessary.
For those who do not,
none will suffice.
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