Thursday 28 April 2016

X is for Xerxes



is for Xerxes



Xerxes and arses

The one and only for this letter
is Xerxes, and no-one else better!
Because he was a great king
though that could mean anything
from sex-crazed jerk to kick-ass go-getter.

But he was portrayed in books after
as cruel, inept, with scorn and laughter;
but then history depicts
based on whose arse was kicked
and whose boot was involved, nothing’s dafter.







What can I say about X? That it is the most Xtreme letter is obvious. The only other name I know that begins with X is Xavier.  And the only Xavier I know of is the Jesuit saint who went to India and founded schools and stuff all over the place.  Not Xactly a life to induce wild laughter or anything, not a limericky type of life at all.  At least Buddha had the sense to sport a distinctive hairstyle!

Maybe there are other names and characters- Xiu, and Xin, and Xu.  But my knowledge of China is shaky and knock-kneed. Limited to the cuisine passed off as Chinese by the residents of China Town in my hometown Kolkata. Which has been there for nearly two hundred years of the three hundred odd years Kolkata has been in Xistence.  They are more Bengali than Chinese, if you ask me. At least their food is nothing like what’s available in Chinese restaurants in Singapore. East is East, and West is West, and in this case, don’t have the least intention of meeting.  The Chinese in Kolkata speak fluent Bengali and probably write Mandarin in the Bengali script, since their own alphabet is so Xcruciatingly compleX.


Tell me, who’s your X












Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2016 






43 comments:

  1. You have a real gift for poetry. And I agree with shortybear. You did an awesome job with the letter X.

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    1. X scares me cross eyed...thanks for being here

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  2. I love the second verse :D X is hard isn't it - I had to make mine up because I couldn't find a Fictional Phantom out there to fill the slot :).
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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  3. Hi Nila - I love seeing the Xs ... sometimes I have words - sometimes I've been created. There are a few Xaviers around today .. authors and others ... but you've done so well here and then the supplementary notes - are great to read ...

    Cheers and congratulations - Hilary

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    1. I love reading others' X's more than I like writing mine...whoa, now that's a real ambiguous sentence I wrote without thinking! Talk about double entendres :)

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  4. Thank you for the superb X limerick. It made me smile.

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    1. A friend's smile is worth way more than X's :D

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  5. Replies
    1. Glad you liked my X :D now what or who is Xanax??

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  6. X is the toughest, isn't it! I chose Xenophobia today. We're nearly done - great job!
    MarthaReynoldsWrites.com. #AtoZChallenge

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    1. Xenophobia is very topical. Great choice of word. Well done!

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  7. Writing Mandarin in Bengali....hahaha, that will go down in history! Xerxes is a good choice, but like you said limited choices! Most of us have cheated with this one, at least you stayed clean! And true about history, it depends on the ass kicked and the boot kicking! Too good!
    @KalaRavi16 from
    Relax-N-Rave

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    1. That's not cheating, that's just being creative!

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  8. Great verse for today.
    X is always tricky and it's fun to see how people utilize it.
    My X words for today were: Xena and X-Files. Those were the main. Then I found another TV show X and three X related commercials.

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    1. That's really quite a respectable amount of X's! Kudos

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  9. Based on whose arse was kicked - funny!
    There's also Professor Xavier from the X-Men.

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    1. Strangely enough, this morning onwards other X's names also popped into mind - Xenophon among them...always too late! Never mind... am just glad it's over, Q and X enough to give me the heebie jeebies

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  10. X means we're nearing the end and I say X stands for celebration and huge sighs of relief.
    Hi, Nila, it's a true pleasure to see Xerxes highlighted today!

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    1. Hi Yolanda! Most correct interpretation of X ever! So glad it's come and been dispatched off safely...

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  11. Nicely done for such a tricky letter! Thanks for the laugh at the end.

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    1. Anytime... :) thanks...trickiest of them all

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  12. You kicked X ass. Great job

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  13. Great poem, and post! You totally rocked the X. :)

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    1. Whew! I'd be happy with just a pass grade though :)

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  14. Another Xavier, a/k/a Professor X of the X-Men. Couldn't use him in my blog, but I wish I could have.

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    1. Now I am intrigued as to why you couldn't? No remakes? Wrong decades? Must find out!

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  15. Well done! That was fun.

    @Kathleen01930
    Meet My Imaginary Friends
    #AtoZchallenge

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  16. Oh, Nilanjana! Talk about aceing 'X'. YOU did that! Not only with Xerxes, but with all the commentary that followed. Wonderful!!!

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    1. Totally glad both the letter and commentary now firmly behind us, aced or not, maxed or not, finessed and forgotten!!! Thank goodness!

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  17. Replies
    1. :) am just pleased it's over with no major casualties!

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  18. You did a great job!
    This is a difficult letter for most A to Zers!
    Writer In Transit

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    1. Thanks Michelle, as far as I am concerned X and Q make or break my theme :)

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  19. X is not easy. But it is good as everyone try their best to be innovative. Well done Nilan!

    Hank

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    1. Thanks. I really admired the creativity that's on show for the X-posts I visited. Out of words here. Yours was just amazing!

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  20. Now that is very compleX, indeed.

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  21. The X - Ceo of Titan industries was Xerxes Desai. He was a Parsi. After reading your post on the original Xerxes I wonder how come his parents name him so ...

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  22. Thanks for being here, X is a complex one to handle, glad the complexity was managed..

    Xerxes as portrayed by the western hsitorians and by the eastern ones was different, I don't think he had a negative image in the East @Jayanthi

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