V is for Virgil

is for Virgil

Virgil and the fragility of things

One letter is all it takes to make a Virgil

change to a virgin from a poet of great skill;

it takes the same for Veer

to morph to Veep or Leer

but Vilhelm is way more invinciBill.

One small letter and shit hits the fan,

the slightest changes can alter a man.

From lap to slap the gap

is tiny, just a snap -

so be Vigilant, Vaughn, Vaughan, and Van.

Just before the A-Z started, I wrote a post in which I tackled a few things you could expect from me as a fellow participant.  Some found it too Vehement, but I did it with the idea of not being Vague and wishy-washy.  Vague is not in Vogue around here.  Vehemence is okay sometimes, so long as it doesn't turn Violent, so long all courtesies are observed.  Some things can't be stressed enough, don't you agree?

Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2016 

S is for Socrates

is for Socrates

A wise man was Socrates, the greatest

philosopher of his age, his test

of three - useful, good, and true

made idle gossip taboo,

but that isn’t always for the best.

Socrates was clearly no Othello -

an entirely different kettle, that fellow,

and his take on gossip and wives;

and the sudden taking of lives

minus due diligence using a pillow.

Neither good nor bad can be absolute

perceptions change, so the point is moot

it doth one gobsmack

how Socrates could lack

the pea-size glob of sense to work this oot.

S iS  for Samantha RedStreake Geary,  Sci-fi, and SumptuouS, which iS what her work and her blog iS. A feaSt for the eyeS, earS, brain and mind.  Also for Super-thrilled, which is what I am today.  Click on her name and See why for yourSelveS.

Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2016 

R is for Romulus

is for Romulus

Small Mercies

Remus and Romulus were the twins

said to have founded Rome, the linchpins 

of legends and intrigue -

Romulus ahead by a league.

A wild creature  by them through thick and thin.

Both the brothers when infants were orphaned

helpless babes in river and woods abandoned

a she-wolf came a-slinking

and I know what you’re thinking

but preparest thou to be now thoroughly stunned.

She didn’t make mincemeat out of the babies,

she didn’t chew them up or give them rabies;

she gave milk and mother-love

and brought them straight up

to know their numbers and their Latin AB’s.

But then the story gets murky, coz sibling

rivalry spares no-one, they got quibbling

Remus liked a different hill

and Romulus fought to kill,

didn’t believe in some casual nibbling.

And so Rome was founded by one twin

the survivor brother who did the other in.

In plain words - fratricide

though legend doesn’t deride,

or call this dubious act a terrible sin.

Quite clear that it took a long time to build

From orphaned twins to getting a sibling killed

That is why they say

Rome wasn’t built in a day

years to the finish from when first pencilled.

I’ll bet you’ve never thought  – cause no one does -

It’s so long ago so why make a pointless fuss?

But think - if it so happened

the clash had a different end

then Rome wouldn’t be Rome, but named for Remus.

The Rose may Remain a Rose, that which we call Rome (okay, the Limericking's over now, there's no need to Rhyme endlessly!) would probably smell quite different.  What do you think? Do names shape the people/places? Or do the individuals/cities beat their names into shape?  How important is a name? Would the rose petal smell as sweet if it were called popocatepetl instead?

Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2016 

Q is for Quake....which is what this post always makes me do

makes me Quake

Q never Quite Queues up

Most people do not have a single clue

how hard it is to find a name with ‘Q’

Tom, Dick and also Harry

yeah, Radheshyam and Parry

but Q doesn’t queue up, no can do.

Did Q ever give you a Greek god?

name a famous Roman Caesar? a cephalopod?

We can moan and grumble

but Q is not an example

of a letter that is abundant and broad.

Where exactly does Q come from?

Search from Greek Omega to Sanskrit Om

You won’t see it anywhere -

magicked from Latin n thin air

and the upstart’s made itself quite at home!

Let me give you some facts, plain and cold:

Q’s the second least common letter, all told.

Less than one percent of words

where Q is seen and heard

it clearly believes that silence is gold.

And no guesses for what's the least common letter - that makes me shake in my shoes too! 

Does anyone else here shiver and shake, Quiver and Quake when the time comes for the terrible-two baddy shoes (Qu) letters? Why does Q come in always coupled with U? What are your top Q-tips for getting over this speed bump in the A-Z? 

Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2016 

P is for Pliny

is for Pliny

There was once a Roman called Pliny.

We’re talking of the Elder, not the Mini.

He wrote on birds, bees, and blooms

 37 whole volumes

Now that’s a work that cannot be called skinny!

Oh, he was a man most astute and Prolific

but his death was quite pointless and horrific -

in a bath he chose to stop

when Vesuvius blew its top

and the toxic fumes turned out too soporific.

P is for Post : Now that's a word which has had its Paradigm shifted in the last few decades! Post was something I did to a letter when I was a child. I had several Pen Pals, and also regular friends who became Pen Pals because we moved around so much. I used to look forward to those letters, and also Parcels of goodies, mostly books, from grandParents and other relatives.

And thanks to technology and a different kind of Post I am still in touch with some of those friends, though we are separated by thousands of miles.

Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2016 

I Is for Isaac

is for Isaac

Isaac’s obsession and the consequent loss to humanity

How far the apple falls from the tree -

a key issue, as I’m sure you’ll agree.

But Isaac? he veered off

with the direction of the drop,

obsessed with G to an absurd degree.

The result is: we can only declare

that the apple will fall, not when nor where.

It can’t be calculated

how far the fall is slated,

because Isaac Newton just did not care.



I is for Island : which is what I live on, I mean, literally.  Not that I Ingest one as food.  

Island, that no man Is, John assures me.  Yeah, right. I am not so convinced. Maybe in John's time, It was so (he's is bit older than me, born 16th century). Men were mainlands then. Now vastly different story...more and more people are morphing Into Islands It seems to me.  One minute, a human, next minute s/he grabs a gizmo and wham...an Island! It is beyond Imagining.

Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2016 

H is for Henry....the Heighth

is for Henry

Henry’s heir raising tale

G is for Gorgonzola and Gorgon

is for Gorgonzola and Gorgon

The difference between Gorgonzola and Gorgon

F is For the French way

is for the French way

the French are way too cool

E is for Euclid

 is for Euclid

Euclid and the science of SMS

D is for Daedalus

is for Daedalus' Design

Daedalus’ design

B is for Buddha

 is for Buddha

Buddha’s contribution

A-Z Challenge Theme Reveal

Poetry in some form or other, of course.  That goes without saying.  Incapable of thinking beyond poetry for a theme. This year it's going to be Light n Limerick-y.