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The New Coffee Room

  1. TNCR
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  3. The poetry thread

The poetry thread

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  • D Online
    D Online
    Doctor Phibes
    wrote on 5 Jun 2024, 15:05 last edited by Doctor Phibes 6 May 2024, 15:07
    #112

    A favourite from my childhood...

    Matilda, Who Told Lies and Was Burned to Death (1907)

    Matilda told such Dreadful Lies,
    It made one Gasp and Stretch one's Eyes;

    Her Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth,
    Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth,
    Attempted to Believe Matilda:
    The effort very nearly killed her,
    And would have done so, had not She
    Discovered this Infirmity.

    For once, towards the Close of Day,
    Matilda, growing tired of play,
    And finding she was left alone,
    Went tiptoe to the Telephone
    And summoned the Immediate Aid
    Of London's Noble Fire-Brigade.

    Within an hour the Gallant Band
    Were pouring in on every hand,
    From Putney, Hackney Downs, and Bow
    With Courage high and Hearts a-glow
    They galloped, roaring through the Town
    'Matilda's House is Burning Down!'
    Inspired by British Cheers and Loud
    Proceeding from the Frenzied Crowd,
    They ran their ladders through a score
    Of windows on the Ball Room Floor;
    And took Peculiar Pains to Souse
    The Pictures up and down the House,
    Until Matilda's Aunt succeeded
    In showing them they were not needed;
    And even then she had to pay
    To get the Men to go away!

    It happened that a few Weeks later
    Her Aunt was off to the Theatre
    To see that Interesting Play
    The Second Mrs Tanqueray.
    She had refused to take her Niece
    To hear this Entertaining Piece:
    A Deprivation Just and Wise
    To Punish her for Telling Lies.

    That Night a Fire did break out-
    You should have heard Matilda Shout!
    You should have heard her Scream and Bawl,
    And throw the window up and call
    To People passing in the Street-
    (The rapidly increasing Heat
    Encouraging her to obtain
    Their confidence)-but all in vain!
    For every time She shouted 'Fire!'
    They only answered 'Little Liar'!
    And therefore when her Aunt returned,
    Matilda, and the House, were Burned.

    I was only joking

    A 1 Reply Last reply 5 Jun 2024, 15:17
    • D Doctor Phibes
      5 Jun 2024, 15:05

      A favourite from my childhood...

      Matilda, Who Told Lies and Was Burned to Death (1907)

      Matilda told such Dreadful Lies,
      It made one Gasp and Stretch one's Eyes;

      Her Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth,
      Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth,
      Attempted to Believe Matilda:
      The effort very nearly killed her,
      And would have done so, had not She
      Discovered this Infirmity.

      For once, towards the Close of Day,
      Matilda, growing tired of play,
      And finding she was left alone,
      Went tiptoe to the Telephone
      And summoned the Immediate Aid
      Of London's Noble Fire-Brigade.

      Within an hour the Gallant Band
      Were pouring in on every hand,
      From Putney, Hackney Downs, and Bow
      With Courage high and Hearts a-glow
      They galloped, roaring through the Town
      'Matilda's House is Burning Down!'
      Inspired by British Cheers and Loud
      Proceeding from the Frenzied Crowd,
      They ran their ladders through a score
      Of windows on the Ball Room Floor;
      And took Peculiar Pains to Souse
      The Pictures up and down the House,
      Until Matilda's Aunt succeeded
      In showing them they were not needed;
      And even then she had to pay
      To get the Men to go away!

      It happened that a few Weeks later
      Her Aunt was off to the Theatre
      To see that Interesting Play
      The Second Mrs Tanqueray.
      She had refused to take her Niece
      To hear this Entertaining Piece:
      A Deprivation Just and Wise
      To Punish her for Telling Lies.

      That Night a Fire did break out-
      You should have heard Matilda Shout!
      You should have heard her Scream and Bawl,
      And throw the window up and call
      To People passing in the Street-
      (The rapidly increasing Heat
      Encouraging her to obtain
      Their confidence)-but all in vain!
      For every time She shouted 'Fire!'
      They only answered 'Little Liar'!
      And therefore when her Aunt returned,
      Matilda, and the House, were Burned.

      A Offline
      A Offline
      Aqua Letifer
      wrote on 5 Jun 2024, 15:17 last edited by
      #113

      @Doctor-Phibes said in The poetry thread:

      A favourite from my childhood...

      Matilda, Who Told Lies and Was Burned to Death (1907)

      Classic. Always loved that one, too.

      Please love yourself.

      1 Reply Last reply
      • MikM Away
        MikM Away
        Mik
        wrote on 5 Jun 2024, 15:20 last edited by
        #114

        There's a fairy tale for that y'know. The boy who cried wolf.

        But Matilda's is a better mental picture.

        “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

        1 Reply Last reply
        • A Offline
          A Offline
          Aqua Letifer
          wrote on 5 Jun 2024, 15:25 last edited by
          #115

          Here's something that's interesting. This is from Lokasenna (Loki's Argument). Here's the original:

          Veit ek, ef fyr útan værak,
          svá sem fyr innan emk,
          Ægis höll of kominn,
          höfuð þitt bæra ek í hendi mér;
          lykak þér þat fyr lygi.

          Snjallr ertu í sessi,
          skal-at-tu svá gera,
          Bragi bekkskrautuðr;
          vega þú gakk, ef þú vreiðr séir;
          hyggsk vætr hvatr fyrir.

          Yes yes I know "what the fuck etc." Here's a translation:

          Bragi said:
          If we were outside, and you had not come inside Aegir's hall, I would be holding your severed head. I'd pay you back that way for all your lies.
          Loki said:
          You're brave while you're sitting. But you wouldn't do that, Bragi, the benchwarmer. Go ahead and strike me, if you're so angry. A brave man wouldn't be afraid to do it.

          "Benchwarmer" is an epithet that's about a thousand years old. Has a slightly different meaning now but that's how far back it goes. It's an old, old kenning.

          Please love yourself.

          1 Reply Last reply
          • MikM Away
            MikM Away
            Mik
            wrote on 5 Jun 2024, 15:44 last edited by
            #116

            Do tell..benchwarmer? I couldn't find anything over a couple googles..

            “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

            A 1 Reply Last reply 5 Jun 2024, 18:04
            • MikM Mik
              5 Jun 2024, 15:44

              Do tell..benchwarmer? I couldn't find anything over a couple googles..

              A Offline
              A Offline
              Aqua Letifer
              wrote on 5 Jun 2024, 18:04 last edited by
              #117

              @Mik said in The poetry thread:

              Do tell..benchwarmer? I couldn't find anything over a couple googles..

              Yeah, y'know, someone on the team who doesn't play in the games.

              In this context, it means that you're on the boat for the raiding party (they'd bring benches with them on the longboats to double as a storage locker and a seat for rowing), but you don't get out to fight, you just sit there.

              Please love yourself.

              1 Reply Last reply
              • MikM Away
                MikM Away
                Mik
                wrote on 5 Jun 2024, 19:33 last edited by
                #118

                Makes sense, in a Viking sort of way.

                “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

                1 Reply Last reply
                • MikM Away
                  MikM Away
                  Mik
                  wrote on 13 Jun 2024, 13:39 last edited by
                  #119

                  Man, does this resonate today.

                  alt text

                  “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

                  A 1 Reply Last reply 13 Jun 2024, 23:57
                  • A Offline
                    A Offline
                    Aqua Letifer
                    wrote on 13 Jun 2024, 14:16 last edited by
                    #120

                    Yeats could certainly see what others couldn't.

                    Please love yourself.

                    MikM 1 Reply Last reply 13 Jun 2024, 17:40
                    • HoraceH Offline
                      HoraceH Offline
                      Horace
                      wrote on 13 Jun 2024, 14:34 last edited by
                      #121

                      Lions are orange.

                      Education is extremely important.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      • A Aqua Letifer
                        13 Jun 2024, 14:16

                        Yeats could certainly see what others couldn't.

                        MikM Away
                        MikM Away
                        Mik
                        wrote on 13 Jun 2024, 17:40 last edited by
                        #122

                        @Aqua-Letifer said in The poetry thread:

                        Yeats could certainly see what others couldn't.

                        "The best lack all conviction
                        While the worst are full of passionate intensity"

                        “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        • HoraceH Offline
                          HoraceH Offline
                          Horace
                          wrote on 13 Jun 2024, 18:16 last edited by
                          #123

                          yeah that line hits with some resonance of truth.

                          Education is extremely important.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          • MikM Mik
                            13 Jun 2024, 13:39

                            Man, does this resonate today.

                            alt text

                            A Offline
                            A Offline
                            Aqua Letifer
                            wrote on 13 Jun 2024, 23:57 last edited by
                            #124

                            @Mik said in The poetry thread:

                            Man, does this resonate today.

                            alt text

                            I didn't realize—today's the old man's birthday!

                            Please love yourself.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            • MikM Away
                              MikM Away
                              Mik
                              wrote on 2 Nov 2024, 13:47 last edited by
                              #125

                              2e426e98-b6cb-4eb7-8eca-555093525229-image.png

                              “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              • A Offline
                                A Offline
                                Aqua Letifer
                                wrote on 2 Nov 2024, 14:32 last edited by
                                #126

                                Yeah. Appropriate for the season and one of my favorites, @Mik .

                                Please love yourself.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                • A Offline
                                  A Offline
                                  Aqua Letifer
                                  wrote on 2 Nov 2024, 14:39 last edited by
                                  #127

                                  This one's @Jolly 's fault. I read this story he posted:
                                  https://nypost.com/2024/10/27/us-news/west-va-boys-build-road-so-helene-victims-can-go-home/

                                  And then it occurred to me that America has no folk heroes anymore. Where are our John Henrys and Annie Oakleys? What happened to Paul Bunyan and Calamity Jane?

                                  So I figured I'd do my part to commemorate these guys. They're certainly deserving of a folk ballad.

                                  On 26 September,
                                  The winds and rain arrived.
                                  Helene, they learned, would have her way
                                  As every road was washed away;
                                  Against the storm, the swell and spray
                                  Few houses had survived.

                                  From Chimney Rock to Bat Cave,
                                  The storm had cut them off.
                                  They worried for their homes and wept;
                                  Some pleaded for support—except
                                  When governments are this inept,
                                  No plea is strong enough.

                                  But there were some who listened
                                  And knew, amid the noise,
                                  No bureaucrats or engineers
                                  Would haul the roads or bridges clear;
                                  That’s when the miners volunteered,
                                  The West Virginia Boys.

                                  They all arrived together
                                  And brought the locals in—
                                  They said like Noah’s flood it rained,
                                  But when at last the water drained,
                                  The mountain’s all that had remained
                                  Of where the roads had been.

                                  So could the Boys move mountains?
                                  They all had little doubt.
                                  “It’s difficult, but there are ways,”
                                  They said, “To get that mountain razed,
                                  Just give us all about three days—
                                  We’ll have a road punched out.”

                                  They got to work that morning
                                  And knew just where to blast.
                                  Within three days, a willing crew
                                  (And sure, a couple backhoes, too)
                                  Would do what no one else could do
                                  And brought them home at last.

                                  When DOT does nothing
                                  And FEMA sends a squad
                                  Of wonks who give you protocol
                                  And you’re ignored by city hall,
                                  Remember, you can always call
                                  The Boys of West-By-God!

                                  Please love yourself.

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  • MikM Away
                                    MikM Away
                                    Mik
                                    wrote on 2 Nov 2024, 14:46 last edited by
                                    #128

                                    Look out, John Henry.. you got competition.

                                    Well done, Aqua.

                                    “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    • Tom-KT Offline
                                      Tom-KT Offline
                                      Tom-K
                                      wrote on 2 Nov 2024, 15:21 last edited by Tom-K 11 Feb 2024, 20:20
                                      #129

                                      Cretins have it easy
                                      They don't have to do anything to be what they are.
                                      Me, I have to do everything
                                      Maybe I'll get a lobotomy and drive a car.

                                      My friend romanticizes cretins
                                      and wants to drive a car,
                                      Me, I like my beatings
                                      And things the way they are.

                                      [This is a Post-Structuralist interpretation of Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening".]

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      • taiwan_girlT Offline
                                        taiwan_girlT Offline
                                        taiwan_girl
                                        wrote on 4 Nov 2024, 09:51 last edited by
                                        #130

                                        @Aqua-Letifer Very nice!!

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        • MikM Away
                                          MikM Away
                                          Mik
                                          wrote on 14 Nov 2024, 03:22 last edited by
                                          #131

                                          f3094b10-02e7-4b02-a411-f56bbc865499-image.png

                                          “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

                                          1 Reply Last reply
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