Libby Weber's Blog, page 24

June 26: On Othello

Though Hamlet’s Mousetrap shows a regicide

By deadly poison dribbled in the ear,

Far crueler is toxicity implied

By cunning tongue believed to be sincere,

A weapon won’t discriminate; a knife

Will slay without regard for class or wealth,

But slander visited upon a wife

Is an attack by proxy via stealth.

For Shakespeare knew the greatest tragedy

Was hurting those whose standings were precarious

By goading paramours to jealousy;

The innocent destroyed by the nefarious.

Four hundred years ago he understood

T...

June 24: Argument Clinic

On days when fights are easier to pick

And one must call on friends to whine and vent,

Some time detached from conflict is the trick,

Since fury flooding further strife foments.

So moments spent with meals or taking walks

Could re-align perspective and revive

One’s absent humor, though attentive talk,

Can keep the heated bickering alive.

But when the mind has truly disengaged,

Then memories the mind may then enthrall-

While there’s no room for them when one’s enraged,

In peace, the brain finds what the...

June 23: Similes Like Metaphors

When someone called me poet, I demurred

And said that what I write is really verse;

When asked the difference, I then deferred

To dictionary, lest I make things worse.

I found that verse has meter, which I knew,

And often features rhymes at ends of lines,

And while a poem has a rhythm, too,

It’s figurative language that defines.

So if some standard verse I wish to write,

I’ll stick to my familiar metric feet.

But if a poem’s in the cards tonight,

There’s just one thing it needs to be complete.

To call th...

June 22: Necessarily So

B minor is they key that Gershwin chose

For his sublime creation “Summetime.”

But for a previous singer the band chose

A full C minor chart; hardly a crime.

A half-step up makes little difference

To saxophones in their ideal range,

But for a vocalist, it explains whence

A lovely piece can end up sounding strange.

And so a song that sits high in the voice

Becomes unsingable when raised a jot

So we get to make the lousy choice

To sing a seventh down or sing it not.

At least when I arrive at the reprise,

I’m...

June 21: Grow Up

When children wish that they were fully grown

Adults will scoff and say they should enjoy

The carefree years before they’re on their own.

Such sentiments are certain to annoy,

For there’s a fundamental misconception

That toys and sweets are what they would possess

Yet by that age, they’re sure to take exception

To inequality without redress.

For what adult has never felt frustration

At being overlooked or even taunted

When seeking dominance and approbation?

Is this a thing to which one should be wonted?...

June 20: Refilling the Well

When asked to write a story in ten days

The only way that I know to succeed

Is stealing bits of time from work and play,

And then converting them to what I need.

But by the time the story is submitted,

The spring of inspiration has run dry;

To prime the pump is not merely permitted,

It’s neeedful to maintain the mind’s supply.

And so my eyes devoured every word

That it was in my power to provide,

And yet the brain commands me, undeterred,

To read until it may be satisfied.

I’m grateful to receive a menta...

June 19: ‘Tis the Saison

Pete Seeger’s song says that to every thing

There is a season, so when I drink

A lovely beer, its praises I will sing

As of taste and appropriateness I think-

For when the sun shines hot, then hops I crave,

As in the winter I love malty ale.

For fall, Oktoberfest bier I will save,

And in between, saisons will never fail

To bring delight, yet one cannot but wonder

How spring and autumn beverages unite,

Though one would think they’d steal each others’ thunder

After the world’s most satisfying fight.

Delici...

June 18: Take the Cake

O jammed genoise whose silken chocolate coat

Breaks crisply and then melts on the tongue

And radiating warmth all down the throat,

For decades has your loveliness been sung;

The Jaffa Cake, throughout the world renowned,

Almost fell victim to its own success-

Initially, a tax tribunal found

The cakes were biscuits, but there was redress:

Though they seemed similar when side-by-side

A court deemed cakes distinct from biscuitkind,

And strict criteria were then applied

That future cakes need not be redefin...

June 17: The Fail Cycle

To be aware you’ve been set up to fail

Does not make failing any easier.

Entreaties may be from beyond the pale,

But asker’s confidence it will occur

Infects your brain and makes you wonder why

You hesitated just before agreeing.

Now you’ve agreed to give the task a try,

Your self-recrimination guaranteeing.

It breaks the heart so nearly to succeed

When in the shared delusion you’ve invested

Your time and worked until your fingers bleed,

For failure finds your faith in self arrested.

And so the next time...

June 16: Surprise.

I’m glad I cleared my schedule for a day

So when assignments suddenly appeared

They caused me but a moment of dismay

Before I girded loins and volunteered.

Farewell, sweet slack and idleness of mind!

Adieu commuting hours with Marcel Proust!

Here cheer and masochism are combined,

As by adrenaline I am seduced.

But even if I manage to complete

All tasks within the meagre time allowed,

Perhaps the victory won’t taste as sweet

If of my slapdash efforts I’m not proud.

Perfection may well be the foe of done,

B...