Saturday, February 28, 2015

A little Birthday flumadiddle



Super in its tongue-twisting,
Unusual length and cadence, this
Precocious word
Encourages playful patience.
Regardless of its history,
Children see no mystery in
A word that makes one
Laugh. It’s really not atrocious.
In a college newspaper from 1931, a
Feisty, smart librarian happened upon a
Rib-tickling
And liver-pickling,
Gimmicky, full of mimicry
Iteration of the
Lengthy locution.
In 1937, a boy was enjoying 
Summer. At camp he heard
The silly word, then forgot
It—what a bummer— until he and his bro
Composed a song for Mr. Disney.
Enraged (you can fill in the
X-rated terms) were the music duo
Parker and Young; their copyright
Infringement case
Against the Shermans and Walt was
Later thrown out. No doubt
It was based on too many
Differences in the loony
Orthography and tuneful
Chords. So…
If you like the sound
Of it, I
Understand completely; it
Sums up your uniqueness totally and quite neatly.

Before this word made a hit in the 1964 film Mary Poppins, “Supercalafajalistickespeealadojus” was a song released in 1941 by Gloria Parker and Barney Young. Slightly different spelling and different tune. In 1931, the spelling “supercaliflawjalisticexpialadoshus” appeared in the March 10th edition of Syracuse University’s student newspaper the Daily Orange. In any case, it was a fun challenge.




Friday, February 27, 2015

Skin deep



Narkissos, a plant containing
Alkaloids,
Renders a numbing effect, and
Certain kinds of beauty can
Inflict a dumbing effect. In a
Spring a young Greek boy once
Saw his reflection and overjoyed,
Undertook a flowering, though
Superficial, love.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

"Mirror, mirror..."



Vain
And
Narcissistic
Idleness forever
To the mirror smiles
Yes!