Spare Us Your Elaborations
That guy who wrote about a Grecian Urn
never required a thousand words to get
a good story across. And think how many
poets were inspired, with few words,
to write on a lad falling from the sky
in a Bruegel masterpiece.
And U.A. Fanthorpe emerged with
a fine anylsis of the deformed neck
and hooves of a horse in full less
than half those thousand words.
She took only one stanza to declare
Knights out of fashion and rave
on about the sexiness of dragons.
Gave us a mini lecture on Dragon
Management and Virgin Reclamation.
Fewer words spell not failure
but success. I don’t believe
it was a poet who gave us
the proverb; “a picture is
worth a thousand words.”
Sometimes the one word
will do: WOW
Benita H. Kape (c) 8.4.2022
Prompt Notes:
“And now for our (optional) prompt! Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that argues against, or somehow questions, a proverb or saying. They say that “all cats are black at midnight,” but really? Surely some of them remain striped. And maybe there is an ill wind that blows some good. Perhaps that wind just has some mild dyspepsia. Whatever phrase you pick, I hope you have fun complicating its simplicity. “
Minerva, you arrived with weapons
so let's keep up with the story.
I was singularly unimpressed
with your birth, other than
you beat Jupiter at his own game.
But it was then, Metis, your mother
who kept up with the forging of tools
during your gestation in Jupiter's belly.
Because of her, you made entrance
fully prepared for your life and times.
A full grown maiden, you had
already gathered wisdom. Ovid
called you “goddess of a thousand works”.
Medicine, arts, handicraft and poetry.
But, I ask, is Metis still around?
Something tells she might be.
Did she have a hand in forging
a vibroblade, a new weapon
that I, in this poem, choose
to put in your hands? Not that
I want to set you to old wars,
or new ladies. Let us be done
with that and with wisdom,
better things to do. I beg of
you a great deed. Wave that
vibroblade as sisters in arms
to the new pestilence. In the
service of medicine for all-kind.
We would welcome it as yet
your greatest battle.
But rather, keep you both
a steady hand as vaccinations
go on. This is our future
and beyond.
Benita H. Kape (c) 12.4.2021
Notes:
For me Minerva is a goddess of weapons, but only after her wisdom, medicine, arts, poetry and handicrafts. Perhaps there were items in the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction for arts and handicraft but this is what my eyes lighted on:
vibroblade = a weapon or tool having a blade that vibrates rapidly: not something Jupiter could have coped with very well at Minerva's birth. So better an axe for that event than a vibrating blade.
"Finally, our prompt (optional, as always). I’m calling this one “Past and Future.” This prompt challenges you to write a poem using at least one word/concept/idea from each of two specialty dictionaries: Lempriere’s Classical Dictionary and the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction. A hat tip to Cathy Park Hong for a tweet that pointed me to the science fiction dictionary and to Hoa Nguyen for introducing me to the Classical Dictionary. "
benitakape 