I'm determined to write a parody poem of the ilk of Elizabeth Alexander's. She was the woman who read her specially-composed work from the national podium moments after Pres. Barack Obama concluded his inaugural speech.
I listened to her while doing crunches, reclining on an enormous, blue workout ball, in a crowded gym during a class. I have discovered how difficult it is to laugh uncontrollably while contracting your abs. I survived the disgusted looks of fellow crunchers who somberly continuing counting.
My difficulty is that it's tough to come up with anything worse than the original poem, which begins, "Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking." Could there be a more hackneyed phrase than "going about our business"? What could we do with our glances beside "catching each others' eyes--or not"?
Coming up with something funnier than the actual poem is going to take a bit of doing. But, if "someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair," surely I can create more humor out of this giggle-worthy garble.
Just give me a moment--I'm "on the brink, on the brim, on the cusp" of something really clever... In the meantime, just think about her poem (chuckle) and who Rush Limbaugh realized Ms. Alexander's emotionless delivery mimics: the woman on your GPS!
I agree- it was a pretty awful poem.
ReplyDeleteThe funniest thing about it was the next day, when Stephen Colbert kept asking the poet "but doesn't a poem have to rhyme?"
Super, I seldom wish we had a TV, but from everything I hear, Colbert would be a good reason to have one.
ReplyDelete