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Monday, March 23, 2020

Wolalypalooza

     A wolaly is a lyric poem incorporating all the elements of a particular word ladder. This new form was originally devised by Ulysses Poe, author of "What A's Not For" and "The Bralphabet." 


     World’s Shortest Wolaly

Sean > Bean


     Two Family Wolalies

Mom > mod > mad > Dad

Sis > sib > bib > bio > Bro 


     An Open > Shut Wolaly

When pies, like cases, open,
that’s when birds begin to sing.
Once pies go in the oven,
those birds can, and do, take wing.
When pies are mere ideas,
even then I pooh-pooh cakes.
Not every lad and lass can boast
an Uncle Sven who bakes.
If Sven won’t don his apron,
then your Sten you’ll need to arm.
No doubt you’ll need to stun Sven only –
not do lethal harm.
When piemen choose to shun their duties,
you’ve no option but
to force the guy to make a pie.
(With that, this case is shut.)


     Wolaly From Top > Toe

How short’s your trip from top > toe...?
’Tis but a single step you go.


     Words > Rules (A Wolalial Hommage a Steven Pinker)

From wormholes wet wake wool-webb’d words
which wend their way from well-walk’d wards.
Wing’d wizards wave their wicked wands.
Their wish, while wintry weather wanes…?
They wish that waters wind up wines,
with which, as well with witches’ wiles,
weird wanderlust within us riles.
(We can't wait, Pinker, for your rules.)


     Wolalia Musica

It’s very old,
my antique oud.
You’d throw it out…?
Some nut be you’d.
(The net’s where
new ouds are pursued.)

Xmas in March

     Here are 26 winter-holiday-themed adonics drawn from text fragments associated with the season and paired to form a stanza, the lines of which deliver (via these randomly generated juxtapositions and with the occasional aid of added punctuation) a series of somewhat eccentric images not usually associated with Little Lord Jesus's natal celebration -- witness the fairly  straightforward "Eight maids a-milkin' Frosty the Snowman" and "Moon on the breast of Nine ladies dancing." Or "Car'ls bein' sung by Donder 'n' Blitzen" -- a favorite of the author. The remaining lines offer more murky visions (or more poetic ones, depending on your enthusiasm for modern poetry) but all seem provocative. What do you think?


All thro’ the house…? Not Balthazar, Gaspar.
Car’ls bein’ sung by Donder ‘n’ Blit-zen.
Eight maids a-milkin’ Frosty the Snowman.
Gift of the Maji Hopes that Saint Nichol’.
In dulce jubi Jingle bells, jingle.
Kerchief and I in Let it snow, let it!
Moon on the breast of Nine ladies dancing.
O Tannenbaum, O Peace, sleep in heaven.
Quelle est cette odeur Rudolph the red-nos’d.
Stille nacht, heilig Tots with their eyes all.
Up on the housetop Visions of sugar.
-Way in a manger ‘X’ back in ‘Xmas’.
Yule log cake (buche deZnarodzenI’pa!

Losts & Founds: An ABC

     The Lost Ark Careless Hebrews lost the Ark  but Jones, a gentile, found it --  along with half a dozen nasty  Nazis runnin' 'ro...