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Thursday, February 2, 2023

The Rubaiyaketyÿak of Rabid Rebel Ribald Robin Rublev-Ryback

     Syllables composed of r+vowel(s)+b kick off all words providing material for 
this new lyric. 'Rubai' is pronounced as three syllables (roo-BAH-ee). 'Poem' is 
correctly pronounced as one or two syllables depending upon the dialect of the
pronouncer. (N.B.: it can be pronounced either way in the first line below.) In 
addition to the one or several vowels positioned between the r and the b of each 
key word, an h can position there as well. In Edward FitzGerald's translation of 
Omar Khayyam's poem, lines one, two and four of each four-line verse rhyme -- 
AABA. In Ribald Robin's parody, the pattern is ABCB. The meters of the two  
poems differ completely, though the number of stanzas in each is the same, i.e., 32.

     I 
Rubai be the Persian poem. 
Ribeye be the steak.
Ruby be the gemstone red --
a bleedin' bitch to break.

     II 
Rabbi be the Hebrew teacher. 
Rabies...? The disease.
Robie House...? The house that Wright built. 
(Wrong: 'tweren't wrought by Mies.)

    III 
Rubles be the Rooskie's boodle. 
Rabble...? Bands o' boobs.
Budapest-born Ernö Rubik 
mucks about with cubes.

     IV 
Rabbit (..., Run, ...Is Rich, ...At Rest): 
be best off Updike's shelf. 
Rabindranath Tagore wrote, too. 
(That dude outdid himself.)

     V 
"Ribbit!" be the froggy's call. 
Robb'ry be the crime.
Robey's calling...? Music Hall...
in Good King Bertie's* time.
          * Great Britain's King Edward VII. N.B.: 'Bertie' is a reverse "r+vowel (s)+b"-initialed word.

     VI 
Ribbons grace Milady's gowns. 
Reuben's in the Bible.
Robots soon shall rule the world -- 
at least, one from their tribe'll.

     VII 
Rubber rooms be spaces safe
which house poor folk with special needs.
Rubble...? All that's left of houses
after Mount St. Helens bleeds.
 
     VIII 
Rabe be much like broccoli. 
Rube's the country boor.
Rub ribbings in, "The joke's on you." 
Rebels lose their war.

     IX 
Ribosomes inhabit cells. 
Rubrics...? Red as shirts.*
("I trust these rhymes don't rub thee wrong," 
wry Ribald Robin blurts.)
     * Ala Italian patriot Garibaldi's iconic scarlet garb.

     X 
Rabelais...? That gate's* so-o-o great 
(though never ate a taco).
Rebecca drowns in Daphne's book. 
Rabat be in Morocco.
     * Jazz slang for a swinger: Satchmo was a gate.

     XI 
Rayburn...? Congress office building. 
Ray-Bans "ban them rays."
Rebuses be puzzles 
whose solutions take three days.
          
     XII 
Ray Brown swings -- a gate as well
the fella married Ella!).
Another term for German measles...? 
Might you mean 'Rubella'...?

     XIII 
Rube, whose surname's 'Goldberg,' 
engineer'd bizarre cartoons.
Reuben be the sandwich 
one must ne'er consume with spoons.

     XIV 
Rhombuses* sport equal sides (four!) -- 
yep, they're quadrilat'ral.
Reborn bros be birth'd...again (!) 
(It all seems most unnat'ral.)
     * The Editor elects to allow 'r(hom)bus' as either occupying one modified subset of "r+vowel(s)+b"-type words or as a sort of clinamen in the sense of a rule-proving exception.

     XV 
Rabwah lies in Asia; 
'tis a Pakistani town.
Reboot...? Just one of stuff what's done 
when one's old Dell goes down.

     XVI 
Rabat remains that seaport* 
on Morocco's northwest coast.
Rarebit's the gourmet you get 
when melted cheese tops toast.
     * Cf verse ten above, which mention here reprises.

     XVII
Rubirosa really loved 
the chicks and cars...and chicks.
Rabin...? But one more victim 
of Israeli politics.

     XVIII 

Ribbentrop...? Foul diplomat. 
Reebok be the shoe.
'Rubensque' be, frankly, fat -- 
though not near vast comme vous.

     XIX

A rebec-playing goatherd croons 
to Sancho and the Don.
(Or were it the antique rebab 
that poet play'd upon.)

     XX

Mnemonic'lly, 'Roy Biv' sans G  
prompts colors of the spectrum.
Rebozo  be Dick Nixon's BFF;
he help'd elect 'im.

     XXI

Rebecca cultivates the farm.*
(Does rhubarb Becca grow there...?)
Puts Robinson to Friday post
encount'rin' him, "Hello, there."
     * Sunnybrook Farm in the children's novel.

     XXII 

In Rey Bridge (The of San Luis) 
T. Wilder tells us all.
Rub-rub-a dub'...? Some oral hooey
like to 'folderol.'

     XXIII
Roebuck be the male of deers
once dominatin' Europe.
Roebuck also pal'd with Sears
to peddle soap 'n' syrup.

     XXIV

Robespierre riled up the rabble:
ev'ryone knows that.
The robe, as made of fabric,
makes it quite unlike the hat.

     XXV

'Rehab' be an "r+v+b" word;
'Arby's' ain't.
Neither be 'Barack' or 'Arbus.'
(One, though, was a saint.) 

     XXVI

Roblox be the online game.
Raab the British pol.
Rabbiteyes be berries blue.
Rabczewska's* quite the doll.
     * Polish singer known as Doda.

     XXVII

Rebar keeps the concrete strong.
Rebhühns...? Birds. (Unless I'm wrong.)
Rebis forms be dual, double.
(Where've you been...? Inside some bubble...?)

     XXVIII

Rubidium's the alkali.
'Rubato' slows the music down.
Who'd cross the Rubicon...? Not I.
Why not...? The Robocop's in town.

     XXIX

Robur be The Conqueror,
according to Jules Verne.
Robie be the jewel thief,
but he's gone straight, we learn.

     XXX
Ireland's Castle Rheban
must on no count be confused
with the Tasman Sea's port Rheban. 
Of such thoughts be disabused!

     XXXI 
Indeed, 're-' buttin' any word 
initial'd with a b
must qualify as fodder 
for my pot of poetry...

     XXXII
     ...while 'Rybakov''s just one 
of "r+v+b"-type names...
(But let's adjourn before my t(o)urn-de-farce 
goes up in flames.)
                                     -- Rab. Reb. Rib. Rob. Rub.-Ryb.

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