The 23 Prompts
Babar, Banjo, Barrymore, Our Leader, Cyrano, The Dong,
Hope, Kovalyov, The Maid, Mehmet, Pinocchio, Rudolph,
The Tengu, Tony, Tycho, Barbra, Karl, Adrien, The Babe,
Al-Shabazz, Honest Abe, Auda Abu Tayi & Marsh
The 23 Stanzas
Kangas 'n' joeys, kangas 'n' joes;
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Ngaio Marsh -- one Queen of Crime: a very big nose.
Heart...? Full kiwi.* Artful...? Oui, oui! Fav'rite of Poe's --
that's Uly, not E. Allan, he of "Quoth...'Nevermo's.'"
* Born in New Zealand
Obscure 'n' expose, obscure 'n' expose;
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Honest Abe ("Th' Nose")*...? He has a very big nose --
one of 'n' by 'n' for the people, whites or negroes --
like folks from Upper Grosnez: something sim'lar to those.
* Note that "Th' Nose" is an anagram for "Honest."
Kabukis 'n' Nohs, Kabukis 'n' Nohs:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Barbra Streisand stars as Brice -- and Fanny's big nose
(snout, bill, muzzle, snoot, horn, honker...any of those).
Barb strikes a pose in lots of those old Follies of Flo's.*
*Impressario Ziegfeld
Dextrose 'n' maltose 'n' some other '-ose':
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
"Babe" (George Herman Ruth)...? He has a very big nose --
homage 'tis to Dimaggio's -- not Vince's but Joe's.
(Whose beak's more burly...? That I surely cannot disclose.)
Ciaos 'n' alohas, goodbyes 'n' hellos:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Al-Shabazz, my grosbeak, has a very big nose.
Immense...? You bet -- as grosbeak etymology shows.
And though it fits, I doubt if it's a label he chose.
Angela Merkle's 'n' Justin Trudeau's:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
The Brody known as Adrien...? A very big nose,
which beak he busted. (Rats!) But trust me: that's how it goes,
it's breaks like those that make for psychological lows.
Sunthin' fer nothin,' much less quid pro quos:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?:
Malden has an extraordinar'ly big nose.
Karl's cast as Streetcar's last (but one) of Blanche DuBois' beaus.
(Some say Karl's nose resembles fledermaus embryos.)
Ringlets 'n' thinglets 'n' buttons 'n' bows:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Whiteside sidekick Banjo has a very big nose.
As limn'd by Jim Durante, Banjo stays. (And he goes.)
Once Sheldon's mute (or "mummified"...?), Banj -- hat-in-hand -- blows.
Thaw'd 'n' refroze, thaw'd 'n' refroze:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Nikolai's Kovalyov* has a very big nose.
He lost it late one ev'ning in eleventh-hour doze,
but recover'd it days later, back in place, as he rose.
* Gogol's protagonist in his story The Nose.
Aboves 'n' belows, aboves 'n' belows:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
The Dong's long Learic song depicts * a very big nose
deploy'd to heal a void plus its concomitant throes.
(She gave the shove to Dong, her love -- so Lear's lyric goes.
* Putting the lie to an idea that a person can't depict another person's nose.
Rescinds 'n' bestows, rescinds 'n' bestows:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Jean de Bunhoff’s Babar has a very big nose.
It’s long; it's wrinkly...and distinctly mirrors a hose.
(These nares King Babar shares with sundry sisters and bros.)
Catches 'n' throws, catches 'n' throws:
so, who in the world has the world's bigget nose...?
Collodi’s faux*, Pinocchio...? A very big nose.
And when that youngster tells a lie, my, my, how it grows.
(Although he tries to hide it, it inev’tably shows.)
* A puppet, a false boy, and ersatz child.
Forwards 'n' fros, forwards 'n' fros:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Cyrano de Bergerac...? Another big nose.
Rostand’s verse play about him may be render'd in prose.
Cyr celebrates panache, sine qua non of his clothes.
Incendies 'n' eaus, incendies 'n' eaus:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Nabob reindeer Rudolph...? Also: very big nose.
It functions like a headlamp, proving key when it snows.
(I’d say it glows, but that's the meme which Autry bestows.)
Hustlers 'n' 'ho's, hustlers 'n' 'ho's:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Crooner Tony Bennett has a very big nose.
When someone chose "BananaNose" to slur him, he froze.
(Still, such a vis might trigger his success, I suppose.)
Aces 'n' Lowe's, Aces 'n' Lowe's:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
“Mehmet Özyürek has a very big nose,”
insists my Guinness Record Book; now everyone knows.
(Plus, Google has a pic which this affliction well shows.)
Poems 'n' prose, poems 'n' prose:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
The Maid who sparks that Sixpence Song...? She had a big nose
then gets it snatch'd, detach'd by one of sev'ral black crows
which clip it, snip it off while she stands hanging out clothes.
Columns 'n' rows, columns 'n' rows:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Barrymore's one actor with a very big nose.
As from a fons the spiels of John's flow: John's most verbose.
(What's also true's John's thing for booze turns JB's nose rose.
Unfastens 'n' sews, unfastens 'n' sews:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Tengu bear (who's unaware...?), each one, a big nose,
a long 'n' red bequest ('tis said) of ravens 'n' crows --
most apropos (though 'apropos' ain't voiced 'apropoze').
Fingers 'n' toes, fingers 'n' toes:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Denmark's Tycho Brahe has a very big nose.
One night his view espies a supernova which glows
so brightly it electrifies him down to his toes.
Porc'lets 'n' veaus, porc'lets 'n' veaus:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
In Woody's Sleeper film, Our Leader has a big nose.
When nowt survives (thought nose still thrives), some medical pros
are task'd to knit a clone from it. (We know how that goes.)
Deese, dem 'n doze; deese, dem 'n' doze:
so, who in da woild has da woild's biggest nose...?
Auda Abu Tayi has a very big nose.
To Howeitati people "like a river he flows."
(Portray'd by Tony Quinn, he'd doubtless note how it grows.
Alphas 'n' rhos, alphas 'n' rhos:
so, who in the world has the world's biggest nose...?
Crosby cohort Hope...? Bob has a very big nose.
It isn't bobb'd, though...more a blue-square ski slope sans snows.
(D'ya s'pose, perhaps, I should collapse these lines as I close...?)
