Preface
As regular visitors to PlaysWell are aware, the original "Berracuda" couplet appearing in the "Poissons of Interest" series ran as follows:
"Ask'd to i.d. baseball's Buddha,
Yanks yell, "Yogi Berracuda!"
It proved but the work of a moment for friend-of-the blog GR, long an authority on America's national pastime, to conclude that surely it must be famed Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench who would and should be the more accurate choice as baseball's Buddha, even if understandably non-impartial Yankee fans were the respondents polled.
GR's comment, submitted in a nonsense versification featuring a delightful pun on 'Bench' and references to Bench's Reds club and his position as catcher, though somewhat metrically irregular -- a trait issuing, no doubt, from his post-modern approach to poetry -- appeared to encapsulate his conclusion.
Red-legged scofflaw
Caught red-handed.
Johnny Bench Warrant*
Soon to be remanded.
* In a later communication with the editors, GR offered 'Benchmark' as an improving substitution for 'Bench Warrant.' The editors are currently awaiting responses from regular readers of the blog before declaring the substitution official.
In the meantime, Ulysses Poe, author of the "Poissons of Interest" series, has created an entirely new take on 'Berracuda,' for which see below:
Ask'd to i.d. line-caught food, a
Yank* yells, "Yogi Berracuda!"
* A later communication from Poe wonders whether 'Basque,' as substituted for 'Yank,' in addition to having the merit of partially rhyming with the 'Ask'd' of the opening line, significantly widens the universe of the couplet -- as well as drawing attention to the noted expertise of Basque fishermen.
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| "Berracuda" charcoal pencil on copy paper, digitally modified, by the author |
