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Friday, August 27, 2021

The Abecedarial Adventures of Hyram & Lowell (Past)

Hyram’s aceing a test. Lowell’s testing an ace.
He runs fliers he tries through a three-legged race.
 
Hyram’s booking new cooks. Lowell’s cooking the books
His report’s deemed ill- (-egible, -egal) – by crooks!
 
Hyram’s counting the dogs. Lowell’s dogging the Count.
He tracks vampires and ghouls on his Lipizzan mount.
 
Hyram’s ducking a plane. Lowell’s planing a duck.
First he peels off its eider, bypassing the chuck.
 
Hyram ends with a bang. Lowell’s bang’d up the end
of a Volkswagen Beetle he bought off a friend.
 
Hyram’s flying the coop. Lowell coops up the flies
he extracts from an octogenarian’s eyes.
 
Hyram’s guarding the eggs. Lowell’s egging the guard
who requested his papers at new Scotland Yard.
 
Hyram’s holding the line. Lowell’s lining the hold
of his cheese-laden ship, thereby stemming the mould.
 
Hyram’s inking the press. Lowell’s pressing the ink,
a gall wrung from squash’d octopi. (Why, do you think…?)
 
Hyram’s judging a paste. Lowell’s pasting a judge
with a nickel-filled condom. (Hy will hold a grudge.)
 
Hyram’s junking a post. Lowell’s posting his junk.
Look who’s liked him on Facebook! (The man is no monk.)
 
Hyram’s kneading the bread. Lowell’s breading his knee.
(He dusts elbows with cake crumbs as well. He’s too twee.)
 
Hyram’s leaving his post. Lowell’s posting his leaves,
fronds he mails to a pen pal for stems he receives.
 
Hyram’s milking a bee. Lowell’s “being the milk.”
(He admires method actors and folk of that ilk.)
 
Hyram’s nursing his paw. Lowell’s pawing his nurse.
(Once she’s emptied his bed pan he’ll rifle her purse.)
 
Hyram orders the plaice. Lowell places an order
for heuvos rancheros at South o’ the Border.
 
Hyram’s pumping the iron. Lowell’s ironing the pump.
When sufficiently flat, it’s removed to the dump.
 
Hyram’s queering the deal. Lowell’s dealing the queer
nowt but deuces and treys. (Himself...? Aces, I fear.)
 
Hyram’s running a race. Lowell’s racing the runs.
Will he get to the loo before soiling his buns...?
 
Hyram’s salting a wound. Lowell’s wounding a salt –
jabbing jolly Jack Tar, though ‘twas nowt Jackie’s fault.
 
Hyram’s tying the knot. Lowell’s knotting the tie
he employs to destroy kittens. (Turn a blind eye!)
 
Hyram utters a note. Lowell’s noting an udder:
“Your sow’s teat’s too huge!” Lowell’s o’erheard to mutter.
 
Hyram’s voting for change. Lowell’s changing his vote.
He’s electing a train with a gravy-fill’d boat.
 
Hyram’s wining his date. Lowell’s dating his wine.
He pretends to pour Dom Perignon ’89.
 
Hyram x-rays the loo. Lowell loses the x-ray
revealing what dinosaur elbows and necks weigh.
 
Hyram’s yanking your chain. Lowell’s chaining your Yank.
(As to which state your Yank’s from I’m drawing a blank.)
 
Hyram zones through a play. Lowell plays through a zone.
(Once his dribble improves, he’ll be fa-a-a-ar better known.)

Hey-...-Day! (Past)

The Met and Dicapo were places Pete's
people hung,
thinking they'd sing in The Ring of the
Nibelung --
highly unlikely for lads with one
feeble lung:
hey-diddle-doodle-dah-day.
 
She diets, does Blossom i.e., dear friend
Dearie. 
She nibbles on kibbles, though's grown "lo-cal"
weary. 
Full-fill’d, she'll be bill’d as Brünnhilde, Val-
kyrie: 
what say...? Diddle-doodle-dah-day…?
 
Lot (a lot!) learns the hard way: to trust neither
ears nor eyes.
This much Lot's certain of: Monday the
sun will rise --
surely as God’s in His heaven and all’s…
Surprise!!
Vay! Diddle-doodle-dah-day!
 
Anne's as avid for anklets as Manon
Lescaut. 
Some would say Anne's a wacko (more 'WAC' -- if
less '-ko'). 
Still, if gab is of gold, she'll shill. "For it
let’s go! 
What the...hey! Diddle-doodle-dah-day!"

Dial D for Doily! (Unpub)

Angelina Djoilie
 
"Doilin' Banjos"
 
The Camaldoileese monks 
 
Salvador Doily
 
Samson and Doililah.
 
Doodyville denizen Dilly Doilly
 
Elton’s "...like a candoily in the sun... "
 
Doilly Madison
 
Flat Foot Floogie (with the Floy Floy) -- "...floy doyly, floy doyly, floy doyly, floy doy..."
 
langues d'oc, langues d'oui and langues d'oily.
 
Sir Arthur Conan Doylie
 
"Don't touch that dialy!"
 
”Give us this doi our doily bread..."
 
Kingston Trio's "Hang Down Your Head, Tom Doiley"
 
I's for Ingmar Bergman's cinema classic "Through a Glass Doily"
 
"The Doily Show"
 
and for Kosher Doill Pickles ("Doi, they're tangy!").
 
The Doili Lama (possibly a namesake but never a host of "The Doily Show"
 
Macbeth's Three Weird Sisters -- "Double, double: doily trouble!"
 
The New York Doily News
 
FDR's New Doil.
 
Popeye's girlfriend Olive d'O'ylie
 
Oily d'Oilay.
 
Doilly Parton.
 
Since 11/22/63, Dallas's comparatively quiet Doily Plaza.
 
Ex-U.S. Congressional Representative and convicted felon Tom Doiláy
 
Irish author Roddy Doyley
 
Royaly Rogers and Doilie Evans
 
Solfege syllables: doi, lee, mi, fa, sol, la...
 
The Sweet Adoilines.
 
The Idoillys of the King.
 
Land Oi'Laykes, the Butter People.
 
"Ach doi lieber, Augustin" 
 
Richard D'Oylie Carte
 
"Guys and Doills" doill: Miss Adoilaide.
 
Women's Wear Doily.
 
Señor Jaime Hermanos Ximenes, obscure Spanish matador -- Doilé! 
 
Robert (doh!) E. Lee.
 
"Yo-doi-lay-dhee-hoo..." of famed Belgian yodeler Bobbejaan Schoepen,
 
James Herriot's beautiful Yorkshire Doils.
 
Zabar's Doilycatesssan, on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

A Dozen Hebrew VIPs (11)

Moe Thumb-Harrier,
     the Jewish Polygamist/Screwball Comedy Enthusiast
Juan "Moe" Thyme,
     the Jewish Latin-American Jazz Band Leader
Moe Therroff-Alwarz,
     the Jewish Middle East Conflict Historian
Moe (“Hughie D’Moe”) Ewe-Toote,
     the Jewish Legume Farmer/Flatulence Maven
Moe V. Reeve-Hughes,
     the Jewish Film Critic
Moe (“Ving”) Targette,
     the Jewish Sharpshooter
Farr Lee "Moe" Watt,
     the Jewish Environmentalist
Moe Xie,
     the Chinese-Jewish Enthusiasm Enthusiast
Moe Mo Ya,
     the Dyslexic Jewish Cellist
Moe Ceasar Long,
     the Wandering Jewish Cowhand
Moe "(Sam") Beake,
     the Jewish Beachcomber
Moe Zarella,
     the Jewish Cheese Merchant

Twelve Mo’e Moes A Dozen Hebrew VIPs (11)

Moe Wren-Gaye, 
     the Jewish Latin Dance Instructor
Moe Ritt-Tania, t
     the Jewish Failed Ship Captain
Moe Skode, 
     the Jewish Cryptographer  
Moe Shunne-DeNyde,
     the Jewish Trial Judge
Moe Skah-Telle,
     the Jewish Bowery Liquor Store Manager
Kee "Moe" Saahbi,
     the Chinese Jewish Masked Rider of the Plains
Moe Scale,
     the Jewish Mineralogist
Moe "Stappy" Pheller,
     the Jewish Musical Lyricist
Moe Towne,
     the Jewish R&B Backup Singer
Moe Tellzicks, 
     the Jewish Low-Budget Innkeeper
Sir Ho "Moe" 
Stelle,
     the Knighted Chinese-Jewish Character Actor
Moe Tenswing,
    the Jewish Band Leader

Periodiotic Table (Past)

 
     Some molecules don't occur in nature.
 

No  Mo : Molecular Extinction  
 
Re  Al   Al  Es : Molecular Renaissance
 
S  H  Uut  Uup : Molecular Pence  
 
Ta  K  Es   No  K  Ra  P : Molecular Ilhan  
 
S  Te  P  He  N : Molecular Colbert
 
Co  Ca  Co  La : Molecular Cavities
 
    Te : Molecular Democarcy
 
Er  In : Molecular Isle
 
O  P  Ra  H : Molecular Extravagance
 
Cl  Au  S : Molecular Elf
 
Am  Er  I  Ca : Molecular Fruited Plain
 
La  Dy  Ga  Ga : Molecular Fruit(ed) Loop 
 
Fe  Ar : Molecular GOP
 
Ni  *  *  Er : Molecular Klan
 
La  La  La  Nd : Molecular Hollywood 
 
W  O  Nd  Er : Molecular Motown
 
Li  Ar  Li  Ar : Molecular Drumpf
 
Dy  No  M  I  Te : Molecular Nobel
 
Y  Es  He  Ca  N : Molecular Barack
 
W  In  F  Re  Y : Molecular Obesity
 
Ba  Ra  C  K : Molecular Obama
 
No  Re  Pu  B  Li  Ca  N  S : Molecular Eden
 
Pa  Li   N : Molecular Soccermom

C  He  Er  S : Molecular Local
 
Al  S  H  Ar  Pt  O  N : Molecular Rev
 
Ba  Be  Ru  Th : Molecular Sultan
 
C  H  I  C  Ag  O : Molecular Big Shoulders
 
Si  Si  Se  No  Ra : Molecular Tijuana
 
S   La   In   Te : Molecular Cheers
 
In  V  In  O : Molecular Veritas
 
H  Am  Pt  O  N : Molecular Vibes
 
O  C  Cu  P  Y : Molecular Wall Street
 
P  Ar  K  Er : Molecular Bird
 
Mo   Th    Er : Molecular Zappa

A Derived Wolaly (Past)

      The Word Ladder "Deep>Time": 

deep>deer>
deem>teem>team>
teal>deal>
veal>vial>dial>
dual>dull>
mull>mule>mile>
tile>time

     For the original Wolaly "Deep>Time"
see post for August 26 below.

     The Wolaly "Deep>Time" N+1 
using Thesaurus.com

'Broad b'low blue-green baldachin,
ungulates -- pair'd hares, a yearling -- 'rrive 

Allow'd in crisis be this ternary:
brims this jungle with, attend,
clubs of chasers, passion-clear.

Azure, tinge allaying angst:
may't hand but something small to all's morale.

     (a work in progress)
 

Thursday, August 26, 2021

Gamuts Two or From Aback to Zed (Past)

From aback to ahead, astir to abed.
From hang'd to beheaded, garrotted to bled.
From an Irish goodbye in James Joyce's The Dead
to a "Caed mille failte" (IF "caed" rhym'd with "ped-").
 
From cash to cred. From nun to coed.
From "Alive...it's alive!" to "I’m better off dead!"
From House to Ed. From daring to dread.
From The Conqueror, William to "-ward (the) VIII(th), Ed-."
 
From famish’d to fed, extract to imbed.
From Lucy and Desi to Ethel and Fred.
From stood pat to fled, Nikkei to the Fed.
From G. B. Shaw's "ghoti" to Sgt. Jim's "ghled."
 
From toenail to head. From "too" to instead."
From Coal Miner's Daughter to Ballade of Jed.
From pure to inbred. From Nike to Ked.
From a morning ashore to two weeks at Club Med.
 
From followed to fled. From silver to lead.
From informed to mislead. From acquired to misread.
From Tia Maria to Great Uncle Ned.
From "-tigone" (An-) to "the King, -ipus" (Oed-).
 
From Math to Phys Ed., poppadom to shortbread.
From a mood indigo to a fire engine red.
From cross file to shred. From skateboard to sled.
From oleo to "the expensiver spread."
 
From whispered to said. From slowed down to sped.
From atque to sed. From halyard to thread.
From "Empty your pockets!" to "Move right ahead!"
From a slap on the wrist to a trip to the shed.
 
From hitched to unwed. From remanded to pled.
From Aethelbald to Aethelraed the Unraed.
From Chita's Chihuahua to Sam's Samoyed.
From A, B through N, O, P, Q, R...
 
                                                ...to Zed!

Three Exquisite Limericks (Past)

There’s this guy, do-or-die: Bernie Sanders.
Pumpkin pie, ham on rye, Peter panders.
Mervyn Peake, so to speak.
Wednesday week, hide-‘n’-seek.
Please stand by, eye for eye, geese for ganders.
 
Wrote this man, cheek of tan, Don DeLillo.
Spic ‘n’ Span, Ku Klux Klan, cigarillo.
Come to grief, twelve-mile reef.
Are you “deef”…? Where’s the beef…?
Or, to pan the Qur’an: “Armadillo!”
 
‘Twas this bloke, country folk, Raul Julia.
Pig-in-poke, Roanoke. (Would I fool ya…?)
“Over There,” share ‘n’ share.
Truth or dare, braid the hair.
Take a toke, have a soak, halleluljah!

The 12 Dates of Xmas Pageant (Past)

In twelfth place is Ms. d’Ruhmer Struhmann,
formerly a nun.
In eleventh…? Lourdes-Lee Pinne.
(Twelfth’s the best Pinne's ever done.)
     In tenth place…? Piper Spigh-Penn.
Just to enter’s been her prayer.
In ninth place…? Lady Stanzing.
She’s got somethin’ on the mayor.
     In eighth place…? Maye d’Zamilkin.
Maye’s placed eighth the last eight years.
In seventh place…? The Swanzas women.
(Please hold down the jeers!)
     In sixth place…? Geisha Laine.
Is Geisha not a pretty girl...?
In fifth place…? Golda Rinques.
She's vow’d to “give this match a whirl.”
     In fourth…? Cal (“Inga”) Bertz:
“To be a nominee’s enough.”
In third…? Fran Chence,
who, this year, is competing in the buff.
     In second place…? Ms. Tyrdle-Duffs.
And now, the env’lope, please:
It’s Anna Pahrd! Regina Peartree!
Tied for VIPs!*
 
     * Victors-In-Pageant

Twinkle, Twinkle (A Crambo) (Past)

 
Twinkle, twinkle, little crambo!
Sing a little, crambo’d star!
Regale me: tales with tails in '-ambo' --
ala Mary's little lambo --
naming names containing ‘-ar.’
 
Rales deliver from your ambo!
(Alcazar and Roseanne Barr.)
Sing bamboo (which you’ll term ‘bambo’)!
Bring it! Bam, bam, thank you, ma’ambo!
(Vicki Carr, the DAR.)
 
Chowders – fish ‘n’ corn ‘n’ clambo.
(Escobar, Felicia Farr.)
Dawdle – no one gives a damnbo!
Skip I shall your next exambo.
(Terri Garr.) …-dee-hardee-har-r-r-r…
 
Light the night with waxen’d flambeau!
Blind Pew, Long John Silver. (“Har-r-r-r…”)
Stuff once spun by Gramp ‘n’ Grambo:
songs of spiral-slicéd hambo,
(Izh -- the car. Abdul Jabbar.)
 
Measure dactyl and iambo!
(Kilobar ‘n’ Lobular.)
Let’s get down; let’s have a jambo!
Not no gram: a kilogrambo!
(Mallomar and Nebular.)
 
Don’t dare take it on the lambo!
(Ottokar the First. Jack Paar.)
It takes two to do the mambo…
more to clobber Viet Nambo,
(Quigley’s Bar. “Au Reservoir!”)
 
Shun ocarina, oud and oboe!
(Streetcars named "Tsar’s Underw’ar.")
Lull me sleepwards in my prambo!
Blam…? No: quiet! (Thank you, ma’ambo.)
(Vinegar and Wunderbar.)
 
Sing in rhymes the climes of Rambo,
(XAR and Babi Yar.)
Songs of PC’d Blak-lived Sambo…?
I don’t give a tinker’s damnbo.
Do your worst, O crambo’d star!
 
Wrap yourself in Uncle Sambo,
(Babi Yar and Zonular.)
Gently – no hydraulic rambo.
Should you mention Viet Nambo,
I’ll not wonder what you are.
 
Twinkle, twinkle, little crambo!
You’re for sure a crambo’d star!
Nailing tales with tails in ‘-ambo’ --
marinara’d leg o’ lambo --
gaming names that end in ‘-ar.’

Comet Relief (For GFH) (Past)

Which comet kill’d the dinosaurs…? 
That’s Chicxulub, so-call’d.
(Comet Ci Come' Ca’s the one 
did in the unenthrall’d.)
     Which one’s the killer comet 
with which rogues identify…?
That’s Comet to My Parlor 
Said the Spider to the Fly.
     Which comet kill’d the cowboys…? 
Comet Ti-Yi-Yippee-Yay.
Which comet kill’d the Frenchmen…? 
Comet Allez-vous, okay…?
     Which comet kill’d the Hindus…? 
Comet Sutra; that's the one.
Which comet kill’d the dilettantes…? 
No comet! (Are we done…?)  

Another Deep Time (11)

     The Word Ladder "Deep>Time": 

(deep>deer>
deem>teem>team>
teal>deal>
veal>vial>dial>
dual>dull>
mull>mule>mile>
tile>time)

     The Wolaly "Deep>Time": 
 
Deep 'neath teal-toned canopies,
deer -- two doe, a fawn -- appear.

Deem'd in danger be the three: 
teems this forest with, I hear,
teams of huntsmen, pity-free.

May teal, a hue for calming fear,
deal quelque chose to alls' esprit.

Veal o'er venison: which be,
with vials -- more: magnitudes! -- of beer,
on dials of savory strike top key...?*

Dual carnes, jus'd or sere, 
dull tongues' taste buds, all agree.

Mull on this, as well, my dear:
mule's of tang no apogee,
nor mile I'd walk for camel, clear...?

O'er tile or t'rrazzo...? Never, me!
"Time," still, "will tell," doth Lucky** sneer.

     * Number 11, perhaps...? 
     ** A character appearing in Beckett's 
"Waiting for Godot."

     For a Wolaly derived from this one using 
a variant of the N+1 technique pioneered by 
the OuLiPo, see post for August 27 above.





Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Homo Faber ala Gorey (11)

A is for Algernon makin' amends.
Barb's makin' bail for her flutter-prone friends.
Chet's makin' coffee: five sugars, two creams.
Doris makes do, although just in her dreams.
Ed makes the effort; Ed’s makin' ends meet.
Fred makes no friends makin' fuss in the street.
Gordon makes good: Gordo’s makin' the grade.
Hannah makes haste. Amscray, girl! It’s a raid!
I’s for Ignatius; Ig makes it look simple.
Job makes a joke, in his polka dot wimple.
Kimball makes kaka for Kitty, his sitter.
Lulu makes love; she’s borne many a litter.
Matt makes the most of his bein' an elf.
Nell's makin' nowt but a name for herself.
Ozzy makes off with your purse; Oz makes out.
Pat's makin' pastry – puff pastry, no doubt.
Queenie made quite a display Friday night.
Rick’s made it clear: his two wrongs make a right.
Sinead makes me sick makin' sausage from offal.
Teddy makes trouble; Ted’s awf’lly unlawful.
Ursula’s made up her mind once for all.
Vincent, as ump, makes a very bad call.
Will's makin' waves making whoopee offshore.
Xaviera makes ‘xtra. (Men always want more.)
Yan makes me crazy, though's often my hero.
Zorba subtracts one from one, makin' zero.

Drumpf's Base! (11)

One hears of Drumpf’s base
all over the place.
They hold views which Fake News
keeps reprisin.’
Are they call’d ‘base’ for cause…?
Do they scoff at our laws…?
Are they classified ‘base’
for some reason…?
 
Are they viciously vile…?
Are they so infantile
as to run over foes
with their cars…?
Do they swastikas scrawl
on each synagogue wall…?
Do they worship the stars 
and the bars…?
 
Are they I.Q. impair’d…?
Don’t they know Drumpf is merde…?
Why’d they stomp on stuff
formerly cherish’d…?
If they think all’s a plot
and they don’t get their shot,
will they die, nor know why
their lot perish’d…?

Oy, Vay!: Even Mo' Moes (11)

Moe “Nichola” Winn-Skee, 
     the Jewish Crossdressing Congressional Aide
Moe O’Loess, 
     the Irish-Israeli Estimator
Moe P. Moode, 
     the Jewish Depressive
Moe Pedd, 
     the Jewish Recreational Cyclist
Moe Q. Mentry, 
     the Jewish Satirist/Filmmaker
Morrie Ayrty,
     the Jewish Napoleon of Crime  
Morrie Tott,
     the Jewish Funeral Music Arranger
Moe Rass, 
     the Jewish Crisis Management Executive
Moe "Rat" O'Reeyum, 
     the Jewish Economist
Moe "Ray" Yeel, 
     the Jewish Oceanographer
Moe Ronique, 
     the Jewish Phrenologist
Moe "Ray" Knee, 
     the Jewish Transvestite Blues Singer

Christmas Day: A Mare Egg...

     "A Mare Egg, Her Wrist, "Miss Two 'U'"