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.
