Tag Archives: Silly Poems

“Feeling Vegetal” for Let’s Hit Rewind

This is what I wrote in my blog 10 years ago on this date. The prompt that day was “Vegetal” and this was the definition given: of or relating to that pole of the ovum or embryo that contains the less active cytoplasm, and frequently most of the yolk, in the early stages of development. “vegetal cells” But, I rather suspected it could also have another definition.  I was right, so:

Feeling Vegetal
You’re talking about ovum, embryo and yolk?
This early in the morning? I think that it’s a joke.
I thought that I’d collected every word to do my bidding,
but I’ve never heard this word before. Vegetal? You’re kidding.
Biology was never my favorite class in college,
so I guess it must have sort of limited my knowledge.
But now I know that vegetal means relating to plants,
I’m sure I’ll use it widely—every time I have the chance.
My grocery cart? Most vegetal, now that I’m on a diet.
My garden very vegetal, I see as I walk by it.
And if I get lazy, just sitting on my bum,
I’ll say “I’m feeling vegetal” to all my friends who come
to pull me out to walk or dance or just exit my door.
“Vegetal” is a handy word. Have you any more?

Initial Diaper Duty for “Cracking Open the Time Capsule, Sept. 24”

From nine years ago yesterday! Oops.. I missed posting yesterday for “Cracking Open the Time Capsule.”

Initial Diaper Duty

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New fathers often balk at tampering
with their newborn’s inaugural Pampering.
But though he’d rather be out boozing,
He’d better learn, ‘cuz Mommy’s snoozing.

The prompt today was pamper.

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3 thoughts on “Initial Diaper Duty”

Blast from the Past, July 30, 2018

On this date 8 years ago, we were asked to write a Clerihew.  I wrote several, which are below. You can also find a definition of the Clerihew there. Thanks for viewing this Blast from the Past!

lifelessons
lifelessons
•
lifelessons – a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown

 

It may be I will live to rue
the day I wrote each clerihew.
They may invite derisive snorts,
yet here they are with all their warts:

The word is out that Geoffrey Chaucer
never bothered with a saucer,
for though he raised many a couplet,
he always held them fully uplet!

Some have charged Truman Capote
with writing that is too emotey.
but though he was no macho stud,
I know that he wrote in cold blood.A clerihew has the following properties:

  • It is biographical and usually whimsical, showing the subject from an unusual point of view; it mostly pokes fun at famous people
  • It has four lines of irregular length and metre (for comic effect)
  • The rhyme structure is AABB; the subject matter and wording are often humorously contrived in order to achieve a rhyme, including the use of phrases in Latin, French and other non-English languages[2]
  • The first line contains, and may consist solely of, the subject’s name.

“Elbowing,” for The Three Things Challenge.

Elbowing
One thing about your elbow,
in fact it’s true of each,
Is that by extending them,
you improve your reach.

In fact it’s true of elbows
that each one you entrust
to be fully unfurled
is bound to up your thrust!

Words for the Three Things Challenge are: EACH ELBOW ENTRUST

Heart of the Matter for The Weekend Writing Prompt

Heart of the Matter

My family’s only easygoing when it isn’t moody,
and dealing with the moody times seems to be my duty.
If I were only liberated and in better shape,
I’d clamber out the window and down the fire escape
and find some other people easier to bear,
investigate the wider world and see how I would fare.
The solution to this problem you are likely to construe
if you interview my family, but I hope you never do,
for the truth is that the discord that you otherwise might see
is likely to have vanished when they’re not dealing with me!

 In case you are either related to me or only wondering–-Just kidding, folks!

The Weekend Writing Prompt is “Mood.”

 

Spider on the Ceiling, for MVB, Sept 5, 2025

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Spider on the ceiling, legs evenly spread round,
I can’t help but wonder what keeps you ceiling-bound.
Have you little suction cups welded to each foot,
and if so, has nature adequately put
each one on this spider far above my bed
so it will not disconnect and land upon my head?

For MVB the prompt is “Ceiling.”

“Some Advice for Touchers” for Esther’s Limerick Challenge

Some Advice for Touchers

Most people don’t mind a touch,
and though others may like it too much,
you have learned,  I am hoping,
when it comes to groping,
that no one is fond of a clutch.

 

 

for Esther’s “Laughing Along With a Limerick” Challenge:  Touch

An Apologia for Indolence, For the Sunday Whirl Wordle, June 1, 2025

An Apologia for Indolence

Those beasts that prowl the underworld with claws uncoiled to strike
assume the right to wander anywhere they like.
They thread their ways through canyons, all over the map––
through every twisting river’s course, through every mountain gap.
Stuck tight to their temples are their matted strands of hair.
Masked by tree limbs and tall grasses, they maintain their vigilance where
a hunter or a camper or a homeless, shiftless sort
unschooled in the ways of beasts, chooses to cavort.
Thus do those loved ones vanish who choose to exercise
while at home are resting those of us who are more wise!!!

For The Sunday Whirl Wordle, the words are: prowl beast claws shift strands twists  wander underworld map thread

 

Imposters, for the Sunday Whirl Wordle #678

Imposters

On this moonlit ghoulish night, the wind plays tricks on us.
It spins around our ghostly wraps and makes the vampires cuss
as all the wicked creatures rise up from the dead
to escape from where they’re buried and do what we all dread.
Within the crypts where they’ve been resting, their hearts just barely beating,
they’ve been plotting to impersonate small kids out trick-or-treating.
They’ll go out ringing doorbells, never once exposing
the fact that they’re real ghosts and goblins, not just children posing.
They’ll grab up all the candy so when the next child begs
for Hershey bars or Reese’s bars, they’ll only get the dregs
the zombies left––the  licorice and the candy corn,
so kids go home with empty bags—crying and forlorn.

This is the spell that witches cast in twenty-twenty-three
when they came out of hiding to see what they could see
And saw small nervy children impersonating witches
and goblins, ghosts and vampires, then making scary pitches
for popcorn balls and candy and other gastric pleasures.
Whereupon the witches decided to take measures
to turn the tables on the kids, they decided on a whim
to teach those kids a lesson by impersonating them!
So this is my fair warning that tonight when your bell rings,
and creatures wearing  witch hats or fangs or other things
first mouth an incantation or issue hearty “Boos,”
then demand that you give candy, lest a trick ensues,

best give them all the Hershey bars met by their greedy eye,
the Reese’s Bars and Milky Ways that they might espy.
But also keep a stash on hand for later in the night
when all professional witches and ghosts have taken flight.
And you hear a feeble knocking of gypsies with tearstained eyes
and ghosts in wrinkled bedsheets and little goblin guys
with smiles all turned upside down and tummies empty of
chocolate and gummy bears and other sweets they love
because their competition has beat them to the knock,
please bring out all that candy that you have kept in stock
to fill the bags of children who come knocking at your door.
These fakers are the real creatures that Halloween is for!

For the Sunday Whirl Wordle, the prompt words are: ghoulish night wind tricks spin wrap spell wicked dead crypt buried within

Hallofourthofvalenmas

 

Hallo-fourthof-valen-mas

This festival’s the weirdest of any that I’ve seen—
a crazy combination of Christmas and Halloween.
The hire-a-Santa in the mall wears bear paws on his feet
and when the kids climb on his lap, they mutter, “Trick or Treat!”
Below the Christmas wreaths above, door knockers are kept busy
as grandmas baking Yule logs are kept in a fine tizzy
by swarms of little carolers who can barely reach
the door knockers, who gather with arms up to beseech
the homeowners for candy after every song,
then stuff it in the Christmas stockings that they brought along.

Scores of scavengers dressed  up like shepherds or like kings
as well as Virgin Marys or angels sporting wings
abandon Christmas pageants to Trick-or-Treat instead.
You might ask me by what edict the world was made to wed
Halloween and Christmas? What legislative body
chose two celebrations equally over-gaudy
and mixed them both together to try to regulate
the number of occasions  on which we celebrate?

I think it was the W-H-O that thought up this solution
to try to deal with Covid and to try to curb pollution,
then issued this weird sentence and made us all comply
to celebrate all holidays on the fourth of July!
And so in combination with the skeletons and holly,
as witches and small ghosts are enjoined to act more  jolly,
fireworks are exploding in the sky far up above,
and as they trick-and-treat they also express love
by handing out their valentines—kill two birds with one stone
by trading hearts for Hershey bars with a ghostly moan.
And that’s how Hallo-fourthof-valen-mas has come to be
the only time when we’re allowed a group festivity.
And since part of it’s Halloween, without being asked
every guest, no matter what their politics, comes masked!!!

 

In question 4069, Ann Koplow has asked us to describe a new holiday. This is mine.