ksva
03-05-2009, 11:41 AM
Thank you for your compliments about my poem, “Overdo.” Here is the final form with some notes.
I wrote it pretty much knowing that once I put it out there I had no control over what others would do with it, which didn’t bother me one bit, so please copy it and do whatever you like with it.
I have tried to fix the format, but if it doesn’t work, note that the poem is in quartets with a couplet following the first and preceding the last quartet (4-2-4-4-4-4-4-2-4).
Don’t know about y’all, but I like to know the background for works that I enjoy, so here’s the background for this poem. The local library system was having a contest, and we picked up an advertisement. I wasn’t certain if I was going to write anything, though I thought I might because I’ve written many humorous poems before. So I put the flyer aside. Along came last Wednesday, and I ran my first marathon. No kidding. I ran a full 25.9 miles on a 1-mile section of my hilly, gravel driveway. That night I sat at my desk, exhausted and unable to pursue my usual hobbies. So I picked up a pen and wrote “Overdo.”
I still have to send it into the judges. They choose some time in April (mom will probably let y'all know if I win). If I win, I’ll be invited to read it out loud to a room full of poets and library folk. Whoopy.
Final note. I was recently looking at literature on Wikipedia, and did you know that The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the top bestsellers worldwide? Never would have guessed children like to see a worm eat as much as they like to read about Harry Potter.
ksva’s 24yos
Overdo
By AWP
I once had a book
That was a year overdue.
They began charging interest
And compounded it weekly, too.
Until one novice librarian said
There was a big number inside his head.
He said it was by my name
And I said, “What?”
He said it was a fine
And I said, “But—”
So I cleverly got the title
And just escaped with my loot,
And went home and burned the book
Until it was just soot.
I called and said,
To the man with the big number in his head,
That I’d lost the book,
“And I’ll never find it, no matter where I look.”
Surely there was great grief
Among his brethren on the shelf.
As I sat wallowing in relief
I felt bad about myself.
So I went out and bought a new copy:
Hardback with a glossy shine,
First edition, signed by the author
(Which was cheaper than paying the fine).
And then I crept in disguise into the library itself,
And put it in its place, at its home, on its shelf.
And I left feeling much better and lighter,
As if I as a citizen were a pillar,
Because no library should be without a copy
Of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
I wrote it pretty much knowing that once I put it out there I had no control over what others would do with it, which didn’t bother me one bit, so please copy it and do whatever you like with it.
I have tried to fix the format, but if it doesn’t work, note that the poem is in quartets with a couplet following the first and preceding the last quartet (4-2-4-4-4-4-4-2-4).
Don’t know about y’all, but I like to know the background for works that I enjoy, so here’s the background for this poem. The local library system was having a contest, and we picked up an advertisement. I wasn’t certain if I was going to write anything, though I thought I might because I’ve written many humorous poems before. So I put the flyer aside. Along came last Wednesday, and I ran my first marathon. No kidding. I ran a full 25.9 miles on a 1-mile section of my hilly, gravel driveway. That night I sat at my desk, exhausted and unable to pursue my usual hobbies. So I picked up a pen and wrote “Overdo.”
I still have to send it into the judges. They choose some time in April (mom will probably let y'all know if I win). If I win, I’ll be invited to read it out loud to a room full of poets and library folk. Whoopy.
Final note. I was recently looking at literature on Wikipedia, and did you know that The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the top bestsellers worldwide? Never would have guessed children like to see a worm eat as much as they like to read about Harry Potter.
ksva’s 24yos
Overdo
By AWP
I once had a book
That was a year overdue.
They began charging interest
And compounded it weekly, too.
Until one novice librarian said
There was a big number inside his head.
He said it was by my name
And I said, “What?”
He said it was a fine
And I said, “But—”
So I cleverly got the title
And just escaped with my loot,
And went home and burned the book
Until it was just soot.
I called and said,
To the man with the big number in his head,
That I’d lost the book,
“And I’ll never find it, no matter where I look.”
Surely there was great grief
Among his brethren on the shelf.
As I sat wallowing in relief
I felt bad about myself.
So I went out and bought a new copy:
Hardback with a glossy shine,
First edition, signed by the author
(Which was cheaper than paying the fine).
And then I crept in disguise into the library itself,
And put it in its place, at its home, on its shelf.
And I left feeling much better and lighter,
As if I as a citizen were a pillar,
Because no library should be without a copy
Of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.