AUG 30, W-I-P (funniversary)

 SINGABLE LIMERICK-LIKE LYRICS 

AUG 29, defining opinion: envision

 Our blogpost "Defining Opinion" on the topic-based blog "Edifying Nonsense" shows a selection of similar verses submitted to OEDILF (the online Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form). You can see all of these on one visit by clicking HERE.

AUG 28, reptiles: painted turtles

Authors' Note: With four regional subspecies, the painted turtle, Chrysemus picta, has a range covering almost the entire United States and a part of Canada; it is North America's most common turtle.

  The verse's tale, based on a recent experience by the author dealt with an attractive female belonging to the eastern subspecies, although her accent was definitely southern.

a mud-encrusted painted turtle

 

day's end at the Brickworks, Toronto
"time for dinner"

You can review photos and illustrated herpetologic verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Verses about Reptiles' (don't worry! no snakes)' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.

AUG 27, lexicon of word-pairs, reduplications U to Z

 

Giorgio's lexicon of binomials (reduplications U to Z)

Quite a few reduplications (words consisting of two near-duplicated elements) have been highlighted in  short verses by the authors. 

Also, for readers with a musical bent, we have a song-cycle of 9 songs displaying the spectrum of these binomial expressions. They have lyrics stuffed with word-pairs, arranged to familiar tunes. You can readily access this singable treasure trove of binomial expressions of various types by clicking on the link for the first song, "WORD PAIRS", HERE. 

AUG 26, painterly poetry: van Gogh at Auvers-sur-Oise

You can view some of van Gogh's earlier works by accompanying us to the Courtauld Gallery, London, UK, by clicking HERE.

OR, check out our entire collection of illustrated verse on 'painterly poetry' by clicking HERE. 

AUG 25, submitted palindromes: RANDOM PILES 20

 

  On the 25th of each month you will find a slide-filling group of palindromic phrases submitted to the editors by a panel of 7 palindromists. These folks have all been working on this project since January 2020. The personal profiles for each of these contributors are displayed in panels published here at the start of things, and then, we have asked them to provide (palindromically, of course) their views on one of the iconic items in the classic literature, starting with "A man, a plan, a canal -- Panama", continuing with other well-known phrases, such as "Dennis sinned". Otherwise, their contribution will be grouped in monthly random piles (a phrase that you might recognize as an anagram of the word p-a-l-i-n-d-r-o-m-e-s).

AUG 24, appended adventures of Leslie Moore (suffixes) feckLESSNESS

 

Authors' Note: Leslie Moore's lifestyle choice of rejecting the world of IT has gotten her into some difficulty, bringing accusations from her colleagues of incompetence.

Readers might enjoy reviewing our complete collection of poems about the adventures of linguist Leslie Moore in the land of suffixes -- click HERE! (or if you prefer prefixes, click HERE).

AUG 23, scopes of medicine: endoscopic collage (various authors)

Authors' note:  A cystoscope is a type of endoscope that is inserted into the urethra for the purpose of examining it and the bladder. it is also used for obtaining tissue samples for biopsies; in some highly specialized circumstances, it is also used for treatment.

You can view a collection of verses on this topic  by proceeding to 'Inner Enlightenment: The Scopes of Modern Medicine' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE !

AUG 22, patients and their maladies: ganglion cyst

Authors' Note: These common small limb lesions that may fluctuate spontaneously are most often found at the wrist. The name ganglion, Greek for "knot", is a misnomer, as examination by ultrasound or aspiration shows that they are thin-walled cysts filled with synovial (i.e. joint) fluid — such testing is not needed in most cases. Incidentally, the term tumour is a synonym for "growth" or "lump"; health professionals avoid using the term in dealing with lesions that have no oncologic significance in order to allay unnecessary patient anxiety. 

You can view collections of verses on this topic by proceeding to "Nurse-Verse: PATIENTS and their MALADIES" on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

AUG 21, terminal (poetic) exclamation: YIPPEE!

 

Authors' Note:  As shown by verses collected at OEDILF, the slang term chippy has a spectrum of slang meanings including 'prostitute/loose woman', 'argumentative' and 'fish-and-chips eatery'. Where I live, the first two uses are in effect. In the US, postal zip-codes roughly identify the location of one's residence.

You can review our collection of poems on the topic of "Terminal Exclamation (Limerick Variations)" as it evolves on our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense"; click HERE.  

AUG 20, setting words to music (Inferno, Canto 4): "LIMBO ROCKS, OR NOT" sung by Chubby Checker

PASTICHE with PARODY SONG-LYRICS

ORIGINAL POEM:  "Inferno" by Dante Alighieri, the first book in the triad "The Divine Comedy", written in the early 14th century.
ORIGINAL SONG: "Limbo Rock", as recorded 1962 by Chubby Checker, used here primarily for music and meter.

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, June, 2015.

PARODY-SONGLINK: To find ukulele and guitar chord-charts to help you accompany "Limbo Rocks, Or Not" on your favorite instrument, click HERE.

The lyrics for this Canto are condensed and re-arranged considerably, but the words are primarily Dante’s, preserving to the extent possible the original 14th century Tuscan language. My English translation follows the Italian, with liberal adaptations for modern readers.

Inferno Canto#4: 
LIMBO ROCKS, OR NOT

(to the tune of "Limbo Rock")


Intro:
So our boys are on the road
In this all-new episode.
Valley dolorous, no bliss
Lurks inside that dark abyss.
Dante peer down from his ledge
(Limbo’s It. for ‘hem' or ‘edge’)
Now he'll start to learn who dwell
In those horrid rings of Hell. 

Dante:
“Discendiam nel cieco mondo
Io primo, tu secondo”
Quindi mio guida disse,
L’angoscia l’impallidisce
Primo cerchio mi fé intrar
I sospiri a ascoltar - 
Una gente disdegnata
Perché non è battezzata 

Every Hell-bound guy and guide
Brush their Limbo-fear aside

Planned to stop at Level #1,
Dance and have a little fun.
But first circle that we found
Rang with sorrow – Limbo’s sound 
Limbo’s sin-free folks - despised,
As they’d not been Lim-baptized.

Virgil:
Porta de la fede credi
Non basta loro mercedi,
Dinanzi al cristianesmo
E cotai son io medesmo.
Adorammo mal a Dio
Tai difetti, non altro rio
Sanza spema semo perduti
In disio vivemo tutti.

Portal of the faith you hold
If I may be Limbo-bold
Was no Christ back in B.C.
Couldn’t pray right, damned are we.
Without hope in Limbo-mire
Worthy types locked in desire.
Hey, eternity’s not quick
Hung up in this Limbo-shtick.

Ero nuov’in questo stato
Vidi venir un Beato
Trasseci ombre dei Parenti
E di Moisè l’ubidente
Uscicci mai per merto
Né per su’ parlar coverto 
Altri spiriti salvati - 
Tutti uomini dannati.

Newbie me in Limbo-town
When a Nimble Guy came down
Played St Nick and filled his sleigh
Drove the Forefathers away,
Caused those left to Limbo-wince
Nothing like it ‘fore or since.
Recent dogma you’ll know well – 
Called the ‘Harrowing of Hell’.*

Dante:
Al pié d’un gran castello -
Intorno un fiumicello
Per sette porte con i savi
Genti v’eran con occhi gravi.
La compagnia si scema
Dell’aura queta a che trema
Mi mena il savio duca
Vegn’ove non è che luca.

We passed through a Limbo-glade
Lamp-lit, Limbo-poles with shades
Reached the Limbo-central square
Virgil’s buds were gathered there.
Quite a Greco-Roman crew
Leaders, sages, poets too.
Had to split, say Limbo-Bye - 
Other fish to Limbo-fry.

Virgil (spoken):
Leaving Town limits
Lower Circle next
How low can we go?

Outro:
Limbo gets misunderstood - 
It’s Hell’s premier neighborhood.
They house heathens, babes and Jews,
None who’ve pledged and then refused.
Your case takes a diff’rent Twist
Once you’ve danced with John Baptist.
Sinning-Lyte - if that’s your story - 
Best apply to Purgatory. 

Dante (spoken nervously):

"Il Limbo"
G.Stradano, 1587

A drink at LimboBar
Before we get too far?
How low can we go?
* Tradition had held that before the Resurrection, Christ went to Hell to claim the souls of the Old Testament heroes and transport them to Heaven. This ‘Harrowing of Hell’ became official church dogma only in 1215. The event had presumably occurred in A.D.34, when Virgil (who died in A.D.19) was still a relative newcomer to Limbo. 

 

AUG 19, Carolina lowcountry: excursion to the beach at Sullivan's Island

previously unmarked trail

the shipping channel appears so close to the Island

Fort Sumter is close by
(the Civil War started here!)

another denizen of the beach

AUG 18, ballet at Toronto's Harbourfront: action clips

For a more sedate view, see the still photos from the same performances HERE.

TO SEE MORE STUFF: To see older or newer material  (posted daily, or at least on most 'good' days), CLICK below the Comments Section, on 'Older Post' or 'Newer Post'.

AUG 17, palinku (poetic novelty): European capitals

  In this post, we continue with our novel form of poetic wordplay. Inspired by Japanese haiku poetry, the "palinku" is a terse verse with a total of 17 syllables displayed on three lines. Unlike its earlier English-language forerunners, this concoction does not mandate the precise distribution of the syllables among the three lines, but does stipulate that each word in the poem be included in a palindromic phrase or sentence  (i.e. one that can be read either forwards or backwards). 

  To help the reader discern the origin of the lyrics, each palindrome, generally occupying one of the three lines of the poem, has been color-coded. Readers will note that we have been publishing verses of this type on the 17th of each month.

 You can readily view all our "palinku" verses if you proceed with a single click to our more encyclopedic blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE. (Or if you prefer, you can stay on this particular blogsite and look for the offerings for the 17th day of each month -- there are now more than 60 of these.)

AUG 16, at heart: hyperlipidemia

Authors' Note: Jealousy at the flight of birds has apparently resulted in expressions suggesting that human social responsibility is analogous to having one's wings clipped, or flying straight, as here.

Hyperlipemia (also known in America as hyperlipidemia), is a medical condition in which high blood levels of fats (lipids), particularly cholesterol, portend cardiac disease, including deadly heart attacks. Hyperlipemia is one of a number of such asymptomatic risk factors including hypertension and diabetes. Fortunately, change in lifestyle including diet and exercise, and judicious prescription of pharmaceutical drugs, such as statins, can reduce risk.

You can view more poems on this topic by proceeding to "Cardiologic Tracings: AT HEART" (parts #1 and #2) on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!

AUG 15, Carolina lowcountry, leaving with regrets

TO SEE MORE STUFF: To see older or newer material  (posted daily, or at least on most 'good' days), CLICK below the Comments Section, on 'Older Post' or 'Newer Post'.

AUG 14, urban concerns: dog park

Authors' Note: The dog park has also been eulogized by OEDILF chief editor Chris J. Strolin.

 

Our collection of illustrated poems about "Urban Concerns" on our parent blog "Edifying Nonsense", contains a number of intriguing verses that you can access by clicking HERE.

AUG 13, medical testing: screening for disease

You can review a collection of related poems about clinical trials and clinical statistics by advancing to the blog "Edifying Nonsense" where you can find "A Limerick-Based Handbook on Medical Testing". Click HERE.  

AUG 12, folio-entry, couples: wild turkeys

 You can view these samples from our portfolio of 'Couples' portraits in a wider context on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.

(Enjoy an illustrated poem about domestic turkeys by clicking HERE.)

AUG 11, exotic destinations: air travel

 

Other verses about 'Exotic Travel Destinations' can be found on our blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE.

AUG 10, a brief saga (creative anachronism): herbicides

 

 For the purpose of this blog, a 'brief saga' is defined as a poem, usually narrative, but occasionally expository, that tell its story in at least 15 lines. Most commonly, the format involves three stanzas in limerick form, constituting a single submission to the online humor site 'Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form'. On the OEDILF site, rigorous standards for content and format are involved in a collaborative editing process that may take several weeks to over a year. 

 There are now over 40 of these lengthier bits of doggerel featured at OEDILF in Giorgio's "Author's Showcase". The OEDILF number for each accepted multiverse poem is shown here on the slide with its first verse. We have been blog-publishing these poetic adventures here monthly since January 2020. And the good news is that almost all limerick-derived verses can be set to music!

To access the next 'brief saga' on this blog (September 2023), proceed to 'Clinical Trial'. 

To access the most recent previous 'brief saga' (July 2023), back up to 'France'.

To access all of our 'brief sagas' by the year of their creation, click on your selection below.

2020
2021
2022
2023.