Don't know if this quite fits the thread, but I like it.
http://torch.cs.dal.ca/~johnston/poe...ofmyenemy.html

Ha, ha. It fits.

Sometimes Australians think that Clive James is an out of date time-warp professional Aussie and then he writes something like that that makes us as proud as punch. Basically he's a national treasure.

HERE'S A PORTRAIT OF CLIVE JAMES by Jeffrey Smart and the wonderful thing is that you can recognise him straight away.

[This message has been edited by Janet Kenny (edited November 26, 2008).]

When it comes to animosity no one can holds a candle to the Irish;

A Glass of Beer

The lanky hank of a she in the inn over there
Nearly killed me for asking the loan of a glass of beer;
May the devil grip the whey-faced slut by the hair,
And beat bad manners out of her skin for a year.

That parboiled ape, with the toughest jaw you will see
On virtue's path, and a voice that would rasp the dead,
Came roaring and raging the minute she looked at me,
And threw me out of the house on the back of my head!

If I asked her master he'd give me a cask a day;
But she, with the beer at hand, not a gill would arrange!
May she marry a ghost and bear him a kitten, and may
The High King of Glory permit her to get the mange.

-- David O'Bruadair
Translated by James Stephens from the Irish

This is certainly not a nice poem, though it is by one of my fav writers, Stevie Smith, (spelling and quotes as in orignal.)

Deryn Rees-Jones in her "Consorting with Angels: Essays on Modern Women Poets" says Because of its dedication to the American lady poet, and its publication date, we would not be blamed in supposing that the poem refers to Sylvia Path, who died in 1962 (...)


Pearl

To an American lady committing suicide because of not being appreciated enough

Then cried the American poet where she lay supine:
'My name is Purrel; I was caast before swine.'

I found another Sor Juana hate poem that I translated once:

SONNET
Sor Juana

... I hate you, Silvio, and I hate the time
my heart and soul have wasted hating you;
the trampled scorpion hates the horse's shoe;
those who tread on mud are marked by grime.

... You're like pure poison, striking in their prime
those who accidentally spill your brew;
in short, you are so vile, and so untrue,
you're barely good for hate, you worthless slime.

... And still I keep on summoning your face.
A frightful contradiction, I well know,
yet I deserve the pain and the disgrace:

... when I consider how I sank so low,
it's not just you my hateful thoughts embrace:
I hate myself for having loved you so.

I love this Sor Juana person. Thanks for the intro, RS.

Editing in after reading Julie's post below: I guess Marilyn Vos Savant defines "potential" as "earning potential" and nothing more. What an ***&&&&. I hope you sent her your reply, Julie.

(Nice zinger at the end!)


[This message has been edited by Rose Kelleher (edited November 30, 2008).]

withdrawn for publication

When my daughter Ellie was about seven she suffered some bullying from a repulsive boy called Sam Wright who used to chant

Ellie, Ellie
Got a fat belly

We cooked up an anwering couplet

Sam Wright is very dumb.
He's got a face like an elephant's bum.

Ellie spread it around and it was chanted by the girls for quite a few days. Sam Wright in tears. Problem solved. An example of the efficacy of poetry in the 'real' world

Ha, John! I love it. Don't mess with a poet's kid.

These are all great fun. I imagine some of you know this one already, but X.J. Kennedy's "A Curse on a Thief" (second poem from the bottom of the page) seems to belong here.