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  #21  
Unread 01-11-2014, 02:11 PM
Gail White's Avatar
Gail White Gail White is offline
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My lover was a Spanish trader,
One who sailed the seven seas.
Though of all mankind the nadir --
See these jewels? He gave me these.

Though his face was worn and haggard,
Though four-letter words he hurled,
Though when he was drunk he staggered,
Kicked the dog and cursed the world,

Still his gold was never tarnished,
And was mine to give away.
Soon my house was brightly garnished --
And my parents, what said they?

When my lover's bread they'd eaten,
He stood high in their regard.
Money mixed with love will sweeten
Even dunghills into nard.
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  #22  
Unread 01-11-2014, 02:19 PM
Martin Parker Martin Parker is offline
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Now along comes Gail who makes it look so easy! Huge respect to her.
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  #23  
Unread 01-13-2014, 09:03 AM
Jerome Betts Jerome Betts is offline
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Oh, oh, oh what a Gail! Another, probably illustrating all Martin's ills.

As Ireland’s best spice-trader
I sought nard overseas
But since I’ve reached my nadir
I’m peddling lines like these.

Once, muscular, not haggard,
I rode to hounds, and hurled,
Until my hunter staggered
And left this sorry world.

With spices crisis-tarnished
My business drained away;
Depression set in, garnished
With fear of banks and ‘They’.

Life’s mouldy now, moth-eaten,
Beneath their cold regard;
There’s nothing left to sweeten
My lot, if minus nard.
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  #24  
Unread 01-16-2014, 04:51 PM
Susan McLean Susan McLean is online now
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Back from India came a trader
who had dared monsoonal seas.
When our stocks had reached their nadir,
he returned with stores of these:

pards and tigers, fierce and haggard;
spears that Alexander hurled
when his Macedonians staggered
to the margins of the world;

pearls and ivory, never tarnished;
lustrous silks from far away;
lapis beads and gems that garnished
necks still lovelier than they;

spice and pepper that, when eaten,
bring our banquets high regard;
and rare fragrances to sweeten
life with cinnamon and nard.
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  #25  
Unread 01-16-2014, 05:05 PM
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John Whitworth John Whitworth is offline
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That is good, Susan. Dammit, that is very good. I like it better than the original, though to be fair Housman had two more stanzas to go.
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  #26  
Unread 01-30-2014, 02:17 AM
Martin Elster Martin Elster is offline
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Douglas - Your poem (in Post #20) is clever and I love it. But I question "Nader," since it's not the same spelling as "nadir." I wonder if Tessa will overlook that.
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  #27  
Unread 01-30-2014, 08:16 PM
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Douglas G. Brown Douglas G. Brown is offline
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Martin,

Thanks for your comment. I'm pleased that you got a laugh out of my effort . (By the way, I always pronounced "nadir" so as to rhyme with "endear" rather than "trader"; but I discovered that the online dictionaries prefer the latter, as well as Mr. Housman.)

I could intentionaly mispell Ralph Nader's surname, but I'm not sure if he's still that well known in the UK. I recall that he inspired lots of safety regulations that put the kybosh on the importation of several makes of British cars (MG, Austin Healey, Morris, Mini, Triumph) into the USA in the late 60's and early 70's; but that was a long time ago.

But if I spell it "Nadir", I'll look like a dumbass. Maybe I'll just try to let it slip through as "Nader". Damned if I do, and damned if I don't ...
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  #28  
Unread 01-30-2014, 09:23 PM
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John Whitworth John Whitworth is offline
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Oh I think we have heard of Ralph Nader. Didn't he run for President once? A self-righteous preachy person.
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  #29  
Unread 02-06-2014, 04:57 AM
Peter Goulding Peter Goulding is offline
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These days, you need to be an insult trader,
when cricketing down in the southern seas
or you might find good fortune at its nadir.
The Aussies love their verbal jousts and these
turned batsmen into shadows, pale and haggard,
when scathing bouncers ‘tween the stumps were hurled.
Back to the pavilion they all staggered,
out-sledged before a dumbstruck cricket world,
riposting reputations truly tarnished.
With repartee the Poms were swept away,
the ashes of defeat divinely garnished
with humble pie. The Aussies leered as they
ensured this most demeaning meal was eaten
stone cold and, what is worse, in this regard,
the cook had not the wherewithal to sweeten
the bitter taste with literary nard.
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  #30  
Unread 02-07-2014, 07:09 AM
Graham King Graham King is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John Whitworth View Post
Oh I think we have heard of Ralph Nader. Didn't he run for President once? A self-righteous preachy person.
So many contributors' comments here read (to me) almost like fragments of verse. Maybe the poetic habits get ingrained...

Oh, I think we have heard of that person Ralph Nader
(For he ran for President once).
Self-righteous? He preached cars to be safer-mader,
So no-one should call him a dunce.


And re the poems themselves, above...

All very entertaining stuff -
Perfused with wit and skill!
(For me, the 'garnished' proved quite tough;
But that 'nard' tried to kill!)

Last edited by Graham King; 02-07-2014 at 07:14 AM.
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