Fauxku Choo Choo (the play's the thing)

[Achebe]

words cannot speak of art -
they have no voice

Curator: I'd like to fling slime on them Pollocks
but I'm forced instead to tickle his dead bollocks.
I have no choice.

[ellajam]

Curator: I'd like to fling slime on them Pollocks
but I'm forced instead to tickle his dead bollocks.
I have no choice.

Peggy Guggenheim's hall of Pollocks
flings, slings emotion
ceiling to floor

[rayheinrich]

        Peggy Guggenheim's hall of Pollocks
        flings, slings emotion
        ceiling to floor
       

        a slit of sun
        our shadows dot the hall
        the weight of nothingness
        and yet we fall

[Achebe]

a slit of sun
our shadows dot the hall
the weight of nothingness
and yet we fall

our shadow's edge
is blurred, and down the nave
vanishes entirely, for light is a wave.

[rayheinrich]

        our shadow's edge
        is blurred, and down the nave
        vanishes entirely, for light is a wave.


        its golden cross affixed atop
        an altar looms above the nave
        here priests instruct their callow crop
        a crown of thorns, a shadow's grave

[Emz]

its golden cross affixed atop
an altar looms above the nave
here priests instruct their callow crop
a crown of thorns, a shadow's grave


a crown of thorns, 
an empty grave,
but which translation 
shall we save?

[rayheinrich]

        a crown of thorns,
        an empty grave,
        but which translation
        shall we save?


        His words diluted, thinned by years,
        Manipulated in translation;
        Fragile lies to soothe our fears?
        Or loving path to true salvation?

[just mercedes]

His words diluted, thinned by years,
Manipulated in translation;
Fragile lies to soothe our fears?
Or loving path to true salvation?

Salvation lies; its fragile words
manipulate our fear.
Tomorrow's false as yesterday.
This moment - listen, hear.

[rayheinrich]

        Salvation lies; its fragile words
        manipulate our fear.
        Tomorrow's false as yesterday.
        This moment - listen, hear.


        And if you want the truth do not,
        expect a diamond necklace.
        If you want the truth, look back;
        it's what you had for breakfast.

[Pyrra]

And if you want the truth do not,
expect a diamond necklace.
If you want the truth, look back;
it's what you had for breakfast.

Burnt brown bits on soggy bacon,
and toast as hard as bricks,
is just as true, don't be mistaken
as sugar on your weetabix.

[rayheinrich]

        Burnt brown bits on soggy bacon,
        and toast as hard as bricks,
        is just as true, don't be mistaken
        as sugar on your weetabix.
       

        As Weetabix's broken back
        sits soggy on my tongue;
        Our firmament's a tasty snack,
        On which God's dreams are hung.

[Emz]

As Weetabix's broken back
sits soggy on my tongue;
Our firmament's a tasty snack,
On which God's dreams are hung.


He "hangeth the earth upon nothing,"
said Job in scientific writing:
Job wrote something else
about water and clouds,
and continued to write down his sighting.

[rayheinrich]

He "hangeth the earth upon nothing,"
said Job in scientific writing:
Job wrote something else
about water and clouds,
and continued to write down his sighting.


Our little temples here cannot pretend,
"Until the day and night come to an end"*;
And God in all His wisdom does attend,
To finishing the foolish works we've penned.



*Job 26:10

[Emz]

Our little temples here cannot pretend,
"Until the day and night come to an end"*; 
And God in all His wisdom does attend,
To finishing the foolish works we've penned.

Pretend to work the fields 
and search for fruit. 
Pretend to work your 
ass off in a suit.
But all means little 
in the end
when all we do 
is just pretend.

Yeah, I should have put "Job 26" somewhere on my last post. When i saw your line about "on which God's dreams are hung", it reminded me of that verse I quoted (which I had to quickly look up again to finish the rest of my poem). I couldn't resist trying to frame Job's writings as scientific observation. I must admit, I may not know where I stand on the whole religion thing, but I do enjoy flexing a little biblical knowledge around.

He "hangeth the earth upon nothing,"
said Job in scientific writing:
Job wrote something else
about water and clouds,
and continued to write down his sighting.


Our little temples here cannot pretend,
"Until the day and night come to an end"*;
And God in all His wisdom does attend,
To finishing the foolish works we've penned.



*Job 26:10

[rayheinrich]

Yeah, I should have put "Job 26" somewhere on my last post. When i saw your line about "on which God's dreams are hung", it reminded me of that verse I quoted (which I had to quickly look up again to finish the rest of my poem). I couldn't resist trying to frame Job's writings as scientific observation. I must admit, I may not know where I stand on the whole religion thing, but I do enjoy flexing a little biblical knowledge around.

The Bible, like Shakespeare, Greek Mythology, etc. plays such a major roll
in all western literature that, believer or not, knowledge of it is essential.
(Not to mention beautiful.)
Ray

[Weeded]

I see you flowin


Pretend to work the fields
and search for fruit.
Pretend to work your
ass off in a suit.
But all means little
in the end
when all we do
is just pretend.

like work your ass
for a lease.
Cop a fat cat
cuz you whippin' a Caprice.
Search for fruit
up in a rotten bar stand
pan-handle a one night
wit quite the handle
we tha only mammal to
stammer, stammer..

[Achebe]

no no no...this was supposed to be a haiku game...

a haiku is 17 syllables,
those long-winded despicables,
full length pomes, ain't welcome here:
you'll be shamed for the rest of the year.

[Emz]

no no no...this was supposed to be a haiku game...

a haiku is 17 syllables,
those long-winded despicables,
full length pomes, ain't welcome here:
you'll be shamed for the rest of the year.

I was worried my poems were getting longer, but I couldn't help but think of this:

[ellajam]

The Officious Fauxku Choo Choo (the play's the thing)
Rules with Explications Thereof*
contemporaneously known as The One True Rules*

Your TINY poem should:

1. Use 2 or more significant words from the previous poem.

2. Echo some aspect of the previous poem (optional).

3. Contain 1 to 4 lines, or be a limerick.

4. Be a fauxku, pseudoku, otherku** (seebelow), a real haiku (not that
anyone really knows what one is), limerick, or a whatever-you-please
(e.g. metaphorically dense  rhyming Nyāya Sūtra). Just make it TINY.
(And since this is fake art, TINY is not defined.)
5. If miscalculation, confusion, lapse in judgment, good intentions, ill temper,
addled thinking, or self-deception lead to snarl; don't try to communicate,
don't try to resolve: Just write something (e.g. lists of various vegetables
or something about dog diapers) and keep moving.

See the OP for more babble.

like work your ass
for a lease.
Cop a fat cat
cuz you whippin' a Caprice.
Search for fruit
up in a rotten bar stand
pan-handle a one night
wit quite the handle
we tha only mammal to
stammer, stammer..

Leave it to us piggie asses
to muck of this simplest of threads
get a grip, a handle, or whatever.

[Weeded]

Whoops lol