Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Apocrypha

If I live until I'm gray with age,
And, mumbling, shuffling, turn back the page
May I not look back at sober youth,
Lived modestly, measured and with couth.
I hope instead that I am able
To recall my life as though a fable.
Talking dogs! Invective Swine!
Society with sheep and kine;
Plans prepared with rodent reason,
Nocturnally and out of season;
Hummingbird dreams of sitting still;
An insect's faith in strength of will.

Let each winter's tale surpass in rightness,
The steps I took in April's brightness.
Let my passages be descriptive
Of life as no one really lived it.
Let all my recollections resound
With truth, intriguing and profound.
Let each tale partake of youthful spirit,
Invigorating all who hear it,
And be told in solemn, ancient tone.
And, may I fail to grasp I speak alone.

APOCRYPHA, n.pl.  Scripture uncanonized and memories unlived.

OK, y'all.  See you in two weeks.  Treat each other as I would treat you and remember sarcasm is two spleens beating as one.

Update:  I will posting a little bit of new information on Barncrawling later today, for those of you who might be joining us in Chicago.

21 comments:

mireille said...

Happy Valentine's Day early, curmudgeon. So nice you took two weeks off to celebrate it. XOXO

Minka said...

mirelle, that was almost kinda semi-sweet.

I have to re-read the poem after work, I just don't get it yet...


my verifier: peeedd

*laughs*

Kyahgirl said...

that is fantastic poem.
Happy holidays buddy.

Anonymous said...

apocrypha - A bastardization of the word "apochryphart".

Fart jokes are always a safe bet when you have nothing up your sleeve.

Anonymous said...

Apocrypha - anything associated with the uncoth fables which brought us into that stinkhole known as in Iraq. gw's supporters, however, will provide a vulgaresque accounting not fit for print.

yo dude... no place to leave my name so I'll just dump it into the litterbox. meow.

Ariel the Thief said...

Apocrypha, almost everything I was taught.

*waves with a handkerchief*

Anonymous said...

APOCRYPHA n. esoteric writings; writings of spurious origin; writings of questionable value;

hmmm, sounds like a blog to me.

TLP said...

Great poem! And thanks for doing APOCRYPHA! You're so sweet. I've decided to count that as a Valentine's gift.

Doug The Una said...

Mireille, it's my Ogre Day holiday, extended.

Minka, I'll say this for the verifier grantors, they know their audience.

Thanks, Kyah. Stitch something pretty.

Poobah, so I could have taken a vacation just by doing flatulence jokes? Never thought of that.

Anonymous Euling, we can hope the last few years will end up deuterocanonical.

Ciao, Ariel. Socialist schools are famous for that. It's a way East meets West.

To me too, Quilly. Insightful.

You should, TLP. Mother's Day isn't for a spell yet.

Anonymous said...

Apocrypha (n). A sacred doctrine whose origin is vouched for by those it favors, and decried by those it does not.

If God hath said it, one would hope
a cardinal or two, the pope,
and my own pastor might agree ---
alas, such things are not to be;

because, of course, each different sect
has its own course, and it expects
belief to follow certain rules.
All think the same? Don't be a fool!

Apocrypha is thus required,
to separate the uninspired
from true believers with a word.
Which one? Who knows. Don't be absurd.

Jamie Dawn said...

Your life's tales will most likely become more dangerous and colorful with age, or less grand if that is what's desired at the time of the telling.

I hope your cerebral juices are flowing with great ideas for your next round of weekend tales. If you have guest readers this time, I plan to participate. If you have a part for a husky, 1-900 caller voice, make sure I get that episode.
Enjoy your time away. It will be odd not coming here for a daily, word-related chat.

Hobbes said...

Goodbye. We'll miss you while you're gone.

tsduff said...

"Let each tale partake of youthful spirit,
Invigorating all who hear it"


This part you have already achieved. Today's verse is a stunning way for you to bow(wow) out for your 2 weeks of untold solace. You will be missed.

Jim said...

Have a nice holiday, Doug. And please remember these words my boss used to tell our group (we were writing a mission report for NASA), "write faster!"

Apocrypha: Once very hidden, but now revealed.

Apocrypha: A part of the Bible NOT. The cardinals and popes didn't ever decide to bless it. They had reasons.
..

javajazz said...

have a wonderful holiday, Dog...!
xo

Doug The Una said...

John, you one-upped me but its good to see you back, friend.

Thanks, JD. I look forward to getting your voice on this site where it belongs.

Thanks, Hobbes. If the great composer race ends before I get back, don't spill. I'm Tivoing.

Thanks, Terry. Bow wow yourself.

Jim, I always figured the dragon scenes might have stretched a Bishop's credulity. Thank you, and I'll be checking in on Adi during her recovery.

Thanks, JJ. Have a wonderful two weeks of good coffee.

TLP said...

Okay. I've started missing you.

Anonymous said...

I'm already experiencing the first pangs of withdrawal.

Doug The Una said...

TLP, I'm nearby.

Quilly, is the only peace underground?

Cooper said...

Way to go out in style.

I meant to get here earlier to say Happy hearts and all that but I had no electricity.

Have a nice vacation. I miss you already.

Minka said...

What ever happened to indefinite articles?