And lowering himself right back to the ground,
A king for the fool, the idle and clown
Spreading baby's breath, bud and bankruptcy around.
The first among sinners,
The last host at dinners,
Skin for the skinners, a shorn lamb was he.
The chatter in boxes,
A brain among rockses,
Punched out on the clockses, fare well to thee!
Surrounded by subjects, all volunteers, they
Came and went freely, clutching their pay,
Remembering some that the king had to say
To start our own kingdoms a similar way.
The fruit in the mai-tai,
Rum for the tax guy,
Debt free now that pigs fly, feathered too late.
The gag in our laughter,
The voice in the rafter
We'll see you soon after we all share your fate.
None were too poor, lazy, stupid or short,
To stride noble and haughty in our king's court,
None were too lame for first team in his sport
Or too thievish to fill out his earnings report.
Friend to the friendless,
Tale to the endless,
Doctor to the mendless, now go with our blessing.
Top meat in the meter,
Front seat in the the'ter
When you meet St. Peter, watch the caressing!
In the kingdom he ruled, like the one that he left for,
The rat and the lion and goat share the floor,
The windows stay open, no cliff holds the shore,
While piles of collectibles block every door.
Kaiser of vagrants,
Designer of day tents,
Caffeine in our coffee, at last you can sleep.
The goats have been fed,
The children been led,
So, I'll quiet my singing and give a good sweep.
FLORIST, n. A friend to those in troubled marriages, unlike his delivery boy.
RIP, Jan Clark Mueller
Dawn of time- February 22, 2010
19 comments:
I'll apologize to regular readers for a bunch of in jokes which will make sense to my analog friends and family.
He (deceased king) sounded like the kind of guy I would like, maybe want to be! I do hope the new king can live up to his predecessor's graces (good and bad).
Best wishes to to JCM's family and friends. Sorry, I wondered until I read your comment. Thanks for doing that, Doug.
..
I have no idea what/who you're talking about. Good poem anyway.
At first I thought about John Murtha, but his middle initial isn't "C" so I'm wrong (again).
FLORIST: A person who sells my husband potted plants for ME, a cut-flowers gal.
May the King have known that his gifts were acknowledged by some, the worthy
May I be remembered by somebody, anybody
that way
And praised be the worthy page
who befriended the master in his time of need
A toy car and three wooden spoons,
a magnet and a toothles comb;
all them things where'd nobody bother,
he'd pick them up and give them a home;
one time: even to Andy's brother.
His little world of cast aways now faces loneliness,
may his heaven hold all the shelves
that he may care for everything less.
-February 2010-
I am so sorry for your loss and so fond of that thought, that I met him in that little house filled to the brim, and where he still manged to seat us and give us all the space we needed.
Have a good trip, J. You'll be missed!
We send our condolences - having just attended a farewell to a grand lady last week ourselves. xo Bear and Crow
Florist: Friend of senders of doghouse flowers
Ah, Jan-Jan the Flower Man...you gave so much and deserved so much better than was handed you, especially at the end...but your mark has been left on many, especially my loving, appreciative pages who, in many ways, give like you did. I bid you a fare thee well, showered with all the petals from all the flowers which came to me through you during my children's wonder years.
I am sorry for your loss, Doug.
Lovely tribute poem.
My thoughts are with you Doug. It was a wonderful tribute.
"Rum for the tax guy" - this line shows a man with boundless goodwill indeed. Long live the King!
That was lovely. And I didn't mind the familial jokes. Made it that much more poignant
Though the definition is very mysterious--last phrase :)
I was waiting for the "the king is dead; long live the king" ending but then, there it is. Thanks for explaining what I did not understand.
And sorry for your loss.
That was an AWESOME sting of poetry, Doug. I am going to pay-it-forward and positively impact people the way Jan did. Thank you, Doug, for creating an opportunity for me to work for Jan. He remains the best boss ever. Ever! Not only was he my first boss, Jan was a beloved mentor and friend.
Doug -- Amoeba and I add our condolences as well for the loss of your friend.
Thanks Doug and Minka
Jan really was a King and a had a remarkable talent as an artist and person.
Dad
Our sympathies, though we would like to know more about the departed.
The poem struck us as Dr. Minnie's Utopian dream.
Jim, I feel quite sure you'd have liked him. Mrs. Jim, at least, is probably glad you're not like him. A good mess, but a mess.
Yeah, sorry, TLP. I changed the post to make it less enigmatic and there's an explanation on today's.That's funny about Murtha. Among the things I can be grateful for in the timing of Jan's death is that Murtha's probably already had the streets of heaven regilded at taxpayer expense.
Papi, I'm sure you will be bet let me rest up from this one.
Minka, thank you. That was lovely and I'm glad you got to meet him.
Thanks, crow and bear. I guess that leaves one slot open.
Thanks, mom. It was always very good of you to give up your children to the general Mother's Day.
Thanks, Nessa and Thom.
Ave, Ariel! If you could pay your taxes with goodwill, Jan could have afforded even the late payment penalties.
Pia, see today's post.
Thanks, Sauerkraut.
Dre, the best way for us to pay it forward is to find some young idiot to hire and mentor. I'm just not sure I can find anyone dumb enough.
Thanks, Quilly and OC.
You bet, Pop. And even at the very end he still talked about how you helped him.
Weirsdo, thank you. And your request is amply granted.
So aptly stated, that was a big sweep of a poem. Thank you Doug, I look forward to hanging out with you next month. - Chad
It was good seeing you yesterday, Chad. I'll look forward to seeing you next month.
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