Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Ode to Ararat

Once upon a time the LORD thy God made rain
To flood the Earth and wash the world of sin.
And led Noah to set a boat amain
The good to rescue, a new world to begin.
As the ancient of days grows older yet
And man mistakes himself for the divine,
Each debt we take on and wish to forget
We see in the stars as a wond'rous sign.
Our political tribes, nation and kind
Holy church and the Federal Reserve
We call on for rainbows over the pines
And offer piously, proudly to serve.
And each lump is Mount Ararat seen while
We worry our sweat is raising the Nile.

REDEEM, v.t.  To reclaim from repossession.

4:15 PM **UPDATE** I just did the New York Times Crossword Puzzle from March 22.  18-Across was an eight-letter word for "Geographic feature depicted in the Armenian Coat of Arms."  I never imagined sonnet-writing could be this productive.

18 comments:

Ariel the Thief said...

Redeem, to let it go.

The flood wasn't that good idea, now was it?

Anonymous said...

Oh!

Reminds me... gotta return Repoman back to Netflix. And just floods my mind with ideas.

Anonymous said...

RE do over again

DE remove

EM shortened, slang version of them

REDEEM v. t.
Throw 'em out again! [I believe this word applies to unwelcome relatives.]

Doug The Una said...

Ariel, I try to make a point not to question the almighty, but I sure think theologians haven't made enough of the fact that as the cleansing waters were receding, Noah turned around and got to work on getting drunk.

Saurkraut, today's sonnet was sponsored by Netflix.

Quilly, what is wisdom? Knowing that within three daysfish and family start to smell..

Nessa said...

That reminds me...I must make my car payment.

Anonymous said...

My Gawd, Willie! A sonnet! An honest-to-Mergatroyd, ababcdcdefefgg ER1 sonnet! I haven't seen one of those since my hair was over my shoulders. And you don't wish to know how long ago that was. Let's just say, they weren't looking for arks on Ararat yet, in those days. Good dog!

REDEEM, n. To kill a lamb instead of a first-born son. Or the holder of a sub-prime mortgage.

Ariel the Thief said...

Amoeba can tell a sonnet when he sees one. I am impressed!

Doug, I think the Bible is wrong when says that the flood was God's way to clean the earth from sin and start a new life with new humanity because I used to draw a lot, and always started a new sheet of paper when anything went wrong with my drawing. This is typical of those cannot see things very well, a new sheet of paper, a new spouse, a new life, they believe that's gonna help and don't realize that the mistake is elsewhere. God is wiser than that.

Doug The Una said...

Nessa, today's post was also sponsored by GMAC and members of your local Blogger usenet.

Amoeba, I confess I wasn't sure if this met the qualifications for sonnet, much less what kind it might be but it definitely was the reason I was 45 minutes late for work. An ER-1 you say. Darn I'm proud.

Ariel, I am impressed, too. I agree with your theological summa although my own approach is not to draw on anything I can't get into the trash or burn conveniently.

Jamie Dawn said...

I failed to let you know I enjoyed the processional and recessional links you provided for Blog Church.
I hope I can REDEEM myself for forgetting to mention it.

Mi familia y yo leave tomorrow for a trip to GA. It is one of my most lugares favoritos! We will be dining at Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah. That's Paula Deen's place.... YUMMY to the MAX!!!!
I'll pop by here when I can, maybe even daily if the hotel wireless services are working properly.
I will be leaving my TIN of Skoal at home.

tsduff said...

Well done Doug. Your sonnet writing qualities are redeeming.

tsduff said...

Ariel, when did you become a thief?

Ariel the Thief said...

Terry, one doesn't become a thief but is born to be. :-P

I've never taken a better look at the Armenian coat of arms before, and when I did, I thought that was a pretty cloud sitting on the top of the Ararat.

Actonbell, you'd better go to the bathroom and tell Serena to stop doing what she's doing!

mireille said...

redeem Wonder why you can't break up the word and get meaning from that: re (again) deem (judge): a judgment repeated? Another chance?

actually, I like Ariel's new piece of paper when the old one's ruined.

xoxo

Doug The Una said...

JD, the whole city of Savannah tastes good, although it can smell a little off.

Actonbell, it seems we might be. You look good in blue. That's an amazing verifier, too. And no.

Bear, or carpet the top of it?

Terry, it's a trick. She's hoping you won't notice she's a vampire until it is too late.

Ariel, I'm suddenly grateful "cloud" only has five letters.

Mireille, a second sentence?

Jamie Dawn said...

You do crosswords?
What about Sudoku?
I've got my Sudoku in my handbag, ready for me to do on our flight. Airplanes are the only place I do Sudoku puzzles. I also have a crossword puzzle book in my bag. I am a well prepared traveller.

Doug The Una said...

JD, I'm a bit of a nut about crossword puzzles. I don't do sodoku, although I have training.

Cooper said...

I'm very late of catching up on blog posts but this is, as always, my temple of redemption.

Doug The Una said...

Cooper, I'm glad to hear.