Dresden

Dresden

Extra Pound looked every way round

at destruction so far and wide,

for he'd not looked to run aground

when he'd switched to the other side.

"Was it for this the weed grew tall?"

did fatuous Extra thus say.

"Oh, what dread sin moved me to call

and awaken this judgement day?"

Call it Pound's improbable pride,

the worth in himself that he saw,

for he was worthy just to chide

himself under judgement of law.

Another non-limerick poem on Extra Pound, the somewhat ridiculous, nonexistent sibling stand-in for Ezra Pound.

For Thomas Pynchon

Rocket Limerick

There once was a writer whose pinch on,

twixt thumb and forefinger, flicked a switch on,

sent across the sky screaming,

in the morning light gleaming,

a sound-breaking rocket of mention.

The V-2 rocket was fascist Germany's most terrifying weapon, working its deadly destruction at greater-than-sound speed. Fascism is never very far away, not when Extra Pound makes an appearance - or even more so, when he doesn't seem to.

Hello Extra.

The Towering Truth

An Untrue Watchtower

Old Terrapin, the High and Mighty Low,

addressed bold Pound with words as brave could show:

"Of Mighty Yertle's fall,

please do, O Pound, recall,

and make me not past proper limits go."

The word "true" can mean "straight," as any carpenter would tell you. This implies that "untrue" would indicate "leaning," in this context, anyway. A leaning tower! But turtles all the way down . . .

Extra Pound Shuffles Off

Extra's Sorry Excuse

Pound at the butt end of his days and ways

told Ginsberg that his insane howling craze

against the Jews

were stupid views,

and his whole life had been that long, wrong phrase.

This will wrap up the story of Extra Pound, when I get there, but meantime is the time to fill in for now. Oh, and in case you didn't know, Ezra Pound really did say something of the sort to Allen Ginsberg, in 1967, I believe, so this part's historical.

Also, the "butt end of his days and ways" is another allusion. Your guess . . .

New Blogger Adopted

Extra Laid Back

Extra Pound settled down 'pon the new blog,

thankin' 'bout how he jus' might go whole hog,

but he then thunk, "No, no!

That's like 'Go! Hogs! Go! Go!'

I ain't nuthin' but a derned ol' houn' dog."

Why Extra Pound is talking like a hillbilly exceeds my understanding. Oh! Maybe because a hillbilly's trying to write this limerick and can't switch dialects. So sorry. It's hillbilly all the way down! I'll probably get a pounding for this . . .

Big Bad Glass Eyes Re-Visited

I've thought some about the title to yesterday's poem, and I think that the connection to artificial intelligence ought to be ramped up a bit, so I've dropped "Glass Eyes" for "AI's Surprise."

AI's Surprise

I need some new glass eyes.
Why? Why,
the better to see you with,
my dear.
Surprise!

Must be AI's Big Bad Wolf. What a surprise!

Note on pronunciation: The second line has two words spelled identically but pronounced differently, the first "Why" with aspiration (hwī), the second without (wī).

Big Bad Eye Glasses

Glass Eyes

I need some new glass eyes.
Why? Why,
the better to see you with,
my dear.
Surprise!

Must be AI's Big Bad Wolf. Note on pronunciation: The second line has two words spelled identically but pronounced differently. The first "Why" is pronounced with aspiration (hwī), and the second "Why" without aspiration (wī).

Spotless

Extra Pound's Political Theology

I have in my mind the conception
of an immaculatest inception.
Some think him a clod,
but he's better than God.
He is leadership's perfect confection!

As you see, I'm getting back to my epic limerick on Extra Pound.

I Have in My Mind . . .

There's a discussion at Jihad Watch as to what jihadis mean when they cry out "Allahu Akbar!" Here's my explanation:

Everybody relax. This "Allahu Akbar" cry is just St. Anselm's ontological argument expressed in Arabic. What these Muslims are crying out as they perform their religious activities is "I have in my mind the concept of a being greater than which cannot be conceived." Just a little theological chat. That's all. It’s perfectly innocuous.

No need to worry . . .

Hell is a Flood of Water . . .

Arkansawyer's Apologia

There is an old man from the Ozarks,
so busy he'd prob'ly miss Noah's Ark's
big embarkment today,
if it left in that way,
leaving him to the rising tide's devil sharks.

I refer to myself, of course. The Covid-19 Virus has put the entire semester online, and that's a lot more work than I ever would have imagined. I haven't been to campus since December! All my work is through computer connected to internet.