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Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 8:31 am
by Audiendus
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 2:45 pm
by saparris
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
Group Exercise IV
Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 8:55 pm
by sardith
You guys are good at this...I've not seen one before.
Sardith
Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:36 pm
by saparris
Thanks. Feel free to join in.
Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 8:57 am
by Audiendus
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 9:21 pm
by saparris
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:24 am
by Audiendus
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:10 pm
by saparris
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 7:48 am
by Audiendus
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps,
But apt to rev my sluggish thinking gear.
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 5:07 pm
by saparris
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps,
But apt to rev my sluggish thinking gear.
My world is what I read and what I know
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:20 am
by Audiendus
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps,
But apt to rev my sluggish thinking gear.
My world is what I read and what I know
Fact, fiction, drama, plain or complex verse
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:25 pm
by saparris
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps,
But apt to rev my sluggish thinking gear.
My world is what I read and what I know
Fact, fiction, drama, plain or complex verse
Await with holy wisdom to disburse
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 7:28 am
by Audiendus
My world is what I read and what I know
Fact, fiction, drama, plain or complex verse
Await with holy wisdom to disburse
A buzz of joy - and long may it be so.
Actually, I think this last stanza is rather weak compared to the others. What do you think? It's always going to be more difficult at the end of the alphabet!
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:58 am
by Slava
Congratulations to Audiendus and sapparis on this wonderful Ode to Books. I'd say it was a rather difficult assignment which you pulled off very well.
As to the ending being weaker than the body, I think that's almost always going to be the case in something written this way, by committee. It's not that it was the end of the alphabet, per se, but that it was the end, and you both knew it had to be closed somehow, and you managed it.
Congratulations again. I look forward to your next endeavor and hope I'll find a way to put in my two cents sometime.
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 11:53 am
by sardith
Wow!
That was fun for me to watch. Thanks. I think that you all did a great job!
Sardith