THE MORNING RANT: Let’s Be Done with Bad Poetry by Reviving Masculine Poetry

A poet named Anne Carson was just awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her writing is everything you would expect it to be – pretentious yet unintelligible, with just a hint of the tender eros you might find in a lesbian biker bar.

The New Yorker has long been a fan of Ms. Carson’s work, and in an article celebrating her Nobel Prize, the magazine noted that Carson (along with 2022 winner Annie Ernaux) ”have pursued forms of writing that constrain a terrible excess of feeling—that give shape and weight to the maelstrom of passion.” I actually admire the ability to write nonsense like that. It sounds deep while being comically vapid, impressing faux-intellectuals.

Among Ms. Carson’s literary talents is writing “poetry” lacking both rhyme and meter.

Back in 2001, the New Yorker featured one of Ms. Carson’s “poems” in an unironic way, even though this could be the poster child for awful poetry. A spilled bowl of alphabet soup would be more poetic than “Stanzas, Sexes, Seductions.” Here is a snippet of it:

It’s good to be neuter.
I want to have meaningless legs.
There are things unbearable.
One can evade them a long time.
Then you die.
The oceans remind me
of your green room.
There are things unbearable.
Scorn, princes, this little size
of dying.

I could eat Scrabble tiles and crap out higher quality poetry
— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) October 9, 2026

The art of poetry has been lost to the same cultural destructors who have done so much damage to the fine arts. Poetry lives on mainly in music nowadays, since the elite poetry crowd now fully rejects the language structure that once defined poems.

Because I like to write, I admire good writing. It’s why I’m always curious who the songwriter is when I hear a great song, because the lyrics in music are a form of poetry. In fact, under a different alias I have done some songwriting and even earned some royalties from it. That also means I’m a poet. And if you’re a guy who likes music with lyrics, you’re a guy who likes poetry.

Having now established that poetry can be masculine, I’d like to lament the loss of great masculine poetry. Below the fold are a few paragraphs from a recent David Marcus piece titled “Why We Must Make Poetry Manly Again” which addresses this specific topic. But first however, I’d like to share a few stanzas from the great poems that we once learned as children:

Casey at the Bat

I had to recite a poem at school as a child. Being a baseball nut, I chose “Casey at the Bat.” Decades later I can still recite that entire poem. (But I can’t remember what my weekend plans are.) Here are the final two stanzas:

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out.

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

In my early adult years, before I started re-reading American history, I had already forgotten much of what I had learned about the American Revolution. But I never forgot about the midnight ride of Paul Revere, because my classmates and I had to read and recite Longfellow’s “Paul Revere’s Ride” in school. That is the power of telling a story by poem or song.

Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five:
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

----------------------------------------------------
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country-folk to be up and to arm.

Robert Service

Robert Service’s poetry is very frequently about tough men fighting to survive in harsh conditions, especially the arctic north. I first discovered his poetry on a whiskey sign, of all places. I was at a college party and there was a metal Yukon Jack sign hanging on the wall inscribed with these lines from “The Heart of the Sourdough.”

I have clinched and closed with the naked North,
I have learned to defy and defend;
Shoulder to shoulder we have fought it out
Yet the Wild must win in the end.

It made me want to learn more about Mr. Service, so I bought a book of his poems at a mall book store. Robert Service’s most famous poem is The Cremation of Sam McGee.” It tells the tale of a Tennessee boy who is gold mining in the Yukon and succumbing to the cold. His dying wish is to be cremated upon his death so that his body may finally know warmth again. (It is regrettable that the meaning of the word “queer” was appropriated for other meanings since this poem was written in 1907.) Here are the opening lines:

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.

In closing, here are a few paragraphs from that David Marcus piece I referenced: “Why We Must Make Poetry Manly Again.” I encourage you to read the whole thing.

Throughout English-speaking history, up until about 50 years ago, there had always been men famous in their day for writing beautiful poetry, from William Shakespeare, to Lord Byron, to Robert Frost. Yet, sadly today, our society does not see the poet as a manly figure at all.
This erasure of male voices in poetry was not an accident. Like so many of our society’s woes, it was created by a leftist elite in the academy and publishing who thought that women’s voices had been too long ignored, and men’s too widely celebrated.
Suddenly, over the past year, we have seen a slew of articles and think pieces asking, what happened to the literary man?
What happened, more or less, was a disastrous decision to tell young men there is nothing masculine about literature, and especially not about poetry.

----------------------------------------------------
You want to raise a good son? Give him Kipling for backbone, Yeats for heart, Eliot for wisdom, and Frost for common sense, and he will be fooled by nothing in this world.

Real men read history, literature, and poetry. It’s time for some new artistic channels to open up for modern poetry containing rhyme, meter, and testosterone.

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Nooded.

Posted by: Nazdar at October 23, 2026 11:01 AM (NcvvS)

2 And %$&*&!!

So as not to usurp Salty.

Posted by: Nazdar at October 23, 2026 11:02 AM (NcvvS)

3 Muldoon for the Nobel !!!

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:02 AM (Ti9vn)

4 I saw Maelstrom of Passion open for Portugal The Man at The Roxy in '88.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at October 23, 2026 11:02 AM (rsVfX)

5 Hickory Dickory Dock...

Posted by: Andrew Dice Clay at October 23, 2026 11:03 AM (NlEaG)

6 Service, Kipling. About all the poetry one needs.

Posted by: The Man From Athabaska at October 23, 2026 11:03 AM (EdP2u)

7 Pee-Ewww!

Posted by: Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings at October 23, 2026 11:03 AM (2X2jr)

8 Shot across the bow against Muldoon?

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 23, 2026 11:03 AM (U/SFE)

9 Well, certainly not 'If'.

Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

to be cont

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:03 AM (Y/06r)

10 cont

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:04 AM (Y/06r)

11
I've never seen a purple cow.
I hope to never see one.
But I can tell you anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.

Posted by: O. Nash at October 23, 2026 11:04 AM (yTY59)

12 Like art, people who write poetry produce shit in order to attempt to separate themselves from the crowd.

And the art world swoons like the subjects of the King with no clothes.

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:04 AM (Ti9vn)

13 I have clinched and closed with the naked North

I deny it!

Posted by: Peter North at October 23, 2026 11:04 AM (Riz8t)

14 > It’s good to be neuter.
I want to have meaningless legs.

Needs more fig-stomping apes.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 23, 2026 11:04 AM (qlLNh)

15 Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the fine craft brew of Paul Revere

Posted by: AB InBev at October 23, 2026 11:04 AM (rsVfX)

16 Good poetry selections, Buck. Let us not forget Kipling:

"One man in a thousand, Solomon says,
Will stick more close than a brother.
And it's worth while seeking him half your days
If you find him before the other. . . .

"Nine hundred and ninety-nine can't bide
The shame or mocking or laughter,
But the Thousandth Man will stand by your side
To the gallows-foot -- and after!"

(Kirk and Spock, and Solo and Illya, nod sagely)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:05 AM (wzUl9)

17 The Haiku threads we had in the past should be nominated for a Nobel.

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:05 AM (Ti9vn)

18 Roses are red

Violets are blue

I like big

boobs

Posted by: burp at October 23, 2026 11:05 AM (+yda9)

19 The guy who wrote Apes who eat figs also got a Nobel for nothing .

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:06 AM (Ti9vn)

20 The other thing about modern"poetry" is that they seem to have forgotten how to punctuate. I suppose it arose from the lyrics of pop songs after about 1965. Try and find a lyric on an album cover or on the record sleeve after that time with actual punctuation in it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:07 AM (wzUl9)

21 Not sure I'd hold up Byron as a role model, but okay.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 23, 2026 11:07 AM (qlLNh)

22 I could eat Scrabble tiles and crap out higher quality poetry

Heh. Now that's poetry.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 23, 2026 11:07 AM (8B4gm)

23 >>pretentious yet unintelligible, with just a hint of the tender eros you might find in a lesbian biker bar.

What, they didn't choose the precocious young poetess who spoke at Obama's inauguration???

Posted by: Lizzy at October 23, 2026 11:07 AM (rOKnE)

24
"Drink all the sex there is"

James Talarico has just entered the Poetry Slam.

IYKWIMAITYD.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 23, 2026 11:07 AM (73qb8)

25 Mighty Casey has struck out ... no joy in Mudville.

Great poem ... surprise ending.

"And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm"

I'm thinking there was at least one other rider, possibly a woman? Or maybe the feminists just fabricated that story.

Posted by: illiniwek at October 23, 2026 11:07 AM (vbXSk)

26 I'm not a poetry guy but I do like to read song lyrics.

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:07 AM (Ti9vn)

27
"...after four I'm under my host."

Posted by: Just the punchline at October 23, 2026 11:08 AM (yTY59)

28 Here I sit, broken-hearted,
Paid a dime and only farted.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 23, 2026 11:08 AM (qlLNh)

29 Apparently to be a poet in the 2020's one must completely self-absorbed narcissist?

Posted by: Lizzy at October 23, 2026 11:08 AM (rOKnE)

30 Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the fine craft brew of Paul Revere
Posted by: AB InBev at October 23, 2026 11:04 AM (rsVfX)

In 4th grade, circa 1957, it was, "Listen my children and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of a can of beer".
That's all I can remember, However, if any Morons can finish it, we would all be eternally grateful.

Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy at October 23, 2026 11:09 AM (hmYU4)

31 29 Apparently to be a poet in the 2020's one must completely self-absorbed narcissist?
Posted by: Lizzy at October 23, 2026 11:08 AM (rOKnE)

To be anything.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:09 AM (Y/06r)

32 That stuff from Carson is just mindless trash. Words thrown at the paper with no sense of meaning, placement, or meter.

Complete pretentious BS. Anyone who thinks that is good isn't worth the argument.

Posted by: Black JEM at October 23, 2026 11:09 AM (7/DDO)

33 Her poetry sounds like something that would be recited at Open Mike Night in a beatnik bar.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at October 23, 2026 11:09 AM (rsVfX)

34 We don't need poetry. We've got rap.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 11:09 AM (ndZc7)

35 We get better poetry here in any random thread.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at October 23, 2026 11:09 AM (dK+Kv)

36 O, young Lochinvar is come out of the west,
Through all the wide Border his steed was the best;
And save his good broadsword, he weapons had none,
He rode all unarmed, and he rode all alone.
So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar.

He stayed not for brake, and he stopped not for stone,
He swam the Esk river where ford there was none;
But, ere he alighted at Netherby gate,
The bride had consented, the gallant came late:
For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war,
Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar.

So boldly he entered the Netherby Hall,
Among bride’s-men, and kinsmen, and brothers, and all:
Then spoke the bride’s father, his hand on his sword,
(For the poor craven bridegroom said never a word,)
‘O come ye in peace here, or come ye in war,
Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar?’

Posted by: SMOD at October 23, 2026 11:09 AM (RHGPo)

37 >>Here I sit, broken-hearted,
Paid a dime and only farted.

Black socks
They never get dirty
The longer you wear them
The blacker they get

Posted by: Lizzy at October 23, 2026 11:09 AM (rOKnE)

38 Back in the '80s or maybe early '90s, Model Railroader magazine published their own take on "Casey at the Bat", titled (IIRC) "Casey at the Throttle". I wish I could find that again.

Posted by: far cry at October 23, 2026 11:09 AM (Q6P2R)

39 >>To be anything.

Touche!

Posted by: Lizzy at October 23, 2026 11:10 AM (rOKnE)

40 Lars Porsena of Clusium, by the Nine Gods he swore
That the great house of Tarquin should suffer wrong no more.
By the Nine Gods he swore it, and named a trysting day,
And bade his messengers ride forth,
East and West and South and North,
To summon his array.
East and West and South and North the messengers ride fast,
And tower and town and cottage have heard the trumpet's blast.
Shame on the false Etruscan who lingers in his home,
When Porsena of Clusium is on the march for Rome!

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:10 AM (Y/06r)

41 Jack and Jill went up the hill
Each with a buck and a quarter
Down came Jill with $2.50
Oh!
What a whore

Posted by: Sandy Cocazio Ortez at October 23, 2026 11:10 AM (YNt71)

42 "...after four I'm under my host."
Posted by: Just the punchline at October 23, 2026

***
Not one of Dorothy's poems -- though hers were good and more than good.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:10 AM (wzUl9)

43 The horsemen and the footmen are pouring in amain
From many a stately market-place, from many a fruitful plain;
From many a lonely hamlet which, hid by beech and pine
Like an eagle's nest hangs on the crest of purple Apennine;
From lordly Volaterrae, where scowls the far-famed hold
Piled by the hands of giants for god-like kings of old;
From sea-girt Populonia, whose sentinels descry
Sardinia's snowy mountain-tops fringing the southern sky;
From the proud mart of Pisae, queen of the western waves,
Where ride Massilia's triremes, heavy with fair-haired slaves;
From where sweet Clanis wanders through corn and vines and flowers;
From where Cortona lifts to heaven her diadem of towers.
Tall are the oaks whose acorns drop in dark Auser's rill;
Fat are the stags that champ the boughs of the Ciminian hill;
Beyond all streams Clitumnus is to the herdsman dear;
Best of all pools the fowler loves the great Volsinian mere.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:10 AM (Y/06r)

44 Kill my landlord
Kill my landlord

C-I-L-L...

My landlord

Posted by: Tryrone Green at October 23, 2026 11:10 AM (7W8aI)

45 33 Her poetry sounds like something that would be recited at Open Mike Night in a beatnik bar.
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at October 23, 2026 11:09 AM (rsVfX)

With Maynard G. Krebs snapping his fingers.

Posted by: TxAnn at October 23, 2026 11:10 AM (itAg7)

46 But now no stroke of woodman is heard by Auser's rill;
No hunter tracks the stag's green path up the Ciminian hill;
Unwatched along Clitumnus grazes the milk-white steer;
Unharmed the water fowl may dip in the Volsinian mere.
The harvests of Arretium, this year, old men shall reap;
This year, young boys in Umbro shall plunge the struggling sheep;
And in the vats of Luna, this year, the must shall foam
Round the white feet of laughing girls whose sires have marched to Rome.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:10 AM (Y/06r)

47 My manly poetry preference tends more towards the contemplation of death and decay. Favorites include Ozymandias, Invictus, Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos Vetet Incohare Longam, Dover Beach, The Second Coming, Thanatopsis, and of course the Monty Python Minstrel's Song.

Posted by: Archimedes at October 23, 2026 11:10 AM (Riz8t)

48 Woman, Woe Man , whooa man

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:11 AM (Ti9vn)

49 There be thirty chosen prophets, the wisest of the land,
Who always by Lars Porsena both morn and evening stand:
Evening and morn the Thirty have turned the verses o'er,
Traced from the right on linen white by mighty seers of yore;
And with one voice the Thirty have their glad answer given:
"Go forth, go forth, Lars Porsena! Go forth, beloved of Heaven!
Go, and return in glory to Clusium's round dome,
And hang round Nurscia's altars the golden shields of Rome."
And now hath every city sent up her tale of men;
The foot are fourscore thousand; the horse are thousands ten.
Before the gates of Sutrium is met the great array.
A proud man was Lars Porsena upon the trysting day.
For all the Tuscan armies were ranged beneath his eye,
And many a banished Roman, and many a stout ally;
And with a mighty following to join the muster came
The Tusculan Mamilius, Prince of the Latian name.
But by the yellow Tiber was tumult and affright:
From all the spacious champaign to Rome men took their flight.
A mile around the city the throng stopped up the ways:
A fearful sight it was to see through two long nights and days
For aged folks on crutches, and women great with child,
And mothers sobbing over b

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:11 AM (Y/06r)

50 Burma Shave

Posted by: SMOD at October 23, 2026 11:11 AM (RHGPo)

51
I rarely pay much attention to song lyrics

Though surprisingly Brian Eno's are pretty great.

They almost always force me to pay attention.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 23, 2026 11:11 AM (73qb8)

52 One of if not the oldest baseball parks is in Newport RI. It's called Cardines Field, named for the first soldier from Newport killed in WWI.

Home to the oldest league in the country, the Sunset League, and has hosted a slew of major leaguers who were in the Navy during WWII.

Sitting right on the right field line behind a chain link fence is the patio area of a bar that's been around forever. The name was recently changed when the bar changed hands, shakes fist at clouds, but for decades it was named The Mudville Pub.

Posted by: JackStraw at October 23, 2026 11:11 AM (viF8m)

53 >>>Mighty Casey has struck out ... no joy in Mudville.

Spolier alert.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at October 23, 2026 11:12 AM (dK+Kv)

54 Ok, poem is too large to reproduce, even by stanza. So, excerpt.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:12 AM (Y/06r)

55 I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he;
I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three;
‘Good speed!’ cried the watch, as the gate-bolts undrew;
‘Speed!’ echoed the wall to us galloping through;
Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to rest,
And into the midnight we galloped abreast.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 23, 2026 11:12 AM (qlLNh)

56 In 4th grade, circa 1957, it was, "Listen my children and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of a can of beer".
That's all I can remember, However, if any Morons can finish it, we would all be eternally grateful.
Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy at October 23, 2026

***
In first grade:
"Glory, glory, hallelujah,
Teacher hit me with a ruler.
I bopped her on the bean
With a rotten tangerine
And her teeth came marching out!"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:12 AM (wzUl9)

57 Mark Knopfler does great song lyrics with manly subjects like hobos, gamblers, miners and race car drivers.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at October 23, 2026 11:12 AM (rsVfX)

58 But the Consul's brow was sad, and the Consul's speech was low,
And darkly looked he at the wall, and darkly at the foe.
"Their van will be upon us before the bridge goes down;
And if they once might win the bridge, what hope to save the town?"
Then out spoke brave Horatius, the Captain of the Gate:
"To every man upon this earth, death cometh soon or late;
And how can man die better than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods,
"And for the tender mother who dandled him to rest,
And for the wife who nurses his baby at her breast,
And for the holy maidens who feed the eternal flame,
To save them from false Sextus, that wrought the deed of shame?
"Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, with all the speed ye may!
I, with two more to help me, will hold the foe in play.
In yon strait path, a thousand may well be stopped by three:
Now, who will stand on either hand and keep the bridge with me?'

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:12 AM (Y/06r)

59 Looka there, looka in my hand
The grandbaby of a moonshine man
Gadsden, Alabama
Got folk down in Galveston, rooted in Louisiana
Used to say I spoke, "Too country"
And the rejection came, said "I wasn't country 'nough"
Said I wouldn't saddle up, but
If that ain't country, tell me what is?
Plant my bare feet on solid ground for years
They don't, don't know how hard I had to fight for this
When I sang my song

Posted by: Country Grrrl Beyonce at October 23, 2026 11:12 AM (rOKnE)

Posted by: Country Grrrl Beyonce at October 23, 2026 11:13 AM (rOKnE)

61 No love for Kipling?

Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 23, 2026 11:13 AM (0sNs1)

62 Her poetry sounds like something that would be recited at Open Mike Night in a beatnik bar.

Woman...
Woe-man...
Whoooa-man!

She was a thief
You gotta belief
She stole my heart and my cat.

Betty,
Judy,
Josie and those hot Pussycats...

They make me horny,
Saturday morny...
Girls of cartoo-ins...
Won't leave me in ruins...

I want to to be Betty's Barney.

Hey Jane...
Get me off this crazy thing...
Called love.

Posted by: Halfhand at October 23, 2026 11:13 AM (KOgr5)

63 For manly poetry, choose Iron Maiden.

Posted by: Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon at October 23, 2026 11:13 AM (dK+Kv)

64 Second grade we learnt the first verse

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the burning of the school
We have tortured every teacher, we have broken every rule
We are marching down the hallway to hang the principal!
Our troops are marching on

Posted by: 88C+u at October 23, 2026 11:13 AM (88C+u)

65 > 61 No love for Kipling?
Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 23, 2026 11:13 AM (0sNs1)

I used to kipple a lot, but not so much these days.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 23, 2026 11:13 AM (qlLNh)

66 Apes eat figs
In grottos

Posted by: ... at October 23, 2026 11:14 AM (EX3Wq)

67 Edgar Allen Poe.

It’s interesting the favorite poems here all have a rhyming scheme. I don’t think poetry needs to rhyme, but it would benefit if it made sense.

Where is Prof. Squirrel? I bet he has some great examples for us to consider!

Posted by: Piper at October 23, 2026 11:14 AM (ZdaMQ)

68 As far as song lyrics go in the matter of poetry, there aren't many I can think of:

Steve Goodman's "The City of New Orleans"

Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe" and "Fancy"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:14 AM (wzUl9)

69 61 No love for Kipling?
Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 23, 2026 11:13 AM (0sNs1)

Dunno. I've never kipled.

Posted by: Pug Mahon at October 23, 2026 11:15 AM (PSEDc)

70 She offered her honor
I honored her offer
All night long
I was on her and off her

- Unknown

Posted by: JackStraw at October 23, 2026 11:15 AM (viF8m)

71 My favorite song lyric

Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick
The one that makes me scream", she said
"The one that makes me laugh", she said
And threw her arms around my neck

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:15 AM (Ti9vn)

72 He rushed against Horatius and smote with all his might.
With shield and blade Horatius right deftly turned the blow.
The blow, yet turned, came yet too nigh;
It missed his helm, but gashed his thigh:
The Tuscans raised a joyful cry to see the red blood flow.
He reeled, and on Herminius he leaned one breathing-space;
Then, like a wild-cat mad with wounds, sprang right at Astur's face.
Through teeth, and skull, and helmet so fierce a thrust he sped,
The good sword stood a hand-breadth out behind the Tuscan's head.
And the great Lord of Luna fell at that deadly stroke,
As falls on Mount Alvernus a thunder-smited oak.
Far o'er the crashing forest the giant arms lay spread;
And the pale augurs, muttering low, gaze on the blasted head.
On Astur's throat Horatius right firmly pressed his heel,
And thrice and four times tugged amain, ere he wrenched out the steel.
"And see," he cried, "the welcome, fair guests, that waits you here!
What noble Lucumo comes next to taste our Roman cheer?"

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:15 AM (Y/06r)

73 Second grade we learnt the first verse

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the burning of the school
We have tortured every teacher, we have broken every rule
We are marching down the hallway to hang the principal!
Our troops are marching on
Posted by: 88C+u at October 23, 2026

***
That almost sounds familiar!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:15 AM (wzUl9)

74 Apes eat figs
In grottos

The figs are:

[X] Crunchy
[ ] Not crunchy

Posted by: Archimedes at October 23, 2026 11:15 AM (Riz8t)

75 Don't ask about On Top of Old Smoky. We would have been arrested if it was the 2020's

Posted by: ... at October 23, 2026 11:15 AM (EX3Wq)

76 > Steve Goodman's "The City of New Orleans"

His buddy John Prine had some good ones also.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 23, 2026 11:15 AM (qlLNh)

77 Matters not how many shakes to the peg, always a drop will go down the leg.

Posted by: Pudinhead at October 23, 2026 11:15 AM (c4qG0)

78 I've read much better poetry in a construction site porta-a-john.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 23, 2026 11:16 AM (8B4gm)

79 I was watching another video by Steven Bell and it seems he's decided to move into more politically tinged history.

His latest topic? Is the modern interpretation of the 2nd Amendment wrong because the founders couldn't have understood repeating firearms?

And...he goes into the history of firearms and how they already had repeating firearms at the time the 2nd Amendment was written and that the founders would certainly have understood what they were, how they worked, and the likelihood that in the future they would become more common.

After Bell spent two minutes demolishing the "founders didn't understand the future man" argument the first leftist comment is..."Well ok fine, but they couldn't have understood the industrial revolution would mean anyone could have a fire arm in the future"

These people are willfully ignorant.

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:16 AM (sKqQm)

80 Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Posted by: rickb223 at October 23, 2026 11:16 AM (zFt5U)

81 No love for Kipling?
Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 23, 2026 11:13 AM (0sNs1)

I rank Kipling in the top three of greatest writers.

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:16 AM (Ti9vn)

82 I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain...

Posted by: rickb223 at October 23, 2026 11:16 AM (zFt5U)

83 Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses
Evil minds that plot destruction
Sorcerers of death's construction
In the fields the bodies burning
As the war machine keeps turning
Death and hatred to mankind
Poisoning their brainwashed minds
Oh Lord yeah!

Posted by: Black Sabbath at October 23, 2026 11:16 AM (rOKnE)

84 And if you are a dude, that verse is like 'Hell, yeah.'

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:16 AM (Y/06r)

85 [X] Crunchy
[ ] Not crunchy

Posted by: Archimedes at October 23, 2026 11:15 AM (Riz8t)

LOL I didn't want to look it up so all I could remember was the grottos

Posted by: ... at October 23, 2026 11:17 AM (EX3Wq)

86 Browning:

"That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall,
Looking as if she were alive. I call
That piece a wonder, now; Fra Pandolf’s hands
Worked busily a day, and there she stands. . . .

". . . Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt,
Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without
Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands
As if alive. . . ."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:17 AM (wzUl9)

87 >>My favorite song lyric

https://tinyurl.com/yc5t9ppv

Posted by: JackStraw at October 23, 2026 11:17 AM (viF8m)

88 Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and there me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly I die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you 'grave for me:
"Here he lies where he longed to be.
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

Robert Louis Stevenson Epitaph

Posted by: Hotspur at October 23, 2026 11:18 AM (hp5Wc)

89 Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:16 AM (sKqQm)

Hah. Just a different version of 'yeah but still....'

It's the Left's response anytime you prove their thesis incorrect.

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:18 AM (Ti9vn)

90 After Bell spent two minutes demolishing the "founders didn't understand the future man" argument the first leftist comment is..."Well ok fine, but they couldn't have understood the industrial revolution would mean anyone could have a fire arm in the future"

These people are willfully ignorant.
Posted by: 18-1

Weaponized stupidity.

Posted by: rickb223 at October 23, 2026 11:18 AM (zFt5U)

91 Can I try?

I have a coccyx.
It's not what you think.
It's on the other side.

I have a wenus.
It is also not what you think.
It is on my arm.

What time is lunch?

Posted by: Penn State Marine at October 23, 2026 11:19 AM (FGBQ3)

92 > His latest topic? Is the modern interpretation of the 2nd Amendment wrong because the founders couldn't have understood repeating firearms?

Some of them owned fully-armed and fully-crewed ships of war, capable of leveling an entire coastal town.

I don't think someone with multiple cannon loaded with 32 pounds of grapeshot would've have gotten the vapors over an AR-15.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 23, 2026 11:19 AM (qlLNh)

93 Poetry and to a lesser extent most writing has long been a cesspool of DEI and retardation. It's basically the written version of modern art.

I googled Ann Carson. Nepo baby. She is apparently not dumb, being a real profession and translator of ancient Greek writings.

She's a big darling of the leftwing media and literature circles.

She's not a lesbian, surprisingly.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 23, 2026 11:19 AM (iFTx/)

94 His buddy John Prine had some good ones also.

Please don't bury me down in the cold cold ground
No, I'd druther have 'em cut me up and pass me all around
Throw my brain in a hurricane and the blind can have my eyes
And the deaf can take both of my ears, if they don't mind the size

Give my stomach to Milwaukee if they run out of beer
Put my socks in a cedar box, just get 'em out of here
Venus de Milo can have my arms, look out, I've got your nose
Sell my heart to the junkman and give my love to Rose

Give my feet to the footloose, careless, fancy free
Give my knees to the needy, don't pull that stuff on me
Hand me down my walking cane, it's a sin to tell a lie
Send my mouth way down south and kiss my ass goodbye

Posted by: Archimedes at October 23, 2026 11:19 AM (Riz8t)

95 When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

The Charge of the Light Brigade
BY ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON

Posted by: m at October 23, 2026 11:19 AM (odBC9)

96 Here I sit,
Brokenhearted,
Went to shit,
Only farted.
---
That right there, gentlemen, is a "Mona Lisa" compared to that Nobel Prize winning poem.

Posted by: People's Hippo Voice at October 23, 2026 11:20 AM (3cUTc)

97 What is a man? What is a woman?
Tis an answer, found in the linen
I search my mind, I search my pants
What do I find- perchance?
I find a pecker that’s not cut off.
A perfect gash with nothing sewn on
That tells me all I need to know
I ain’t no tranny, no homo
But just a man, who is fully intact
Or a woman with vagina and reproductive tract
And only the dumb, the ignorant or lame
Would find a way to doubt my claim
So when in doubt, just reach in you pants
Don't listen to the sycophants
The answer is there within your hands
Or perhaps on your chest in mammary glands
It simple, quick and easy to do
Don’t be anyone else, let you be you

Posted by: That Guy at October 23, 2026 11:20 AM (edrS1)

98 translator of ancient Greek writings.
Old Greek homos.

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at October 23, 2026 11:20 AM (Rn7nm)

99 Hard to beat the St. Crispin's Day speech in Shakespeare's Henry V, Act IV Scene iii.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at October 23, 2026 11:20 AM (0sNs1)

100 After Bell spent two minutes demolishing the "founders didn't understand the future man" argument the first leftist comment is..."Well ok fine, but they couldn't have understood the industrial revolution would mean anyone could have a fire arm in the future"

One thing I want to stress on this response, is that its not even just another 'yeah but still....'

The argument this libtard is making is that the founders wrote an Amendment saying normal people could own guns not understanding that normal people would be able to own guns.

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:21 AM (sKqQm)

101 Jim Croce was another who wrote song lyrics that rose to the level of poetry, IMO -- both his comic songs ("Leroy Brown") and his serious ones ("Time in a Bottle").

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 23, 2026 11:21 AM (qlLNh)

102 100 The argument this libtard is making is that the founders wrote an Amendment saying normal people could own guns not understanding that normal people would be able to own guns.

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:21 AM (sKqQm)

=======

Maleducation is bad, mkay?

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 23, 2026 11:22 AM (U/SFE)

103 Also Browning, "The Laboratory":

"That in the mortar—you call it a gum?
Ah, the brave tree whence such gold oozings come!
And yonder soft phial, the exquisite blue,
Sure to taste sweetly,—is that poison too? . . .

"Soon, at the King’s, a mere lozenge to give
And Pauline should have just thirty minutes to live!
But to light a pastile, and Elise, with her head
And her breast and her arms and her hands, should drop dead!"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:22 AM (wzUl9)

104 Once again, an Earth woman manages to write poetry so bad even the Vogon's avoid this planet.

Douglass Adams knew his aside was not a jest.

Posted by: People's Hippo Voice at October 23, 2026 11:22 AM (3cUTc)

105 His latest topic? Is the modern interpretation of the 2nd Amendment wrong because the founders couldn't have understood repeating firearms?

I'll take "What is the Puckle Gun" for $2000, Alex.

The Puckle gun is a tripod-mounted, single-barreled flintlock weapon fitted with a manually operated revolving cylinder; Puckle advertised its main application as an anti-boarding gun for use on ships. The barrel was 3 feet (0.91 m) long with a bore of 1.25 inches (32 mm). The cylinder held 6 to 11 shots depending on configuration, and was hand-loaded with powder and shot while detached from the weapon.

Posted by: rickb223 at October 23, 2026 11:22 AM (zFt5U)

106 Back-to-back Art Threads today!

We could use a man like Kipling again.

.....Sorry, wrong format. Let me try again.

Back-to-back Art Threads!
This would be a better place
"If" Kipling still wrote.

Posted by: mikeski at October 23, 2026 11:23 AM (VHUov)

107 >>Mark Knopfler does great song lyrics with manly subjects like hobos, gamblers, miners and race car drivers.

Sometimes think Knopfler is the last balladeer.

Posted by: Nazdar at October 23, 2026 11:23 AM (NcvvS)

108 The author of Casey at the Bat, Ernest Thayer, grew up in Worcester, MA, my hometown. There is a small tribute to him in a local museum.

Posted by: Lincolntf at October 23, 2026 11:24 AM (vV6n9)

109 Here is the video for those interesting, it is a little less then 2m: https://tinyurl.com/5n7jp446

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:24 AM (sKqQm)

110 Posted by: JackStraw at October 23, 2026 11:17 AM (viF8m)

Thanks. Love that song.

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:24 AM (Ti9vn)

111 Second grade we learnt the first verse

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the burning of the school
We have tortured every teacher, we have broken every rule
We are marching down the hallway to hang the principal!
Our troops are marching on
Posted by: 88C+u at October 23, 2026 11:13 AM (88C+u)

My 3rd grade:
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
He has turned around the corner in a 57 Ford
With his foot on the throttle
And his hand around a bottle, and the other hand waving to the girls!

How do I remember this stuff??

Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy at October 23, 2026 11:24 AM (hmYU4)

112 Pee-Ewww!
Posted by: Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings at October 23, 2026 11:03 AM

*shakes fist upthread*

Damn it! Beat me to it.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 23, 2026 11:24 AM (KRh8R)

113 One thing I want to stress on this response, is that its not even just another 'yeah but still....'

The argument this libtard is making is that the founders wrote an Amendment saying normal people could own guns not understanding that normal people would be able to own guns.
Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:21 AM (sKqQm)

Yeah, they are willfully obtuse on this, as in so many other things.

One thing they cannot get is that the power balance was intentionally made so that it favored the people vs the government. The Founders were terrified by the history of almost all governments. The more powerful the government, the more tyranny. As one prof in college put it 'Sam Addams was one of these guys who saw tyranny climbing in through the windows.' He saw that as kind of a joke, but it is actually real.

THEY see a power balance favoring the individual as opposed top the government as bad because they see themselves as part of the government, being able to make others do what they want. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE FOUNDERS WERE TRYING TO FORESTALL.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:25 AM (Y/06r)

114 Many hold their men's manhoods cheap I'm often told, how you say, compared to me.

Posted by: Paolo at October 23, 2026 11:25 AM (0sNs1)

115 "damn the electric fence!"

Posted by: cmeat at October 23, 2026 11:25 AM (Bep7s)

116 Note that Browning, Kipling, Service, and most others quoted here all punctuated their poems as if they were prose -- so the reader would know what was going on. And so the person reading them aloud would too.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:25 AM (wzUl9)

117 The author of Casey at the Bat, Ernest Thayer, grew up in Worcester, MA, my hometown. There is a small tribute to him in a local museum.

Worcester now is another one of those hollowed out cities in MA.

I see the government there is about to levy a "congestion fee" on drivers in Boston.

But the whole reason Boston is congested is the state government workers for Boston powerbrokers and focuses on Boston area development with its federal/state graft

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:26 AM (sKqQm)

118 There's a breathless hush in the Close to-night --
Ten to make and the match to win --
A bumping pitch and a blinding light,
An hour to play and the last man in.
And it's not for the sake of a ribboned coat,
Or the selfish hope of a season's fame,
But his Captain's hand on his shoulder smote --
'Play up! play up! and play the game!'

The sand of the desert is sodden red, --
Red with the wreck of a square that broke; --
The Gatling's jammed and the Colonel dead,
And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.
The river of death has brimmed his banks,
And England's far, and Honour a name,
But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks:
'Play up! play up! and play the game!'

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 23, 2026 11:26 AM (eRlcH)

119 I googled Ann Carson.
She's not a lesbian, surprisingly.
Posted by: Elric The Blade

That poor man.....

Posted by: mikeski at October 23, 2026 11:26 AM (VHUov)

120 Who you gonna believe, real people or professional pollsters?

💥NEW: MS NOW Host Katy Tur *ADMITS* she is “MORE SKEPTICAL OF THE POLLING IN TEXAS” following her trip there💥

Tur said after talking to Texas voters on the ground, she feels like Republicans will ultimately remain loyal to their party.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 11:26 AM (ndZc7)

121
This is the word that year by year,
While in her place the School is set,
Every one of her sons must hear,
And none that hears it dare forget.
This they all with a joyful mind
Bear through life like a torch in flame,
And falling fling to the host behind --
'Play up! play up! and play the game!'

Sir Henry Newbolt (1862-193

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 23, 2026 11:26 AM (eRlcH)

122 Oh and another point in all this, the people telling me we need to ban guns because of crime also keep letting criminals free when they are convicted of illegally owning a gun.

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:27 AM (sKqQm)

123 I know many of you have been wondering: "Could Kamala's speaking voice possibly get any more irritating?". Wonder no more. She's trying out a new style that sounds like she's on Quaaludes talking to a bunch of retarded first graders.

https://tinyurl.com/29hdnwaa

Posted by: Archimedes at October 23, 2026 11:27 AM (Riz8t)

124 How do I remember this stuff??
Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy at October 23, 2026 11:24 AM (hmYU4)

I just remember the Comet song .

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:27 AM (Ti9vn)

125 122 Oh and another point in all this, the people telling me we need to ban guns because of crime also keep letting criminals free when they are convicted of illegally owning a gun.
Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:27 AM (sKqQm)

Because they see them as part of the tribe they want them to belong to.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:27 AM (Y/06r)

126 I'm reminded of two things:

1) The beginning of the Aeneid, as they're struggling to start a fire, uses various words with scraping sounds, to invoke that striking to gain a spark. That is talent.

2) recently read of a famous Spanish poet who said he preferred English because of it's wide variety of words that mean the same but also, depending on who we stole the word from, also have a slightly different meaning. That is talent.

This woman has none.

Posted by: People's Hippo Voice at October 23, 2026 11:28 AM (3cUTc)

127 NORFOLK, Va. — Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday left open the possibility that the Justice Department could seek to block states from certifying votes in the midterm elections, though he said it wasn't his intention to "improperly interfere with elections."

I am starting to wonder more and more if the significant decline in Dem early/mail in voting really is the fraudsters ramping down their normal efforts.

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:28 AM (sKqQm)

128 Real poetry can get you killed:

Our lives no longer feel ground under them.
At ten paces you can’t hear our words.

But whenever there’s a snatch of talk
it turns to the Kremlin mountaineer,

the ten thick worms his fingers,
his words like measures of weight,

the huge laughing cockroaches on his top lip,
the glitter of his boot-rims.

Ringed with a scum of chicken-necked bosses
he toys with the tributes of half-men.

One whistles, another meows, a third snivels.
He pokes out his finger and he alone goes boom.

He forges decrees in a line like horseshoes,
One for the groin, one the forehead, temple, eye.

He rolls the executions on his tongue like berries.
He wishes he could hug them like big friends from home.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 11:28 AM (aD4fx)

129 Never was a fan of his singing bug Bob Dylan songs are absolute poetry.

Posted by: JackStraw at October 23, 2026 11:28 AM (viF8m)

130 The reason that libtards make ridiculous, demonstrably false statement like that on the Second Amendment is they are ignorant. They haven’t read Madison’s notes or any of the states (including places like NY) ratification notes. Otherwise they would understand first hand (not from some AI bot), the Second Amendment was an essential part of ratification without which the entire Constitution would not have been ratified. If you read the arguments and notes they were not only talking about the common citizen to which the constitution and The Bill of Rights are written in their entirety for, but that they, the rightful owners of this government would have access to any and all arms, without limitation. That is, “shall not be infringed”. Jackasses.

Posted by: That Guy at October 23, 2026 11:29 AM (f4oEt)

131 Worcester was pretty much gone when I moved to NC 20 years ago. On occasional visits back home, the decline has just accelerated. Virtually all my friends and family have moved elsewhere. It's a shame.

Posted by: Lincolntf at October 23, 2026 11:29 AM (vV6n9)

132 I am starting to wonder more and more if the significant decline in Dem early/mail in voting really is the fraudsters ramping down their normal efforts.
Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:28 AM (sKqQm)

There is a certain tenor to all of this that is odd. I am not sure what the hell is going on. This is the problem with even paying attention to polls though. Does it change anything? No? Then shut the fuck up and vote, retard.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:29 AM (Y/06r)

133 Real poetry can get you killed:

Osip Mandelstam's poem about Stalin.

That got him arrested in 1938, and he died in a transit camp.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 11:29 AM (aD4fx)

134 That is lousy poetry.
OT, beautiful sunny day and the temperature has dropped from 49 to 46 degrees from 9:30 to 11:30. A bit odd.

Posted by: From about That Time at October 23, 2026 11:30 AM (sl73Y)

135 When you're lying wounded on Afghanistan's plains
And the women come out to cut up your remains
Just roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
And go to your death like a soldier

Posted by: bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door at October 23, 2026 11:30 AM (gm9Sb)

136 We all here recognize that limericks are the highest form of poetry and literature. We are all classy like that.

Posted by: The Man From Calcutta... at October 23, 2026 11:30 AM (EdP2u)

137 "In reality, Revere was one of many riders who raised the alarm that night. Some of their names have been lost to history, but at least two others feature prominently in historical accounts: William Dawes, who set out from Boston an hour before Revere, and Samuel Prescott, who arrived in Concord alone around 1:30 a.m. Revere’s ride ended around 1 a.m., when he was captured by a British patrol. ....
Unlike in the poem, these signals weren’t intended for Revere. They were a redundancy that allowed for communication with allies outside Boston in the event that Revere (and all other messengers) failed to leave the city undetected. Because Revere and Dawes both made it to Lexington, the system ended up being unnecessary.

Posted by: illiniwek at October 23, 2026 11:30 AM (vbXSk)

138 I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair

Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away
In the end

And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

Posted by: Johnny Cash at October 23, 2026 11:30 AM (rOKnE)

139
That got him arrested in 1938, and he died in a transit camp.
Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 11:29 AM (aD4fx)

_________

You see? Mass transit is deadly.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 23, 2026 11:30 AM (eRlcH)

140
I'm keeping the balls in the air
When I'm up here on the band
There'll be a little bit here and there
Still be trying to understand
But they'll all be in the air
When I'm up here on the band
What it is, I'm juggling here
I've only got two pairs of hands

Posted by: M. Knopfler at October 23, 2026 11:31 AM (yTY59)

141 This must be poetry because I don't understand it.

AOC: Keeping men out of women's sports and locker rooms is "attacking" women's "ability to stand up against...abusers, rapists, and assaulters."

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 11:31 AM (ndZc7)

142 >> We all here recognize that limericks are the highest form of poetry and literature. We are all classy like that.

Heh, just as puns are classy humor!

Posted by: Johnny Cash at October 23, 2026 11:31 AM (rOKnE)

143 The only good poems are about a man from Nintucket.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at October 23, 2026 11:31 AM (jmAGZ)

144 I made a heavy metal song out of this poem back in the day. I was surprised I was the first to do it. The lyrics are perfect for a metal song.

Tyger Tyger, burning bright, In the forests of the night.
What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies, Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain, In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp, Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears
And watered heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night.
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 23, 2026 11:31 AM (iFTx/)

145 I don't care if it rains or freezes
As long as I've got my Plastic Jesus
Glued to the dashboard of my car,
You can buy Him phosphorescent
Glows in the dark, He's Pink and Pleasant,
Take Him with you when you're travelling far

You can buy a Sweet Madonna
Dressed in rhinestones sitting on a
Pedestal of abalone shell
Goin' ninety, I'm not wary
'Cause I've got my Virgin Mary
Guaranteeing I won't go to Hell

I don't care if it bumps or jostles
Long as I got the Twelve Apostles
Bolted to the dashboard of my car
Don't I have a pious mess
Such a crowd of holiness
Strung across the dashboard of my car

Posted by: Archimedes at October 23, 2026 11:32 AM (Riz8t)

146 There is a certain tenor to all of this that is odd. I am not sure what the hell is going on

One interpretation is that the non-fake polling companies have added normal Dem levels of fraud into their sauce and the discord between the early results and polls is simply the fraudsters are afraid or have ditched some easier to catch methods.

But indeed, whatever the polls say, whatever social media says, whatever your friends say vote.

One point I've been making to my social circle is that if you liked Bidenomics with 10%+ inflation and high gas prices you should vote D. If you are mad about gas prices voting D will do NOTHING to lower them and that amusingly a strong showing in the mid terms for the Rs almost certainly ends the Iran war...

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:32 AM (sKqQm)

147 There is a certain tenor to all of this that is odd. I am not sure what the hell is going on.

They really are going to try for a Color Revolution after the election.

Lots of postings by Democratic officials indicating exactly that.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 11:32 AM (aD4fx)

148 I also find it hilarious that Cenk only did this when Miss Lindsey was safely dead. LOL. You are a bitch who cannot even take on a nancing poofter when he is alive.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:33 AM (Y/06r)

149 >>I am starting to wonder more and more if the significant decline in Dem early/mail in voting really is the fraudsters ramping down their normal efforts.

Been saying for a long time that Harmeet Dhillon and her team have been going after election integrity issues since the moment she took office.

I have no doubt at all we are seeing some of the results right now.

Posted by: JackStraw at October 23, 2026 11:33 AM (viF8m)

150 His latest topic? Is the modern interpretation of the 2nd Amendment wrong because the founders couldn't have understood repeating firearms?

I presume the topic is being brought back up because El Sayed has been repeating the same tired BS. I mean, he's a sooper shmart doctor and everything; can't we at least get some novel BS?

Posted by: Oddbob at October 23, 2026 11:33 AM (vTZFs)

151
"A BILL WHICH HAS SHOCKED THE CONSCIENCE OF EVERY CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IN EUROPE."—Mr. F. E. Smith, ON THE WELSH DISESTABLISHMENT BILL.

Are they clinging to their crosses,
F. E. Smith,
Where the Breton boat-fleet tosses,
Are they, Smith?
Do they, fasting, trembling, bleeding,
Wait the news from this our city?
Groaning "That's the Second Reading!"
Hissing "There is still Committee!"
If the voice of Cecil falters,
If McKenna's point has pith,
Do they tremble for their altars?
Do they, Smith?

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 23, 2026 11:33 AM (eRlcH)

152 What leftists don't understand is that they are no different, and certainly no more intelligent, than man has been at any time in recorded history.
This allows them to ignore history, as well as any precedents that have been relied on for eons.
Leftists are fucktards.

Posted by: From about That Time at October 23, 2026 11:33 AM (sl73Y)

153 Here's one about untrammeled immigration in the EU:

The rivers remind me
of your open borders.
There are things unbearable.
Burnings, lootings, this 'peaceful' gathering
of consequence.

Posted by: Darrell Harris at October 23, 2026 11:33 AM (0CU3H)

154 Roses are red
Violets are blue
No wobbly shit
And buy ammo too

Posted by: Weasel at October 23, 2026 11:33 AM (PBGYg)

155 >>AOC: Keeping men out of women's sports and locker rooms is "attacking" women's "ability to stand up against...abusers, rapists, and assaulters."

A guess?

Keeping men out of women's sports and locker rooms is "attacking" transwomen's "ability to stand up against...abusers, rapists, and assaulters they would encounter if forced to use the MENS room."

*Does this mean I speak Idiot?

Posted by: Lizzy at October 23, 2026 11:33 AM (rOKnE)

156 Loved it when Todd Blanche pronounced it Ports-MOUTH.

Posted by: It's the armpit of Hampton Roads at October 23, 2026 11:34 AM (yTY59)

157 Woman, Woe Man , whooa man
Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:11 AM

She stole my heart and my cat.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 23, 2026 11:34 AM (KRh8R)

158 When I was just a little tyke, I learned this classic from my uncle:

In fourteen hundred ninety-two,
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He sailed so fast he skinned his ass,
And wiped it on a clump of grass.

Posted by: ChupaMe at October 23, 2026 11:34 AM (ZuokN)

159 The only good poems are about a man from Nintucket.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at October 23, 2026 11:31 AM (jmAGZ)

There once was a pirate named Bates
Who danced the fandango on skates
He fell on his cutlass
Which rendered him nutless
And practically useless on dates

Posted by: far cry at October 23, 2026 11:34 AM (Q6P2R)

160 I also find it hilarious that Cenk only did this when Miss Lindsey was safely dead. LOL. You are a bitch who cannot even take on a nancing poofter when he is alive.

TBF, Lindsey totally fooled them by dying before October.

Posted by: Oddbob at October 23, 2026 11:34 AM (vTZFs)

161 Roses are red
Violets are blue
No wobbly shit
And buy ammo too
Posted by: Weasel at October 23, 2026 11:33 AM

Now this...this is sheer poetry.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 23, 2026 11:34 AM (KRh8R)

162 Here's a interesting potential future to consider.

In the new congress the Dems are +1 in the house. The Reps though ban Omar under the Santos standard giving them a 1 vote advantage

How does the media play that?

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:34 AM (sKqQm)

163 As soon as I put this hot poker in my ass,
I’m going to chop my dick off.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 23, 2026 11:34 AM (iFTx/)

164 Lots of postings by Democratic officials indicating exactly that.

J.B. Pritzker, for example:

The Trump administration is on notice: Governors across this country—myself included—are watching closely.

Any attempt to silence Americans' voices will be met with fierce resistance from the states.

We WILL defend the right to vote.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 11:34 AM (aD4fx)

165 Sometimes think Knopfler is the last balladeer.
Posted by: Nazdar
__________

But a very sad one. Uplift is definitely not his thing.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at October 23, 2026 11:35 AM (JzUSu)

166 My ex wife was a pretty accomplished poet, and quite a bit of her stuff is pretty good. Her interest in poetry led to me being exposed to more poems than most people and that meant that I got exposed to a great deal of really bad poems.

I think a poem should be an attempt to communicate an idea clearly and a lot of wannabe poets either have no ideas worth communicating or don't know what it means to be clear. What turned out to be popular, at least in this one poety slam I went to, was stuff that was intended to be outrageous. Because it is easier to offend than delight. At least at first.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at October 23, 2026 11:35 AM (Zst8M)

167 147 There is a certain tenor to all of this that is odd. I am not sure what the hell is going on.

They really are going to try for a Color Revolution after the election.

Lots of postings by Democratic officials indicating exactly that.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 11:32 AM (aD4fx)

========

Their last effort worked so well that months of mail in ballot fraud wasn't enough to overcome the people not buying into it that they shut down ballot counting in six states in the middle of the night to ballot box stuff like Tammany Hall and barely got Biden a victory.

The Trump DOJ of 2028 will not be the same Trump DOJ of 2020 and will not react the same way.

So, the left will Furgeson Effect more urban centers, further radicalizing the center against them while driving out more of their economies, and Todd Blanche won't allow the cheat to happen again.

Good luck.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 23, 2026 11:35 AM (U/SFE)

168 This must be like a metaphor or a simile.

💥NEW: Jennifer Welch demands "PISTOLS FIRING" at JD Vance in *UNHINGED* rant💥
Welch crossed the line here.
She called Vance an "Antichrist-style sociopath" who's unfit to be a father, husband, and vice president.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 11:35 AM (ndZc7)

169 I'm starting to think they really are going to expose the rigging of the 2020 election.

>>@AGToddBlanche
·
21m
>>Allegedly lying to Congress on investigations regarding the 2020 election is blatant corruption and weaponization. Anyone entrusted with public office has a duty to serve with honesty and integrity including federal law enforcement officials, and those who abuse that public trust will be held accountable. No one is above the law

Posted by: JackStraw at October 23, 2026 11:35 AM (viF8m)

170 TBF, Lindsey totally fooled them by dying before October.
Posted by: Oddbob at October 23, 2026 11:34 AM (vTZFs)

From Hell's heart I stab at thee!
For Hate's sake, I spit my last breathe at thee!

Posted by: Miss Lindsey, Metal in Death at October 23, 2026 11:36 AM (Y/06r)

171 Oh and another point in all this, the people telling me we need to ban guns because of crime also keep letting criminals free when they are convicted of illegally owning a gun.
Posted by: 18-1

Criminals need their guns because the are forced to live in such tough circumstances, and to protect themselves against law abiding gun owners.

Posted by: From about That Time at October 23, 2026 11:36 AM (sl73Y)

172 There was a young man
From Cork who got limericks
And haikus confused

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 23, 2026 11:36 AM (xg/DD)

173
She called Vance an "Antichrist-style sociopath" who's unfit to be a father, husband, and vice president.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 11:35 AM (ndZc7)

___________

"We're all Democrats here." - Antichrist-Style Sociopaths Union, Local 347

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 23, 2026 11:37 AM (eRlcH)

174 Was in HS when Tommy G. told me he didn't want to go steady anymore. Here's the poem I chose to memorize:

Farewell love and all thy laws forever
Thy baited hook shall tangle me no more
Senec and Plato call me from thy lore
To perfect wealth, my wit for to endeavor
When in blind error I did persevere
Thy sharp repulse which pricketh aye so sore
Hath taught me to set in trifles no store
And search forth! Since liberty is lever
Therefore, farewell. Go trouble younger hearts
And in me claim no more authority
On idle youth go use thy property
For hitherto though I have lost my time
Me lusteth no longer rotten boughs to climb.

Yeah. I was all of 16. And a total jerk.
Hahaha!

Posted by: IrishEi ?! at October 23, 2026 11:37 AM (3ImbR)

175 >> I also find it hilarious that Cenk only did this when Miss Lindsey was safely dead. LOL. You are a bitch who cannot even take on a nancing poofter when he is alive.

I assume he dropped this bombshell in order to distract from the drip drip drip of information about America's Sweetheart Ilhan Omar.

Problem is, he held onto this lil' secret too long.
Ooops! Woopsie!

Posted by: Lizzy at October 23, 2026 11:37 AM (rOKnE)

176 I apologize for posting over frequently today, but I am consumed by the power of a real keyboard.

Posted by: From about That Time at October 23, 2026 11:37 AM (sl73Y)

177 We don't need poetry. We've got rap.

Rap (aka skeltonic verse) is just cultural appropriation from 15th century English poet John Skelton

Posted by: Community Notes at October 23, 2026 11:37 AM (BvPIe)

178
I don't care if it bumps or jostles
Long as I got the Twelve Apostles
Bolted to the dashboard of my car
Don't I have a pious mess
Such a crowd of holiness
Strung across the dashboard of my car
Posted by: Archimedes at October 23, 2026 11:32 AM

Here's a great version:

https://youtu.be/pIqF-Mrh2bk

Posted by: But it's not a music thread at October 23, 2026 11:38 AM (yTY59)

179 Lindsey Graham was Gay?!!?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:38 AM (Y/06r)

180 You see? Mass transit is deadly.

The "politicals" usually died quickly in the Gulag - Mandelstam stayed alive a bit longer because he was adopted by a criminal gang in prison who protected him in exchange for Mandelstam reciting poetry for the gang members in the evening.

Russians, man.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 11:38 AM (aD4fx)

181
Red Skelton >>>> John Skelton

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 23, 2026 11:38 AM (eRlcH)

182 The beginning of the Aeneid, as they're struggling to start a fire, uses various words with scraping sounds, to invoke that striking to gain a spark. That is talent.

Only works if you speak ancient greek.

Posted by: From about That Time at October 23, 2026 11:38 AM (sl73Y)

183 The "politicals" usually died quickly in the Gulag - Mandelstam stayed alive a bit longer because he was adopted by a criminal gang in prison who protected him in exchange for Mandelstam reciting poetry for the gang members in the evening.

Russians, man.
Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 11:38 AM (aD4fx)

The days before internet porn.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:39 AM (Y/06r)

184 The other thing about modern"poetry" is that they seem to have forgotten how to punctuate.

It's not just modern poetry. One thing I've learned on my local nextdoor site is that our educational system is a failure. About a third of the people out there spend thirteen years in public schools, and still don't know how to put a period at the end of a sentence.

Posted by: nerdygirl at October 23, 2026 11:39 AM (0Htd1)

185 179 Lindsey Graham was Gay?!!?
Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:38 AM (Y/06r)

No way

Posted by: Ricky Martin at October 23, 2026 11:39 AM (YNt71)

186 Perhaps this Anne Carson poetry sounds better in the original Esperanto? Just spit-ballin' here...

Posted by: Angzarr the Cromulent at October 23, 2026 11:39 AM (y2f7I)

187 I'm in a notebook group and the guy sends out cards to use with a notebook. He has a poem on last month's. It goes, "I shot an arrow into the air. It fell to earth, I know not where"

Posted by: Notsothoreau at October 23, 2026 11:40 AM (JNr/z)

188
Mandelstam stayed alive a bit longer because he was adopted by a criminal gang in prison who protected him in exchange for Mandelstam reciting poetry for the gang members in the evening.

__________

US Embassy employee Alexander Dolgin similarly was the bard for a gang of criminals in the early 50s.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 23, 2026 11:40 AM (eRlcH)

189 It’s interesting the favorite poems here all have a rhyming scheme. I don’t think poetry needs to rhyme, but it would benefit if it made sense.

Where is Prof. Squirrel? I bet he has some great examples for us to consider!
Posted by: Piper at October 23, 2026 11:14 AM (ZdaMQ)
---
I'm here!

When I was a senior in high school, we did a unit on poetry for my AP Literature course.

I chose to do my project on Tolkien. Got a solid "A" on the project.

He's still one of my favorites.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 23, 2026 11:41 AM (FZ29D)

190 >>They really are going to try for a Color Revolution after the election.

>>Lots of postings by Democratic officials indicating exactly that.

Here's the plan.

https://tinyurl.com/md7uhbjs

Some patriot, nobody knows who and DataRepublican isn't saying, gave her all of these documents, videos and recordings.

If you don't want to read all and listen to all the detail here's a pretty good synopsis that was printed in The Federalist this morning.

https://tinyurl.com/4xc8tuax

Posted by: JackStraw at October 23, 2026 11:41 AM (viF8m)

191 Red Skelton >>>> John Skelton
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 23, 2026 11:38 AM (eRlcH)
~~~~~

There's a Skelton Funeral Home near me.

Posted by: IrishEi ?! at October 23, 2026 11:41 AM (3ImbR)

192 US Embassy employee Alexander Dolgin similarly was the bard for a gang of criminals in the early 50s.

Poetry is a big, big deal in Russian culture.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 11:41 AM (aD4fx)

193
Here's a great version:

https://youtu.be/pIqF-Mrh2bk

My favorite version. Thanks.

Posted by: Archimedes at October 23, 2026 11:42 AM (Riz8t)

194 Did not see that coming.

NEW: Multiple federal sources confirm to @FoxNews that the suspect arrested for using a sledgehammer to behead a WW2 Iwo Jima monument in Quantico, VA on Tuesday is a Mexican illegal alien & former DACA recipient whose legal status expired this year.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 11:42 AM (ndZc7)

195 @184 -- Ummm...be careful there nerdygirl, there's a few regular posters on this here smart military blog that have terrible spelling, punctuation, syntax, and grammar.

Posted by: Angzarr the Cromulent at October 23, 2026 11:42 AM (y2f7I)

196 There was a young man
From Cork who got limericks
And haikus confused
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes

Re-using one from a few days ago:

Roses are red
Violets are blue
My haiku has too many lines
And my limerick too few

Posted by: mikeski at October 23, 2026 11:42 AM (VHUov)

197 Nazdar

Sponge lives on, so I am bereft of "First".

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 23, 2026 11:43 AM (u82oZ)

198 There's a Skelton Funeral Home near me.
Posted by: IrishEi ?!

Don't they usually bury them long before that?

Posted by: mikeski at October 23, 2026 11:43 AM (VHUov)

199 There was a young man
From Cork who got limericks
And haikus confused
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 23, 2026 11:36 AM (xg/DD)

Did you write that? Awesome.

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:44 AM (Ti9vn)

200
The parodies of Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha" are far superior to the original.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 23, 2026 11:44 AM (eRlcH)

201 Was going to mention Robert Service when I saw the title of the post. My pop loaned me a book of his stuff. Manly-man poetry.

Funny, but I also really dig Leaves of Grass, even though the author was, err..., light in the loafers. "My foothold is tenn'd and mortised in granite". Really cool.

Posted by: Not Enough Lampposts at October 23, 2026 11:44 AM (lfNXu)

202 The Trump administration is on notice: Governors across this country—myself included—are watching closely.

Any attempt to silence Americans' voices will be met with fierce resistance from the states.

We WILL defend the right to vote.
Posted by: The ARC of History!

I'd like to watch SWAT tune this fat fucktard up.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 23, 2026 11:44 AM (8B4gm)

203 >>But a very sad one. Uplift is definitely not his thing.

Would have said wistful or melancholy rather than sad. And 'Industrial Disease' is one of the real joys on Love Over Gold.

Posted by: Nazdar at October 23, 2026 11:44 AM (NcvvS)

204 I hate poetry. It's nothing but rhythmic show tunes.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at October 23, 2026 11:45 AM (g8Ew8)

205 The beginning of the Aeneid, as they're struggling to start a fire, uses various words with scraping sounds, to invoke that striking to gain a spark. That is talent.
*
Only works if you speak ancient greek.
Posted by: From about That Time at October 23, 2026

***
But Virgil wrote in Classical Latin, didn't he?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:45 AM (wzUl9)

206 ...and still don't know how to put a period at the end of a sentence.

I can't be the only one who puts two spaces between sentences in this box and is annoyed when HTML collapses it to one, can I?

Posted by: Oddbob at October 23, 2026 11:46 AM (vTZFs)

207
I hate poetry. It's nothing but rhythmic show tunes.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at October 23, 2026 11:45 AM (g8Ew

_________

Throw out your hands
Stick out your tush
Hands on your hips
Give 'em a push
You'll be surprised
You're doing the French Mistake
Voila!

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 23, 2026 11:47 AM (eRlcH)

208 But Virgil wrote in Classical Latin, didn't he?
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:45 AM (wzUl9)

Well, he spoke and wrote in Latin... during the Classical period.

So... yes.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:47 AM (Y/06r)

209 It's as dumb as saying the internet didn't exist back then so the Founders couldn't have imagined speaking to so many people at one time, which is far more dangerous than to 2 or 3 or a room full or crowd of townspeople back then.

And trust me the Left will argue that eventually.

Posted by: ... at October 23, 2026 11:47 AM (EX3Wq)

210 204 I hate poetry. It's nothing but rhythmic show tunes.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at October 23, 2026 11:45 AM (g8Ew

Aren't all showtunes rhythmic?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:47 AM (Y/06r)

211 ...and still don't know how to put a period at the end of a sentence.
*
I can't be the only one who puts two spaces between sentences in this box and is annoyed when HTML collapses it to one, can I?
Posted by: Oddbob at October 23, 2026

***
You are not alone, Oddbob.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:47 AM (wzUl9)

212 @Polymarket
JUST IN: UK police arrest 15 y/o boy, seize his devices, & collect his DNA after he posted photo of a local politician edited to look like a rabbit.
-----------------

The Brits have gone absolutely insane.

By the way, the kid did a pretty good job--here's a pic:

https://tinyurl.com/2pmte5h3

Posted by: IrishEi ?! at October 23, 2026 11:47 AM (3ImbR)

213 and still don't know how to put a period at the end of a sentence.

I can't be the only one who puts two spaces between sentences in this box and is annoyed when HTML collapses it to one, can I?
Posted by: Oddbob at October 23, 2026 11:46 AM (vTZFs)

I blame EE CUMMINGS. swidt

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:47 AM (Ti9vn)

214 Nobel poetess needs her some Jesus.

Posted by: Eromero at October 23, 2026 11:48 AM (w5SWv)

215 Longfellow ... if that's not some dude's pr0n name, it should be.

Posted by: far cry at October 23, 2026 11:48 AM (Q6P2R)

216 Whenever I took a creative writing class, I hated the poetry segment. Aside from some ability to do a limerick or some other short piece, I always struggled with rhyme and meter. But I hate free-verse, seems like cheating.

Tolkien wrote some wonderful poetry, featured in Lord of the Rings, etc.

Posted by: Pug Mahon at October 23, 2026 11:48 AM (PSEDc)

217 No limericks from Nantucket?

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubcon at October 23, 2026 11:48 AM (eStot)

218 >>Sponge lives on, so I am bereft of "First".

You're 'First' Heir!

Posted by: Nazdar at October 23, 2026 11:48 AM (NcvvS)

219 I'd like to watch SWAT tune this fat fucktard up.

I'm actually quite worried - a number of Democratic governors are talking about calling up the National Guard "to protect polling places".

Our cold civil war may be on the verge of getting considerably hotter.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 11:49 AM (aD4fx)

220 Roses are red,
violets are blue.
I have a gun,
get in the van.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at October 23, 2026 11:49 AM (2UnvF)

221 Timbucktoo

A''hunting Tim and I did went
And found three maidens in a tent.
They being three and we but two,
I bucked one and Tim bucked two!

Posted by: Diogenes at October 23, 2026 11:49 AM (2WIwB)

222 Posted by: IrishEi ?! at October 23, 2026 11:47 AM (3ImbR

They are getting closer to full blown INGSOC than they realize.

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:49 AM (Ti9vn)

223 Polymarket
JUST IN: UK police arrest 15 y/o boy, seize his devices, & collect his DNA after he posted photo of a local politician edited to look like a rabbit.
-----------------

The Brits have gone absolutely insane.

By the way, the kid did a pretty good job--here's a pic:

https://tinyurl.com/2pmte5h3
Posted by: IrishEi ?!

The bobbies hopped to it. They have ears everywhere.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at October 23, 2026 11:49 AM (8B4gm)

224 >>I can't be the only one who puts two spaces between sentences in this box and is annoyed when HTML collapses it to one, can I?

Nope.

Posted by: Nazdar at October 23, 2026 11:50 AM (NcvvS)

225 @206 -- Oddbob, if you inspect the HTML source, there's still two spaces. Hmmm...

Posted by: Angzarr the Cromulent at October 23, 2026 11:50 AM (xAP/Y)

226 I can't be the only one who puts two spaces between sentences in this box and is annoyed when HTML collapses it to one, can I?
Posted by: Oddbob at October 23, 2026
~~~~~

You're not alone, Oddbob. Typing teacher (nun) told us there were two spaces after a period and one after a comma so that when reading aloud we would know to have a longer pause at the end of a sentence, but a shorter one after a phrase.

Makes sense to me.

Posted by: IrishEi ?! at October 23, 2026 11:50 AM (3ImbR)

227 Our cold civil war may be on the verge of getting considerably hotter.

We'll see how that turns out - the Oregon National Guard is not recruited from trendy leftist neighborhoods in Portland.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 11:51 AM (aD4fx)

228
Roses are red
Violets are purple
Sugar is sweet
and so is maple surple

Posted by: Pug Mahon at October 23, 2026 11:51 AM (PSEDc)

229 That damn Hegseth!

Harvard Medical School speaker says weight-loss drugs are "imperialistic" scheme to trick people into military service

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 11:51 AM (ndZc7)

230

It was not part of their blood,
It came to them very late,
With long arrears to make good,
When the Saxon began to hate.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at October 23, 2026 11:51 AM (Cqx++)

231 Roses are red
Violets are blue
No wobbly shit
And buy ammo too
Posted by: Weasel at October 23, 2026 11:33 AM

Now this...this is sheer poetry.
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at October 23, 2026 11:34 AM (KRh8R)

***

*wipes tear from eye*
That's beautiful man!

Posted by: Diogenes at October 23, 2026 11:51 AM (2WIwB)

232 Here's to the bull that roams the woods

And does the heffers lots of good

If it were not for the road he trod

What would we do for beef by god

Posted by: Kittens! at October 23, 2026 11:52 AM (LOZbR)

233 Harvard Medical School speaker says weight-loss drugs are "imperialistic" scheme to trick people into military service

Is "imperialist" the new "racist"?

Posted by: Archimedes at October 23, 2026 11:52 AM (Riz8t)

234 To A Crippled Girl

It's not your peg leg,
It's not your hook.
What turns me on
Is that spastic look.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at October 23, 2026 11:52 AM (g8Ew8)

235 Saw on X that leftists and Muslims are now burning and ransacking Montreal. Is there some kind of Davos hard-on about hating the French or something?

I guess the real test will be if they go after Haiti next.

Posted by: Ian S. at October 23, 2026 11:52 AM (2ocoG)

236 I blame EE CUMMINGS. swidt
Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026

***
I'll give him that he did punctuate most of the time. But he broke his lines in odd places. And "Buffalo Bill's" is all one weird line.

"how do you like your blue-eyed boy
Mister Death"

(I have to wonder if Thomas Harris had this poem in mind when he wrote Silence of the Lambs.)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:53 AM (wzUl9)

237 Heard from my HS freshman biology teacher:

Little Mary loved to skate,
She loved to jump and frisk.
Oh wasn't she a foolish girl
Her little *.

Thanks, Ms Dorsey!

Posted by: Nazdar at October 23, 2026 11:53 AM (NcvvS)

238 FoxNews:

Former FBI officials Nikki Cole Floris and Bradley Benavides, according to the DOJ, falsely denied involvement in the investigations into former President Joe Biden’s son when speaking to Congress. Both surrendered Friday on arrest warrants, according to the DOJ. "Lying to Congress by anyone strikes at the heart of our democratic system, but when senior FBI agents lie to Congress believing they are above the law, it’s time to bring the hammer of justice down on them," U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said of the charges.

Posted by: SMOD at October 23, 2026 11:53 AM (RHGPo)

239 I guess the real test will be if they go after Haiti next.
Posted by: Ian S. at October 23, 2026 11:52 AM (2ocoG)

They have to get in line behind Bukele.

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:54 AM (Ti9vn)

240 These have not aged well, but I have a file called Cheneyku. Here are some examples:

Remember, lefties
I'm not running for office
Your polls make me laugh

Hello, Jon Stewart
You cried on September 12
But haven't since: Why?

I'm bald and morose
I don't look good in swim trunks
Eight years, no attacks

Every time I sneer
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed faints
Try that one, Barack

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 23, 2026 11:54 AM (xg/DD)

241 Ok, to what end?

-protect illegals voting or ballot shennanigans?

-get the guard mobilized and after they are in it, they will just follow whatever orders you give them?

-or do they really believe their own copy?

-or are they doing this to show how much they believe in what they are saying so when they scream the election is stolen, people will believe them?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:54 AM (Y/06r)

242 Our moral superiors, the Canadians:

A court is fining Jeremy Levy, mayor of a suburb of Montreal, ordering him to pay $30,000 for social media posts about Gaza, saying he does not want people from Gaza immigrating to Canada: "Their values seem incompatible with ours, and I do not wish to welcome more hatred into our country".

Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 11:54 AM (aD4fx)

243 I was raised by the silence of men,
By hands that worked and hearts that bent.
By words unspoken, promises kept,
And the tears they buried where no one wept.

I learned that strength was more than might,
More than a fist or winning a fight.
It’s standing firm when the world turns cold,
And keeping your honor when your pride is sold.

Posted by: runner, Poet Laureate, Doctor of Letters and Songs at October 23, 2026 11:55 AM (AKptf)

244 Is there some kind of Davos hard-on about hating the French or something?

----------------

Say it! Say it, motherfucker!

Sacre Bleu!

BLAM BLAM BLAM

Posted by: Duke Lowell at October 23, 2026 11:55 AM (2UnvF)

245 Muldoon for the Nobel !!!
Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:02 AM (Ti9vn)

This!!

But will he still remember us when he is rich and famous?

Posted by: Diogenes at October 23, 2026 11:56 AM (2WIwB)

246 A man is forged where the fire burns deep,
In battles he fights while the world sleeps.
In debts he pays, in wounds he hides,
In the storms he faces with fear inside.

Posted by: runner, Poet Laureate, Doctor of Letters and Songs at October 23, 2026 11:56 AM (AKptf)

247 You want a poem? Read Kipling's 'Tommy' …

"When the sun goes down / on Afghanistan's plains / and the women come out / to cut up what remains / just roll to your rifle / and blow out your brains / and go to your God like a soldier."

Posted by: Dr_No at October 23, 2026 11:56 AM (ayRl+)

248 Our moral superiors, the Canadians:

A court is fining Jeremy Levy, mayor of a suburb of Montreal, ordering him to pay $30,000 for social media posts about Gaza, saying he does not want people from Gaza immigrating to Canada: "Their values seem incompatible with ours, and I do not wish to welcome more hatred into our country".

The smarter ones have figured out that now is the time to establish your sanity bona fides by challenging the current lunatic regime. When the loons are overthrown, people will vote for those who stood firm.

Posted by: Archimedes at October 23, 2026 11:56 AM (Riz8t)

249 247 You want a poem? Read Kipling's 'Tommy' …

"When the sun goes down / on Afghanistan's plains / and the women come out / to cut up what remains / just roll to your rifle / and blow out your brains / and go to your God like a soldier."

Posted by: Dr_No at October 23, 2026 11:56 AM (ayRl+)

=========

"/ and he plays a mean pinball."

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, precisely framed and deadpan with Wes Anderson at October 23, 2026 11:56 AM (U/SFE)

250 Well, he spoke and wrote in Latin... during the Classical period.

So... yes.
Posted by: Aetius451AD

Greek, Latin, whatevah......

Posted by: From about That Time at October 23, 2026 11:56 AM (sl73Y)

251 My jaw
and sphincter clenched
in agony and arson
as I read the "poetry"
of Anne Carson

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at October 23, 2026 11:56 AM (n5tGW)

252 Cyberpunk dogs.

Polymarket
@Polymarket
JUST IN: Palmer Luckey's genetically modified military dog startup, Warhound, comes out of stealth, aiming to create enhanced canines for the U.S. military.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 11:57 AM (ndZc7)

253 Runner, are those your lines? A 'Net search turns up nothing.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:57 AM (wzUl9)

254 Thank you ! Thank you! You may all sit down. NO, I insist. SIT.DOWN. I would like to thank the Academy of All Awesome Stuff for this exceptional award! I totally deserve it !

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2026 11:58 AM (AKptf)

255 Well color my shocked that the people that rant about the dangers of fascism constantly also apparently want to destroy American statues honoring the men that fought in WWII...

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:58 AM (sKqQm)

256 “One equal temper of heroic hearts
Made weak by time and fate.
But strong in will.
To strive, to seek, to find
And not to yield.”

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at October 23, 2026 11:58 AM (kYmoU)

257 Runner, are those your lines? A 'Net search turns up nothing.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 11:57 AM (wzUl9)

no, of course not - chat GPT!

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2026 11:58 AM (AKptf)

258 See, see the boot of my foot

In the glow of the moon

And the glow of the sun

And the glow of the stars

And the glow of the little green ball of snot

That I picked from my nose

And flicked at the moon
And the glow of the moon

And the glow of the sun

And the glow of the stars

And the glow of the little green ball of snot…

Posted by: Grunthos the Flatulent at October 23, 2026 11:59 AM (3g9Kl)

259 JUST IN: Palmer Luckey's genetically modified military dog startup, Warhound, comes out of stealth, aiming to create enhanced canines for the U.S. military.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 11:57 AM (ndZc7)

I'm conflicted .

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:59 AM (Ti9vn)

260 A court is fining Jeremy Levy, mayor of a suburb of Montreal, ordering him to pay $30,000 for social media posts about Gaza, saying he does not want people from Gaza immigrating to Canada: "Their values seem incompatible with ours, and I do not wish to welcome more hatred into our country".

At least central Americans will bring good food with them...

Gaza you are getting, uh, used goat kebab

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 11:59 AM (sKqQm)

261 Who blow up da owl?

Posted by: logprof at October 23, 2026 12:00 PM (19zXz)

262 I'd like to watch SWAT tune this fat fucktard up.

I'm actually quite worried - a number of Democratic governors are talking about calling up the National Guard "to protect polling places".

Our cold civil war may be on the verge of getting considerably hotter.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 11:49 AM (aD4fx)
==
The problem is, what do they actually do. If they interfere in federal action supporting the enforcement of legal voting, and they are already called up, the president just nationalizes them.

I think the dems realize they aren't going to have a blue wave, and are maybe fearful they won't even get the House. Please, burn down your big blue urban hell holes as part of your hissey fit.

Posted by: Black JEM at October 23, 2026 12:00 PM (7/DDO)

263 Who knew excess awesome was an impeachable offense?

Hillary Clinton Favors Impeachment of Pete Hegseth, Other Trump Admin Officials

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 12:01 PM (ndZc7)

264 man is forged where the fire burns deep,
In battles he fights while the world sleeps.
In debts he pays, in wounds he hides,
In the storms he faces with fear inside.
Posted by: runner, Poet Laureate, Doctor of Letters and Songs at October 23, 2026 11:56 AM (AKptf)

Sounds like a Spartan poem.

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 12:01 PM (Ti9vn)

265 "Goat ass"

By Abdul Abdullah

Yes, that's the entire poem

He won a Nobellah Prize for that

Posted by: Elric The Blade at October 23, 2026 12:01 PM (iFTx/)

266 France is apparently going to light up tomorrow.

Major demonstrations planned.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 12:01 PM (aD4fx)

267 Sometimes think Knopfler is the last balladeer.
Posted by: Nazdar
__________

But a very sad one. Uplift is definitely not his thing.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at October 23, 2026 11:35 AM (JzUSu)

Not always! He finished off by winning at the Nazareth Speedway, for instance.

Posted by: far cry at October 23, 2026 12:01 PM (Q6P2R)

268 Robert Browning is fine, but if you overdo it you'll get Robert Burns.

Posted by: muldoon at October 23, 2026 12:02 PM (I0N4X)

269 “One equal temper of heroic hearts
Made weak by time and fate.
But strong in will.
To strive, to seek, to find
And not to yield.”
Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at October 23, 2026

***
M quoting that at the hearing in Skyfall was just one of the many highlights of that movie.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 12:02 PM (wzUl9)

270 "demonstrations"

Of what? Being illegal commie muzzie gutter scum?

Posted by: ... at October 23, 2026 12:03 PM (EX3Wq)

271 I'm in Texas so any Lefty uprising will be short and sweet.

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 12:03 PM (Ti9vn)

272 55 I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he;
I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three;
‘Good speed!’ cried the watch, as the gate-bolts undrew;
‘Speed!’ echoed the wall to us galloping through;
Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to rest,
And into the midnight we galloped abreast.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 23, 2026 11:12 AM (qlLNh)

This is very stirring! I did not know of this.

Posted by: m at October 23, 2026 12:03 PM (odBC9)

273 JUST IN: Palmer Luckey's genetically modified military dog startup, Warhound, comes out of stealth, aiming to create enhanced canines for the U.S. military.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 11:57 AM (ndZc7)

Uh oh. One step closer to YD's rape dogs.

Posted by: far cry at October 23, 2026 12:04 PM (Q6P2R)

274 "The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee..."

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2026 12:04 PM (AKptf)

275 There once were a lot of girls NOT from Nantucket...

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at October 23, 2026 12:04 PM (n5tGW)

276 Well color my shocked that the people that rant about the dangers of fascism constantly also apparently want to destroy American statues honoring the men that fought in WWII...
Posted by: 18-1

Sen. Elissa Slotkin
@SenatorSlotkin
Fear is the point. Intimidation is the point. And if the President can try to do this to me, he can do it to anyone.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 12:04 PM (ndZc7)

277
Major demonstrations planned.
Posted by: The ARC of History! at October 23, 2026 12:01 PM (aD4fx)

__________

The Steelers offensive line can clear the street. Good practice.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 23, 2026 12:04 PM (eRlcH)

278 JUST IN: Palmer Luckey's genetically modified military dog startup, Warhound, comes out of stealth, aiming to create enhanced canines for the U.S. military.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 11:57 AM (ndZc7)

I'm conflicted .
Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 11:59 AM (Ti9vn)
----
"As part of Mr. Lee's good neighbor policy, all Rat Things are programmed to never break the sound barrier in a populated area. But Fido's in too much of a hurry to worry about the good neighbor policy. Jack the sound barrier. Bring the noise."

--Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 23, 2026 12:04 PM (FZ29D)

279 My esteem for Bob Dylan in winning the Nobel Prize for Literature and decade ago has disintegrated like the victims of Thanos' snap. I should have known that the award would become as meaningless as the Nobel Peace Prize.

That previous paragraph makes me wonder why we always réfer to the latter as the Nobel Peace Prize, but all other categories as the Nobel Pruze for (appropriate category here.)

Posted by: tankdemon at October 23, 2026 12:04 PM (1DZZj)

280 "...Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown …"

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2026 12:04 PM (AKptf)

281 Kinda partial to the poetry of Dana Gioia, James Dickey, Donald Justice, and Philip Larkin myself.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 23, 2026 12:05 PM (q3u5l)

282
JUST IN: Palmer Luckey's genetically modified military dog startup, Warhound, comes out of stealth, aiming to create enhanced canines for the U.S. military.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 11:57 AM (ndZc7)

_________

Psycho Chihuahuas of Death

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 23, 2026 12:05 PM (eRlcH)

283 Sen. Elissa Slotkin
@SenatorSlotkin
Fear is the point. Intimidation is the point. And if the President can try to do this to me, he can do it to anyone.

===

Bitch, were you alive when Obrak Rambama and Joe Bidet were in office ?

Posted by: runner at October 23, 2026 12:06 PM (AKptf)

284 179 Lindsey Graham was Gay?!!?
Posted by: Aetius451AD at October 23, 2026 11:38 AM (Y/06r)

But would Robert Service call him "queer"?

Posted by: tankdemon at October 23, 2026 12:06 PM (1DZZj)

285 If the Dems do under perform and the election is even or there is a red wave their voters are now all expecting a blue wave so there will be a lot of pressure on those Dem governors to "stop Trump from steal the election"

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 12:06 PM (sKqQm)

286 Sen. Elissa Slotkin
@SenatorSlotkin
Fear is the point. Intimidation is the point. And if the President can try to do this to me, he can do it to anyone.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Where's My Cookie? at October 23, 2026 12:04 PM (ndZc7)
---
Counterpoint:

You and your Dem allies are trying to intimidate President Trump into submission. If you succeed with him, you WILL do it to EVERYONE ELSE.

GFY, you evil skank.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 23, 2026 12:07 PM (FZ29D)

287 I never understood making a robot to look like a human or dog or donkey. Seems unimaginative and not efficient.

A flying monkey spider dolphin. Now that would be good military use.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at October 23, 2026 12:07 PM (n5tGW)

288 >>Not always! He finished off by winning at the Nazareth Speedway, for instance.

Sailing to Philadelphia is tied for my second favourite Knopfler solo album with Shangri-La. Last song on Sailing is 'Sands of Nevada' which is one of his darkest.

Posted by: Nazdar at October 23, 2026 12:07 PM (NcvvS)

289 @SenatorSlotkin
Fear is the point. Intimidation is the point. And if the President can try to do this to me, he can do it to anyone.

===

Bitch, were you alive when Obrak Rambama and Joe Bidet were in office ?

She just said that she wanted to intimidate right leaning people from getting into politics.

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 12:07 PM (sKqQm)

290 Horatius, At The Bridge

To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his gods?

Posted by: Diogenes at October 23, 2026 12:07 PM (2WIwB)

291 Sen. Elissa Slotkin
@SenatorSlotkin
Fear is the point. Intimidation is the point. And if the President can try to do this to me, he can do it to anyone.

More projection than a Space X launch releasing a Tesla jet car .

Posted by: polynikes at October 23, 2026 12:08 PM (Ti9vn)

292 Nood crimigrant

Posted by: 18-1 at October 23, 2026 12:09 PM (sKqQm)

293 Nood.

Posted by: Nazdar at October 23, 2026 12:09 PM (NcvvS)

294 My mother was a professor of English literature, , so she taught about great male poets. I don't about that she taught about great female poets, although I think Emily Dickinson is fine, as is Christina Rossetti - the latter of which was a devoted Christian, and at least one of her poems was made into s Christian hymn.

I don't recall my mother ever discussing with me about women being better than men , ( She was married for a number of years before her early death) . She just appreciated great writers . I have a feeling that she would be appalled by the "girl power" feminists of this day,

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 23, 2026 12:09 PM (JrHfD)

295 "The boy stood on the burning deck
Whence all but he had fled;
The flame that lit the battle's wreck
Shone round him o'er the dead."
( -- Felicia Hemans, "Casabianca")

Fleming had Bond reference this, and say, "I've wanted to copy him since I was five."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 23, 2026 12:11 PM (wzUl9)

296 I can make Weasel eyes twitch:

https://tinyurl.com/yucd6t9f

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 23, 2026 12:11 PM (xg/DD)

297 Senator Slotkin
With a bare bodkin
In the kitchen.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at October 23, 2026 12:13 PM (kYmoU)

298 One Service poem that gets little attention is a real gooder: The Ballad of Lenin's Tomb.

Service had hitherto been held in high regard by the Soviets of the day, but that one made him an unperson for Soviet culture.

I have linked it here in the past, but go look it up. It is a fun read.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 23, 2026 12:13 PM (n7Dzq)

299 polynikes

A lot of the farmers around blue areas in Kansas have hole-punchers of various sorts in the cab of the tractor. One farmer shot dead a trespasser near Topeka with a shotgun. He was not charged.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at October 23, 2026 12:13 PM (u82oZ)

300
Grab a drink and have a seat, this is the story of Big Ass Lil' and Yukon Pete...

The rest is decidedly NOT safe for work.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at October 23, 2026 12:15 PM (iqcvy)

301 Her poetry sounds like something that would be recited at Open Mike Night in a beatnik bar.
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at October 23, 2026 11:09 AM (rsVfX)

Beavis and Butt-head covered her poetry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XYuozREGwA

Posted by: janmarch at October 23, 2026 12:17 PM (rQyGG)

302 Here lies the body of Mary Lee.
Died at the age of a hundred and three.
For fifteen years, she kept her virginity.
Not a bad record for this vicinity.

Posted by: Quint at October 23, 2026 12:18 PM (sq2pj)

303
One of the important things I learned in college was that anyone who began a poem with "In my dream..." was invariably an insufferable douchebag.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at October 23, 2026 12:19 PM (iqcvy)

304 The boy stood on the burning deck
Whence all but he had fled;

There's a funny bit in one of the Swallows and Amazons books referencing that poem. The "Amazon" sisters' great-aunt comes to visit, and to try and prevent them from rollicking about as is their wont, she demands they learn a poem and be ready to recite it in a few days. With a nod and a wink, their uncle suggests "Casablanca" ... knowing that the sisters already know the poem by heart. Great-aunt agrees, and thus the Amazons are free to go adventuring for a while, great-aunt none the wiser.

Posted by: far cry at October 23, 2026 12:21 PM (Q6P2R)

305 Jim Croce was another who wrote song lyrics that rose to the level of poetry, IMO -- both his comic songs ("Leroy Brown") and his serious ones ("Time in a Bottle").
Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 23, 2026 11:21 AM (qlLNh)

Bobby Charles, too. Songwriter on many well-beloved songs.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 23, 2026 12:27 PM (n7Dzq)

306 I agree that Jim Croce was a fine poet.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 23, 2026 12:34 PM (JrHfD)

307 I'm retired and I read a lot of books. I will say that the book industry is dominated by female writers. It's hard to find newer books that aren't what I consider to be "girlie" books.

And there's way too much gay stuff in the newer books, even books written by guys who should know better. I'm not anti-gay, but I just think that every book doesn't need to have a gay couple or two that are thrown in gratuitously with no real connection to the story.

Finally, I am completely sick of authors who use "they" as a singular pronoun. Sometimes it gets confusing and makes it difficult to determine how may people are being discussed.

Posted by: Ralph at October 23, 2026 12:48 PM (8WZD4)

308 Does this post coming out now have anything to do with Trump new gay dementia ?
Obviously I believe it does

Is it some type of mirrored projection? Is there a lot of agreement in Trump's fascination with the buttocks of other men?

How telling is it that Trump's gay dementia can not even be mentioned on this blog

Posted by: Paul at October 23, 2026 12:48 PM (nPiLU)

309 Poems were never my thing unless they started with "There once was a man from Nantucket..."

Posted by: barney rubble at October 23, 2026 01:00 PM (KdP3q)

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