July Challenge - Nemesis
- Thread starter Desejo
- Start date
greenmountaineer
Literotica Guru
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Martini Lunch
"When you're ready to frack the graveyard
buy saplings from the Mennonite;
Simpson down the road at Farm Supply
has shitloads of backhoes out front.
Now as to Shippensburg Union Bank,
be sure to call Schneider Mister;
he likes that, and notice how nice
the wife and kids look on his desk.
Then, of course, the road commissioners
who were short on salt last winter
will bitch about the selectmen,
which makes me wanna puke,
but let them name the road you build,
and tell them to call it, you know,
St. Sebastian or something
for the ladies who go to church on Sunday.
Oh! and don't forget the cherrypicker
for the Christmas tree valves and pipes
and chainsaws for the Junipers
that cost too much to move."
"When you're ready to frack the graveyard
buy saplings from the Mennonite;
Simpson down the road at Farm Supply
has shitloads of backhoes out front.
Now as to Shippensburg Union Bank,
be sure to call Schneider Mister;
he likes that, and notice how nice
the wife and kids look on his desk.
Then, of course, the road commissioners
who were short on salt last winter
will bitch about the selectmen,
which makes me wanna puke,
but let them name the road you build,
and tell them to call it, you know,
St. Sebastian or something
for the ladies who go to church on Sunday.
Oh! and don't forget the cherrypicker
for the Christmas tree valves and pipes
and chainsaws for the Junipers
that cost too much to move."
Last edited:
Desejo
Literotica Guru
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New Sheriff in town
They are like children, all of them.
They bury incompetence in social niceties
Office parties , consultation and praise.
These things have no meaning for me.
Every new position, someone tries
To befriend me.
I have no friends. Gets in the way of work.
And don’t expect me to overlook
Obvious conflicts of interest
Am I really supposed to believe
That the woman hired by my predecessor
in two locations is not sleeping with him?
It means something
That everywhere I have worked
There has been someone
fired
Sued
Or
Thrown in jail.
My record speaks for itself.
They are like children, all of them.
They bury incompetence in social niceties
Office parties , consultation and praise.
These things have no meaning for me.
Every new position, someone tries
To befriend me.
I have no friends. Gets in the way of work.
And don’t expect me to overlook
Obvious conflicts of interest
Am I really supposed to believe
That the woman hired by my predecessor
in two locations is not sleeping with him?
It means something
That everywhere I have worked
There has been someone
fired
Sued
Or
Thrown in jail.
My record speaks for itself.
Tzara
Continental
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2005
- Posts
- 7,609
Herpetology
The art is in staying out of his way—
invisible,
though not really,
just parked a place he finds
at least obscure, at best indifferent.
Lie low as a snake,
even if he is the viper, irritable,
ready to strike
because some grass roughly brushed his skin
or his quota was raised.
If you happen upon his nest,
do not defile it. Just mark
the location and stay far away.
His young will strangle
themselves soon enough. You will not need
to cinch that garrote about their thin and tinny throats.
The last one living will be killed
by someone junior
who lacks your corporate skills.
The art is in staying out of his way—
invisible,
though not really,
just parked a place he finds
at least obscure, at best indifferent.
Lie low as a snake,
even if he is the viper, irritable,
ready to strike
because some grass roughly brushed his skin
or his quota was raised.
If you happen upon his nest,
do not defile it. Just mark
the location and stay far away.
His young will strangle
themselves soon enough. You will not need
to cinch that garrote about their thin and tinny throats.
The last one living will be killed
by someone junior
who lacks your corporate skills.
Last edited:
PandoraGlitters
Sandy Survivor
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- Sep 23, 2007
- Posts
- 2,457
Honestly I do not think of anyone as my enemy, but a few years ago it seemed someone deeply disliked me. In an effort to understand her viewpoint, I wrote this.
Gracious
I saw her first but stayed quiet,
made no move to greet her
but I couldn't, could I, embedded
as I am in this soft hill. I am part
of the landscape--the first syllable.
He's the last. But a sky will shift
and that's how he discovered, hovered
over her, spotting white legs kicking,
trapped in our lacy net,
unable to fully wash up
wash up on shore.
He didn't give her a hand so much
as dry her off; my eyebrows furrowed
at his whisper
which he knew I heard.
She isn't even here two minutes
but he knows her name, and everything
he knows I know. I followed her
when she cut through the net,
when she pulled the leaves from my trees,
my daughters, to hide her sex.
How could she hide
from me? The one she walked over, I knew
every step. My grasses whispered
as she slept, seducing, until I knew
where she came from and where
she went. And when he followed I rumbled,
furious. How dare she sing her petals on the wind?
How dare she spread
her hair for my lover to lift? I cooled
lava impulse with a sly smile,
remembering that one day
I'd gnaw her bones in this hill,
entomb her in my gracious
embrace.
Gracious
I saw her first but stayed quiet,
made no move to greet her
but I couldn't, could I, embedded
as I am in this soft hill. I am part
of the landscape--the first syllable.
He's the last. But a sky will shift
and that's how he discovered, hovered
over her, spotting white legs kicking,
trapped in our lacy net,
unable to fully wash up
wash up on shore.
He didn't give her a hand so much
as dry her off; my eyebrows furrowed
at his whisper
which he knew I heard.
She isn't even here two minutes
but he knows her name, and everything
he knows I know. I followed her
when she cut through the net,
when she pulled the leaves from my trees,
my daughters, to hide her sex.
How could she hide
from me? The one she walked over, I knew
every step. My grasses whispered
as she slept, seducing, until I knew
where she came from and where
she went. And when he followed I rumbled,
furious. How dare she sing her petals on the wind?
How dare she spread
her hair for my lover to lift? I cooled
lava impulse with a sly smile,
remembering that one day
I'd gnaw her bones in this hill,
entomb her in my gracious
embrace.
Desejo
Literotica Guru
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- Apr 15, 2011
- Posts
- 627
The devil comes in many forms
Packaged in tan and rich burgundy
Ringed in gold
A dignified size
How could I not stand out?
Instead of buying a title
I invented a foreign name
add the premium pricing
and I am more than noble.
Don’t deny it.
I appeal to your inner snob.
A secret?
I am not artisnal
Not anymore
Remember the coffee in Africa?
Freeze dried, and beat into a froth with
Sweet condensed milk?
The inevitable Maggi cube?
The formula fiasco too
but let’s not talk about that
family secret
Boycott?
Ha!
With choices like
Crème brulee
Java chip
Green tea
Salted caramel truffle
Macadamia nut
Blackberry cabernet
White chocolate raspberry truffle
How can you resist?
Packaged in tan and rich burgundy
Ringed in gold
A dignified size
How could I not stand out?
Instead of buying a title
I invented a foreign name
add the premium pricing
and I am more than noble.
Don’t deny it.
I appeal to your inner snob.
A secret?
I am not artisnal
Not anymore
Remember the coffee in Africa?
Freeze dried, and beat into a froth with
Sweet condensed milk?
The inevitable Maggi cube?
The formula fiasco too
but let’s not talk about that
family secret
Boycott?
Ha!
With choices like
Crème brulee
Java chip
Green tea
Salted caramel truffle
Macadamia nut
Blackberry cabernet
White chocolate raspberry truffle
How can you resist?
Angeline
Poet Chick
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- Mar 11, 2002
- Posts
- 27,055
Oh Mary Lynn of the long
blond hair the bluest eye
the perkiest cheerleader pom
pom fey you coy little snake
in your tidy wasp nest your
Mama's coiffed hair the rec
room and your twin brothers
all a gambol in the backyard
pool where Danny Patricella
felt me up as you giggled
and shimmied to the deep
end. He said your breath
smelt of rotten eggs as if
this were some consolation
prize for me, second place,
after all.
blond hair the bluest eye
the perkiest cheerleader pom
pom fey you coy little snake
in your tidy wasp nest your
Mama's coiffed hair the rec
room and your twin brothers
all a gambol in the backyard
pool where Danny Patricella
felt me up as you giggled
and shimmied to the deep
end. He said your breath
smelt of rotten eggs as if
this were some consolation
prize for me, second place,
after all.
UnderYourSpell
Gerund Whore
- Joined
- May 20, 2007
- Posts
- 15,794
Your tears that made me
a bad person
for who but such
would make her Mother cry?
Years of guilt, seeking
in all the wrong promiscuous places
for love. Proving how right you were.
and now too late
I see the trick,
or was it?
a bad person
for who but such
would make her Mother cry?
Years of guilt, seeking
in all the wrong promiscuous places
for love. Proving how right you were.
and now too late
I see the trick,
or was it?
bogusagain
Literotica Guru
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- Feb 18, 2009
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- 844
I rose to the surface
from my drink induced
sleep, to find Rita
destroying her poetry
Frank ripped his up
quartering his manuscript
declaring it was derivative
pretentious and vacuous
so this is twentieth century
poetry of the educated
intellectual posturing, while
destroying the real thing
from my drink induced
sleep, to find Rita
destroying her poetry
Frank ripped his up
quartering his manuscript
declaring it was derivative
pretentious and vacuous
so this is twentieth century
poetry of the educated
intellectual posturing, while
destroying the real thing
bogusagain
Literotica Guru
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- Feb 18, 2009
- Posts
- 844
How do you keep coming up with this stuff? I know you said you approach writing poetry like a puzzle but there must be more to it than that and more than just education. Whatever it is, your poetry works for me.
PandoraGlitters
Sandy Survivor
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2007
- Posts
- 2,457
Much of Tzara's poetry works for me, too. This one not so much. Seemed a bit confused to me given the challenge. I think it is an interesting challenge. Seeing through another person's eyes can be a great way to make poems (let alone live life)! So this is what confuses me: the snake-avoider is the nemesis? Or is this poem from the point of view of someone conferring with someone else about the 2nd person's nemesis? Great last line, but not my favorite Tzara poem.
Tzara
Continental
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- Aug 2, 2005
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- 7,609
I didn't read the challenge carefully enough and wrote it from my own viewpoint.
Oops!
Tzara
Continental
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- 7,609
I do a lot of puzzles?
As Dora points out, this one is solved incorrectly. Or, at least, solves a problem other than the one that Desejo posed. So, I guess I'll have to try again.
My boss is still a jerk, though.
bogusagain
Literotica Guru
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Corporate to me suggests that Tzara could be alluding to corporate life which is how I took the poem and allows mew to make sense of it. Though corporate could mean, existing in bodily form, which doesn't make sense to me. But doesn't the reader's interpretation finish the poem?
I like to read challenge poems initially without considering the challenge otherwise I find myself looking for anchors so to speak and only consider the challenge afterwards. The challenge seem to do one of two things for a poem, offers too many hooks on which to hang a poem from which the poem can never break free or when a poem is successful, merely provides the starting point, the source of inspiration.
Hmm Boy, I could listen to myself spout all day sometimes!
bogusagain
Literotica Guru
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My boss is still a jerk, though.
Aah! I was reading the poem correctly then?
Pandora did have a point though, which you have diplomatically fessed up to.
Tzara
Continental
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- Aug 2, 2005
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If you wanted to smack him, then yes. Or, better yet, chop his viperous head off.
That's not so much being diplomatic as being embarrassed. As I said, I misread the original post.
But, I often do stupid things. I find laughing at my stupidity much easier than being upset by it. Stupidity is, I think, one of the cardinal human characteristics.
And, as such, I am way, way human.
Maria2394
Corgi Lover!
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- Feb 14, 2002
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How could anyone not like you? I mean, jeez, you are so sweet, kind, polite, if I were gay, I would love you, but I do love you anyway. So there, I dont have a poem to write right now, just wanted to say thank you for everything you do around here.
PandoraGlitters
Sandy Survivor
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2007
- Posts
- 2,457
Thank you, Maria. Kind of you to say, but every person has qualities they like and qualities they don't like. Maybe someone hates friendly people or green eyes or people who look at you when they speak. *shrug* No person can like every other person that s/he meets. I think it is good, however, to treat all people respectfully. Love a few and treat those people tenderly.
I think this challenge is a good exercise because truly trying to look from other perspectives makes for a richer experience of one's society and personal history.
I think this challenge is a good exercise because truly trying to look from other perspectives makes for a richer experience of one's society and personal history.
UnderYourSpell
Gerund Whore
- Joined
- May 20, 2007
- Posts
- 15,794
It was probably me
you didn't like,
coming over brash,
too loud giggling
at inappropriate times
compensating for insecurity.
Looking back
did we make your life hell?
Already victims but learning
there were some even
weaker than ourselves.
you didn't like,
coming over brash,
too loud giggling
at inappropriate times
compensating for insecurity.
Looking back
did we make your life hell?
Already victims but learning
there were some even
weaker than ourselves.
Desejo
Literotica Guru
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- Apr 15, 2011
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- 627
Jesus, who put this one on my schedule
I’ve been avoiding her for months
Fending off impertinent questions from others too
As if no one else can do the job
Everyone is replaceable
The place cannot be that complicated
I went there myself
seems typical to me
After all we are professionals
Besides, I am sure she had something to do
With the notes in the suggestion box
Critiquing senior management
I’ve been avoiding her for months
Fending off impertinent questions from others too
As if no one else can do the job
Everyone is replaceable
The place cannot be that complicated
I went there myself
seems typical to me
After all we are professionals
Besides, I am sure she had something to do
With the notes in the suggestion box
Critiquing senior management
Type 1 Diabetes
before she knew my name
I slipped
unwanted
in the midst of her defenses
and turned them
traitors all
put them to work
smashing keys
such a simple thing
to turn her blood
crystal
until her flesh melted
into sweet
water
I want all—
her breath
her strength
her nerves
her limbs
her sight
her pain
her peace
but she found me
and I retreated
while she found her slender
lock picks
and turned the crystal
back to blood
and now
I lurk
waiting for the moment
when she slips
and I reclaim
her life
***
My four year diaversary was this month--last Tuesday. I'm not sure if it actually qualifies as a nemesis, but it sure feels like it when cookies are in the house.
before she knew my name
I slipped
unwanted
in the midst of her defenses
and turned them
traitors all
put them to work
smashing keys
such a simple thing
to turn her blood
crystal
until her flesh melted
into sweet
water
I want all—
her breath
her strength
her nerves
her limbs
her sight
her pain
her peace
but she found me
and I retreated
while she found her slender
lock picks
and turned the crystal
back to blood
and now
I lurk
waiting for the moment
when she slips
and I reclaim
her life
***
My four year diaversary was this month--last Tuesday. I'm not sure if it actually qualifies as a nemesis, but it sure feels like it when cookies are in the house.
Desejo
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2011
- Posts
- 627
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