Archive for April, 2016

National Poetry Month

Friday, April 8th, 2016

Thanks to Tom Lehrer, I cannot say “National Poetry Month” without singing “National Brotherhood Week” in my head, since it scans the same. Nonetheless, it is indeed National Poetry Month, and as per usual I am writing 30 poems in 30 days. Here’s the one I wrote yesterday:

“Poem By A Star-Bellied Sneetch”

I am a Star-Bellied Sneetch.
I have an elegantly long neck,
Beautiful white tufts,
And a pleasantly round yellow belly,
On which, yes, there is a small green star.

I didn’t ask for the star, I was born with it.
I didn’t ask to be treated better than anyone in the pre-McBean era.
I didn’t ask to be treated worse than anyone in McBean era One.
Or better in McBean era Two
Or worse in McBean era Three
You get the idea.
I didn’t ever give McBean any money to remove my star,
Because that green star is part of who I am.

But it’s not who I am.
I’m a Sneetch who likes reading under a truffular tree.
I’m a Sneetch who enjoys cooking
No, not green eggs or ham, that’s racist.
My specialty is actually potatoes au gratin.
They are delicious.

I’m a Sneetch who goes out to the theatre sometimes.
I’m a Sneetch who probably watches too much TV,
But hey, I’m only Sneetch.
I never claimed to be perfect.

I’m a Sneetch who fell in love once,
And it was wonderful,
And then it was terrible,
And then it was over.

I’m a Sneetch who fell in love a second time,
And so far it’s going well,
But I’ve learned not to count your elephant-birds before they hatch.

I’m a Sneetch who has lived his entire life
With this green star on my belly
This small green star
Such a silly little thing
Over which so many Sneetches have made such a big deal
And then some want to pretend like it’s not there?
I am a Star-Bellied Sneetch.
That green star is part of who I am.

But it’s not who I am.

******

Meanwhile April kicked off with the Night of Fools just off Main St. that went so well that my monthly comedy mic has moved to that venue (next show: April 21st!). As usual, I’m still writing my column, most recently about Classic April Fools Pranks. And I have continued my humorous advice podcast with Lex, we’re up to more than half a dozen episodes of Problem Solvers …ish, most recently an episode where we discuss What do to when kids ask about Santa. We still could really use some more listener problems, so if you have any issues you’d like to briefly summarize so we can help you find a solution and/or entertainment, please do go to our site and click on the link to leave an anonymous voicemail.

Videogame-wise, I’ve still been playing through Divinity: Original Sin with a friend, and it’s a pretty fun co-op RPG. Also picked up the South Park game for myself, which is amusing IFF you like South Park. And boardgame-wise I realize I’m late to the party, but Codenames is amazingly good fun and Vlaada Chvatil is a mad genius. Best party game in a long time.

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