OBYMANDIAS

[Mladshiy Brat]

I met a pundit from a Beltway land
Who said: "Two cracked and polished screens of glass
Stand near a garden. Near them, in an oval
Half stunned, a shattered Redeemer sits, whose lies
And upturned nose and sneers of Left disdain
Tell that this Messiah ill his nation's spirit read
Which yet survives, stampt in time honored things
The faith they clung to, and the sons who bled
And on the telescreen these words appear
'My name is Obymandias, Bringer of Change:
Look upon my frauds, ye Righties, and despair!'
Nothing besides remains. Round the wreck
Of that colossal ego, boundless and malign
The vain and empty dream did fade away."

.............................................

(According to the runes and annals chronicling the fall of The Obamayyad Imperium, this sonnet also went by the title "Obamandias" and "Barymandias" )

[Pamalinsky]

Applaus! Applaus! Applaus!

[Mladshiy Brat]

I had penned this tribute to Dear Leader years ago, dearest Pamalinsky, but I had wanted to wait for the appropriate moment to share it with the collective.

At last, after The One's masterful foiling of the Rethuglican attempt to capture 2/3rds of the People's Assembly, I have my moment!!

[Pamalinsky]

I post the original to show what a beautiful job you did. I hope you don't mind.

OZYMANDIAS

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear --
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.'


Percy Bysshe Shelley

[Captain Craptek]

A little spirit picker-upper for Dear Leader;

“Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,/Or what's a heaven for?”

Robert Browning


Or, a clue for self improvement from an old, dead, white guy;

"He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."

Benjamin Franklin

[Ivan the Stakhanovets]

"There once was a Kenyan named Barry..."

[Pamalinsky]

"There once was a Kenyan named Barry..."

Let's have a limerick contest, shall we? You already went first, Tovi.

Let me go next...taking your line as my inspiration....

There once was a Kenyan named Barry
Whose Mom did indeed seem to carry
When she died oh the horror
His mentor took over
And the future turned instantly scary!

[Mladshiy Brat]

No, Komradina, I don't mind at all. If anything you showed me that I could do an even better job, hence the various small edits I have made.

I'm particular proud of the new line, "the faith they cling to'" ... a most subtle tribute to The One's brilliant riposte about small-town, narrow-minded Republican hicks who, as we know, still cling bitterly to their assault weapons and Old Testaments

[Ivan the Stakhanovets]

Contest? Winners and losers and damaged self esteem that will take repetitive trips to JiffyLobo to resolve? I wouldn't do that to a lady.

In my spare time between tending beets and maintining the tractor, I am researching the People's Haiku, which has not been discussed...

[Miss.USSA]

Komrade Callmelennie, this beautiful poetry touched my soul and brought tears to my eyes.

[Krasnodar]

In my spare time between tending beets and maintining the tractor, I am researching the People's Haiku, which has not been discussed...

Comrade T,

Dear Leader has already addressed this issue.

He has never heard of this " haiku " that you speak of.

Therefore it doesn't exist.

Got it ?

[Ivan the Stakhanovets]

Ok, got it. I just feel bad that I can't seem to get past using "Nantucket" in a limerick...

[Pamalinsky]

Oh, Tovi, I do so much appreciate your gallantry in not wanting to subject me, a lady, to repeated Jifi-Lobos™.

We both know that the word "contest" is just double-speak for "collective participation".

You provided one line, I provided four. We both win! See how that works?

We all get a trophy!

As for your "writer's block" regarding using the word "Nantucket" in a limerick, well, I wouldn't touch that one with a ten-foot pole, as in a pole dancer. I could approach it with a ten-foot Pole, a very tall Polish guy, but still, way too risky.

Good luck with your haiku endeavors. They are all minimalist and nonsensical. You have to keep it very, very simple. That way, anyone can interpret it to their heart's content and feel like they're a genius.

[Ivan the Stakhanovets]

"Wait, I can figure it out... It's a Haiku, right?"

[Krasnodar]

Pami......

HAIKU DOES NOT EXIST !!!!!

It would be a shame to spend this winter in that re-education camp in Verkhoyansk,...... all because you hold an errant point of view.


There's still some room on Platform 5.

Capisch ?

[Mladshiy Brat]

Komrade Callmelennie, this beautiful poetry touched my soul and brought tears to my eyes.

I'll assume your Progg was off when you said that MissUSSA, and so I would ask, "Which lines had that effect" because one or two lines had some effect on me, and I wrote it.


Now then, as for you other scampalinskies and miscreant-niks and prestoopniks who are commiting serial free-verse monkeyshine-ism and poetic hi-jinkism with your gansterish haikus and your hooliganistic limericks, be fore-warned; These activities have not yet been cleared with the Central Authority

While your giddy energies are understandable, my mischievous comrades, in light of Dear Leader's great triumph, understand ... This is a somber thread with references to the literature of Victorian England, one of The Leader's favorites eras, coupled with profound allusions celebrating the wisdom of Pharaonic triumphalism. Certainly, or perhaps not, some measure of decorum may or may not be in order

[Comrade Putout]

.
Tovarichi - remember when we roasted you and Hillary Clinton tried her hand at a limerick?!

[Kelly Ivanovna/келя ивановна]

There once was a president prone
To change things with a pen and a phone
But when voters threw out
His pals and his clout
He just cried, "Please don't take my throne!"


ANd in a totally unrelated spirit, because this is my favorite limerick (which explains the etiology of the phrase, "tit for tat"):

Once a young woman named Pat
Had triplets three--Tim, Tom and Tat.
Though the breedin' was thrillin',
The feedin' was killin',
Because there was no.....

[Pamalinsky]

.
Tovarichi - remember when we roasted you and Hillary Clinton tried her had at a limerick?!

tovarichi-hillary-roast.jpg

Nicely played, Comrade Putout, nicely played!

[Pamalinsky]

There once was a president prone
To change things with a pen and a phone
But when voters threw out
His pals and his clout
He just cried, "Please don't take my throne!"

ANd in a totally unrelated spirit, because this is my favorite limerick (which explains the etiology of the phrase, "tit for tat"):

Once a young woman named Pat
Had triplets three--Tim, Tom and Tat.
Though the breedin' was thrillin',
The feedin' was killin',
Because there was no.....

There is now, Kelly!

[Red Square]

Ahem... I believe Haikus do exist. In fact, we have posted our own collection in the end of 2008...

Nostalgic Progressive Haikus of 2008

<table width="600" border="0" cellpadding="15" cellspacing="3" bgcolor="#DE7317"><tr><td width="50%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <p><b>Unwashed masses!<br> The only thing not smelly<br> is the money you give us.</b></p> <p><b></b><b>For love and for hate<br> We take away from the rich<br> and give to the hookers.</b></p> <p><b>We must change the country<br> with a focus on nature -<br> oh, look, a squirrel!</b></p> <p><b>Every Rorschach inkblot<br> looks like George Bush with horns.<br> Psychiatric evaluations are torture!</b></p> <p><b>I'm opening at random<br> a copy of the New York Times.<br> The income gap is deepening.</b></p> <p><b>This morning I brushed<br> granola flakes from my beard.<br> 25 days left until Bush leaves office!</b></p> <p><b>Together we can build<br> a new habitat for humanity<br> with our hammers and sickles.</b></p> <p><b>A giant SUV:<br> one gallon, two gallon, three gallons.<br> Why is Bush still in power?</b></p> <p><b>Without marijuana leaf<br> How can we struggle<br> for social justice?</b></p> <p><b>I was drinking my latte<br> While reading the New York Times.<br> Will I survive this winter?</b></p> <p><b>The Soviet Union is dead<br> and yet - isn't there still something<br> remaining in us?</b></p><td width="50%" valign="top" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><p><b>The bumper sticker before me<br> says that our planet is doomed.<br> The guilt is unbearable.</b></p> <p><b>You raise awareness,<br> and I raise awareness. Utopia<br> is around the corner.</b></p> <p><b>Imams praying on the plane -<br> ask them, which public building<br> will be blown up next.</b></p> <p><b>Flies drop dead as I write.<br> How many civil liberties<br> will also be dead today?</b></p> <p><b>Having refused fossil fuels<br> how lonely I feel<br> in the cold of night!</b></p> <p><b>A lovely thing to see:<br> on my computer screen,<br> real women.</b></p> <p><b>A lonely comment posted<br> on my very progressive blog -<br> with a link to Viagra.</b></p> <p><b>Bush lied today.<br> Tomorrow poor children<br> Will be all dead.</b></p> <p><b>After flying on a private jet<br> I bought carbon credits<br> And feel smug again</b></p> <p><b>You made a profit<br> and now you must share.<br> The community is watching.</b></p> <p><b>Work makes me desperate.<br> I will vote many times<br> for Barack the Avenger.</b></p></table>

[Ivan the Stakhanovets]

My bacon's been saved.
I am now vindicated.
Hail the current truth!

[Mladshiy Brat]

Haiku posts abound
Thread author cannot but ask
But what of sonnet?

[Mladshiy Brat]

Haiku posts abound
Thread author cannot but ask
How did I repeat?

[Captain Craptek]

If it doesn't jell
It ain't aspic I can tell
And this ain't jellin'!

[Kapitan Kangaroo Kourt]

In my spare time between tending beets and maintining the tractor, I am researching the People's Haiku, which has not been discussed...

Comrade T,

Dear Leader has already addressed this issue.

He has never heard of this " haiku " that you speak of.

Therefore it doesn't exist.

Got it ?

If it doesn't exist, The Party™ will create it:

Blue is Red
Let me be perfectly clear
This means nothing

FORWARD!

[Mladshiy Brat]

Whither these haikus*
Puzzled author now at peace
2K views surpassed

[Kapitan Kangaroo Kourt]

Indeed, comrade, it is all about the votes.......and who counts them.