Loser Takes All - the Jester Below a Blackening Sky
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Loser Takes All
Below the blackening sky go I
warily wearily wobbly o
frightened to live and frightened to die
toll bell toll
sick as a parrot covered in glue
languid as leeks in the depth of a stew
who would be me, except possibly you?
loser takes all
Doom is the name of the game we play
warily wearily wobbly o
doom by the bushel an acre a day
toll bell toll
death is a mercy so sing it again
wrists in the bath or a surfeit of men
show me a pain and I'll show you a pen
loser takes all
Moan it and mix it. Trowel it on thick
warily wearily wobbly o
fate is a pheasant with salt on its dick
toll bell toll
cry me to sleep with my head on a sack
stuffed with the rotting remains of a yak
call me an artist - god knows I'll be back
loser takes all
Jester
The picture was made by my brother in 1998, using 100 year old lead pencils and watercolours found in our attic. It seemed to suit the mood of my poem.
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Comments
Thanks MM, and thanks too for being such a faithful reader!
Love the watercolor and you're right Paraglider it fit great with your poem.
great Hub regards Zsuzsy
Thanks Zz :)
this is fantastic. the rhythm of it is marvelous. the words and images. just a perfect package. well done.
Thanks Idunn - the pairing of the painting with the picture was pure serendipity. Both have existed separately for some time and last night I suddenly had this idea . .
that too but actually I meant the images your words created and your really offbeat yet endearing underlying tone of them. I mean, you have the alliteration, the connotations, the rhyme scheme, everything in perfection. it really is 'poetry'. :)
Idunn - thank you again Too kind :)
A great poem paraglider. Thumbs up.
Thanks Kulsum :)
Incredible! and the picture is wonderful - it's almost like it came into being from the poem - or rather, they both seem to flow from each other!
Hi Shalini - this poem and my brother's picture lived independently for quite a few years until I suddenly saw them as a pair. Call it serendipity!
Yes Paraglider - I read that earlier - that's why it's so amazing how well they fit!
Sorry - I'm repeating myself! I'd forgotten what I'd written in earlier comments. It's a long time ago :)
fate is a pheasant with salt on its dick?
wrists in the bath, or a surfeit of men -- very Dorothy Parker. wonderful lines.
warily wearily wobbly o. . .
This is so much better than the best of Edward Lear sprinkled with Lewis Caroll and seasoned with a little Spike Milligan.
And a little T.S. Eliot and Camus (Huis Clos) for good measure, perhaps. I love the cadence of your words the lift and lilt some truly inspired visual (rotting remains of a yak, parrot covered in glue).
Ok, I'll bite. Paraglider: You are an artist!
Looking forward to when you'll be back!! MM
Teresa and Mighty Mom - I can't believe there are so many influences in such a short poem :) Thanks for the read. And I've just realised that by switching all the ads off, it fixes the broken formatting. Better!
Not bad, Paraglider. Not bad at all!
Thanks Aya :)
What a treasure!!! Thanks for sharing it. I love to see into the mind of others by what they write and create. Art, all of it.
Marisue - there's a jester in all of us (I hope!)


















MrMarmalade says:
2 years ago
For Whom The Bell Tolls.
Is it I or thou?
I loved your hub and the paintings
Thank you