DEADPAN LIKE A DICTIONARY

09 26 11

Nature bodyslammed nurture
and dreams bled melancholy magma
from molts of forcefully accelerated
ambition

I can endure the pink portrayal
of desiccated raw skin side-effects
I will even unleash a declaration
in deadpan dictionary syllables
bring on the blood
when the virile slap of sociology
makes contact with a medically
defiant or indifferent limb

But can I sport the diplomatic warmth
of a storefront greeting
on the frontlines of no time for niceties?
Can I dredge appreciation
from the sewage harbourings
of hurry when my own rush
endeavours to induce a trim
where a clean shave is all that guarantees
a basic look on the oil-caked catwalk
of occupational assessment?

Author's Note

It is the fate of those who toil at the lower employments of life, to be rather driven by the fear of evil, than attracted by the prospect of good; to be exposed to censure without hope of praise; to be disgraced by miscarriage or punished for neglect, where success would have been without applause or diligence without reward. Among these unhappy mortals is the writer of dictionaries.
- Samuel Johnson, 1775

Reviews

[Jack...]

Life, it seems continually turns the pages of what we know and what we wish to learn as well as what we hope never to understand. Always there is someone above that dictates direction, choices, design and grooming...while on the clock. Beyond time it is our world and we mold it as far as the clay will take us. Very cool my friend. This one really had me thinking.

[kublakhan27]

I could not have summed it up any better...I stopped trying to figure everything out a long time ago...many thanks for the review my friend.

[Kleio13]

Parenthood at it's finest end. A grudge is ur only realm, i guess. Women are taken from ther healing powers of nurture. And to find intelligece takes a fine tooth comb.
Nice write

[kublakhan27]

Yeah, sadly I specialize in grudges :P Glad you liked it, thank you Kleio.

[redflutterby]

Thought provoking poem...I've always worked in jobs which required much of me but are low in salary and appreciation. Without us the gears wouldn't turn. Excellent write!

[kublakhan27]

Sadly that's always the way the workforce will be...thank you Red, glad you liked it :)

[Rita L. Sev]

Can I dredge appreciation
from the sewage harbourings
of hurry...

This is a poem to be read more than once, and digested carefully. Appreciation for the working class is indeed dredged, and doled out in scraps...

Unique wording to get a great message across...

[kublakhan27]

Thank you Rita, took forever to get this one down...glad you liked it :)

[Pryde Foltz]

I think Sarah said it all below. Love the message and love the word play.

[kublakhan27]

Very glad you enjoyed it, thank you Pryde.

[Dana Alsamsam]

wow i really enjoyed this piece! like a lash out at the working world and its downfalls. the idea of a dictionary writer is such a unique one that you've used to capture a larger idea. i agree with sarah, this is one of your best in my opinion! lots of lovely alliteration in here and deeper meanings stitched between the words. at my second read i saw many things that i didn't pick up on the first time and that alone makes it a great piece.

something i was thinking about as i read was that even though this piece is about the lower employments, that unhappiness spreads up further into the corporate world... it's all deadpan up there too. basically i hope i'm able to get a job i like haha :)

[kublakhan27]

Haha I think we're all searching for that workforce utopia, wherever we are in the pecking order ;) I'm so glad you liked this one, it was a struggle to get it to a point where I was content with it (I'm never 100 percent happy with anything haha)...thank you Dana :)

[Frieda P]

This is no storefront greeting that's for sure....you continue to amaze me my friend. Always an awe inspiring read from thy pen that wraps around my brain and tugs, hard, screams 'pay close attention'!

I can endure the pink portrayal
of desiccated raw skin side-effects
I will even unleash a declaration
in deadpan dictionary syllables
bring on the blood
when the virile slap of sociology
makes contact with a medically
defiant or indifferent limb

Holy cats I love that!! Favorite B

[kublakhan27]

Haha I have to scream that to myself all the time...So glad you liked this one Mrs.R, there is a lot of me in it, as you probably surmised ;) Thank you xo

[Frieda P]

I was so waiting for you to unleash a declaration in deadpan dictionary syllables ;-) My pleasure always Benji!! xo

[kublakhan27]

It'll happen one of these days, when I grow sufficiently irritated by bad grammar LOL Thankfully your grammar is just fine Mrs.R ;) xo

[Frieda P]

Ha I muchly appreciate the appreciate the sentiment Benji. ;-) x

[Frieda P]

And apparently you've got me stuttering now....

[kublakhan27]

LOL Wow maybe I do have that Leonard effect after all ;P x

[Frieda P]

Hahaha see, what did I tell you, young Cohen! ;-)

[kublakhan27]

Haha no, I don't have his looks, or his voice ;P

[Frieda P]

You've got the poetry, and honestly I liked his voice much better as he got older, so there's still hope ;-)

[kublakhan27]

And I do indeed cling to that hope ;)

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

See, I didn't even need your author's note to understand this piece, my friend. The woes of the working man (or woman). Wouldn't it be easier if we could all just frolick bare skinned in some nirvana induced garden where nothing but when to lay down and take a nap and when to jump into the sparkling lake for a dip was of importance? I wonder at our hminds...the way that they are constantly toiling and often times spoiling the beauty of life.

This was a thought provoking read...perhaps one of your best so far. The wordplay was fantastic; great internal rhymes here and there, and the phrasing was consistently unique. Enjoyed this read...

[kublakhan27]

What more can I say, I could not have said it better myself...I'm so glad you consider this one of my best, as I'm rather sour over the lack of attention it's gotten...I thought it would be one of the more relate-able pieces I've written...oh well, onto the next poem haha...thank you Sarah :)