rhyming in poetry

to rhyme or to rime
will haunt me to the end of time
ones at the end of a line
echo the end of previous time

Why does a masculine rhyme end in the same vowel–consonant combination?
There really is no limitation.
Why do feminine ones have two syllables that rime?
 My works come out to a keyboard's chime.

This article on rhymes has 453 words.

I haven't actually counted my syllables.

I think I'll put a slant rhyme in my next submission.

Thank god for this:

Next post: WHY DOES THE COVER OF THIS POETRY BOOK HAVE ITS LETTERS IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS BUT THEN HAVE ITS NUMBERS IN LINING STYLE: Electric Boogaloo Edition.

beat that poetry

Short post here; I was thinking about our first class, where we discussed our favourite poems. I mentioned this then, so I'll mention this now.

It is long. I won't pretend otherwise, but, what else do you have to do today?

The main reason I enjoy this (beat)poem isn't the subject matter, but the nuances that go into a live performance of poetry. Is it the difference between reading Shakespeare and watching a play? Something like that!

lost in translation

While browsing the internet, I came across this poem:

...and I got curious. I know an okay amount about poetry in other languages (I regret heavily not being able to read Dante in the original Italian) and how translations can never really get the nuances across.

When I tried to translate the above poem, I was told that it contained "impossible" to translate wordplay, on top of some seriously weird grammar.  Also, in the translator's words:

But, if you are curious, we made our best effort and came with the following solution/translations:

tallrik = plate (for food)
tall = pine tree
rik = rich
talrik = plentiful

And so the final result of this travel came to be the following, probably horribly butchered, poem:

I couldn't make this poem really work in translation, even with the aid of someone who speaks Swedish as a (admittedly third) language. I shudder to think how difficult it must be for non-Nordic languages.

thoughts on "Annoying Diabetic Bitch" from an annoying diabetic bastard

I've spent a lot of my life on the internet. I was raised by it, really, and the language of "Annoying Diabetic Bitch" can't hold a candle to the things I read online daily. The following image took less than a minute to find these examples for.

Pictured: Technically poetry (?)

I then saw a lively discussion about contemporary philosophy with the same people.

One of these things is not like the other~

According to the Jacket (2?):

The poems in Sharon Mesmer’s collection Annoying Diabetic Bitch are constructed out of typical bits of found internet language, especially the language of exasperation, irritation, outrage, and collegial raunch. Virtually every poem is a sort of post-human rant (a rant made out of the high points of numerous source rants, with an intensity greater than any single ranter could sustain). [link]

And honestly, I didn't need Stan Apps to tell me that. The only difference I found between my daily browsing of the hate-filled depths of the internet and "Annoying Diabetic Bitch" was that "Bitch" had slightly less of a narrative behind it. And yet, there were lines in "Bitch" that went deeper than I thought. I mentioned this in class, but I'll mention it again. The line(s):

The last thing I need to find out is that I am diabetic,
someone with six diabetic relatives who beat each other to death
with their own shoes.

...are about more than just diabetics hitting each other. Diabetics lose their feet (sometimes), and thus don't need their shoes. There is a tiny bit of meaning there. I can't say that I found this depth in every poem in the book, but it leads me to believe that it is there, somewhere inside of it. I wouldn't dismiss "Annoying Diabetic Bitch" for its seemingly hate-filled, purposeless prose unless I was able to debunk every line as being thoughtless. As it is, I can see meaning where meaning appears to have vanished — ghosts of intention within a pile of admittedly violent language.

Not everyone has thick skin or spends their time surrounded by some of the worst language and vivid opinions the world has to offer, though. I think nothing less of anyone for being offended. Personally, I found the poem (not the book) "Annoying Diabetic Bitch" to be completely hilarious; so over the top that I (a diabetic) could not help but give a hearty laugh. And really, that is what the entire book felt like it was about.

If you were offended by "Annoying Diabetic Bitch," I'd tell you to relax and eat a snickers, but... well, you know.