For you, hariputtar, a humble offering so that the rest of your day be light and gay as opposed to the heavy feeling of being inundated with syrupy, soppy romantic poetry…:-)
On second thoughts, I couldn’t make up my mind. Here goes…
The Mysterious Naked Man
A mysterious naked man has been reported
on Cranston Avenue. The police are performing
the usual ceremonies with coloured lights and sirens.
Almost everyone is outdoors and strangers are conversing
excitedly
as they do during disasters when their involvement is
peripheral.
‘What did he look like?’ the lieutenant is asking.
‘I don’t know,’ says the witness. ‘He was naked.’
There is talk of dogs–this is no ordinary case
of indecent exposure, the man has been seen
a dozen times since the milkman spotted him and now
the sky is turning purple and voices
carry a long way and the children
have gone a little crazy as they often do at dusk
and cars are arriving
from other sections of the city.
And the mysterious naked man
is kneeling behind a garbage can or lying on his belly
in somebody’s garden
or maybe even hiding in the branches of a tree,
where the wind from the harbour
whips at his naked body,
and by now he’s probably done
whatever it was he wanted to do
and wishes he could go to sleep
or die
or take to the air like Superman.
— Alden Nowlan
This one takes the cake… By John Updike whose books I haven’t been able to appreciate; think I should give him another try?
V.B. Nimble, V.B. Quick
V.B. Wigglesworth wakes at noon,
Washes, shaves and very soon
Is at the lab; he reads his mail,
Swings a tadpole by the tail,
Undoes his coat, removes his hat,
Dips a spider in a vat
Of alkaline, phones the press,
Tells them he is F.R.S.,
Subdivides six protocells,
Kills a rat by ringing bells,
Writes a treatise, edits two
Symposia on “Will man do?,”
Gives a lecture, audits three,
Has the sperm club in for tea,
Pensions off an ageing spore,
Cracks a test tube, takes some pure
Science and applies it, finds,
His hat, adjusts it, pulls the blinds,
Instructs the jellyfish to spawn,
And, by one o’clock, is gone.
— John Updike
Hope this brings a chuckle or two, Sonal…:-)
As for me, I can’t help ROTFL….
hariputtar says:
… light and *gay* ? light is fine enough. thank you.
the naked man:
‘What did he look like?’ the lieutenant is asking.
‘I don’t know,’ says the witness. ‘He was naked.’
on the memorial day weekend, my friends and i were walking down to Pier-39 in San Francisco. And you know what – there was this guy, sitting atop a desi-looking-bicycle (atlas cycle type), was totally naked, and was carrying a small day-pack on his back. and i didnt see if he was wearing specs, or if he was bald, or what he looked like. everyone just stopped and watched him pass by … and then walked on with an amused look :))
lol @ sperm club: that pretty much describes my circle. 🙂
funny pieces. 🙂 keep it coming.
August 10, 2004 — 3:35 pm
Lakshmi says:
Isn’t it funny? Some of my favourite images…
Instructs the jellyfish to spawn.. and
Pensions off an ageing spore..
Very very funny…:-)
August 10, 2004 — 5:49 pm
arunshanbhag says:
L you outdid yourself. After a brief respite, it was great coming back to these poems.
🙂
August 10, 2004 — 7:48 pm
Lakshmi says:
Thanks! I love both the poems too… very much.
August 11, 2004 — 5:31 am
arunshanbhag says:
hey, nice userpic!
August 10, 2004 — 7:49 pm
Lakshmi says:
Lovely, isn’t it? It’s called ‘The Sun-Dance’..
August 11, 2004 — 5:31 am
rileen says:
Thanks for posting these, both are funny but also thought-provoking, esp. the first one.
August 11, 2004 — 5:21 am
Lakshmi says:
Yes, I found the first one slightly serious myself, in a quaint way…
August 11, 2004 — 5:31 am
rileen says:
Hey, isn’t it rather early where you are?
Well, the first one reminded me of various articles, discussions etc. on ‘streakers’. Things like how the reactions can sometimes seem even more ridiculous than the act itself.
Apparently we have a well-known streaker in Bielefeld, a guy who’s been wandering around naked for so long, people don’t take much notice anymore.
August 11, 2004 — 5:37 am
Lakshmi says:
It’s 8:45 am right now… not early for me!
Isn’t roaming nude illegal? Except on a nude beach.. or a nudist colony, maybe…
August 11, 2004 — 5:47 am
rileen says:
Ok, so you’re only 6 hours behind …… 8:45 am is early for me, esp. to be online 🙂 !!
Isn’t roaming nude illegal?
Yup, but i think it’s one of those offenses which are often dealt with leniently. This guy in particular seems to have been accepted as a ‘hopeless case’, ie people would rather just shake their heads and ignore him than report him.
August 11, 2004 — 5:50 am
Lakshmi says:
I’d think that in USA, you’d be immediately taken in for indecent exposure. But I am not sure…
August 11, 2004 — 5:52 am
rileen says:
Thanks, i shall be careful when i visit :-p
August 11, 2004 — 5:55 am
shri says:
OMG! LOL!
A nice change from the ‘usual’ stuff, Locks! 😀
August 11, 2004 — 6:55 am
Lakshmi says:
You mean, the usual ‘dead serious’ stuff I keep putting up?
August 11, 2004 — 7:21 am
shri says:
You mean, the usual ‘dead serious’ stuff I keep putting up?
Nah, I like your ‘serious’ stuff too. 🙂 Heck, I like ALL the stuff you put up. 😀
Yes, MAS (Mutual Admiration Society ) making itself known. 😉
August 11, 2004 — 7:44 am
Lakshmi says:
MAS…nice new acronym!
August 11, 2004 — 9:50 am