This poem is an omelette

[Stephen Whiteside]

This poem is an omelette.
I took three perfectly good rhyming poems
And cracked their shells against the side of the pan.
Dropped them in.
Added milk.
Stirred.
I could have boiled them,
Or poached them.
Even fried them.
And they'd still be perfectly good rhyming poems.
Separate.
Intact.
Instead, I chose to stir them up and mix them.
There were some rhyming words in here somewhere, but I think they've got lost in the milk.
So why did I do that?
Why did I ruin my rhyming poems?
There was one about a drought.
And one about grandpa.
And one about Christmas.
Now they're all gone, and all I have left is this wretched mess.
Was it worth it?
Was it really worth it?
Yes, it was.
I like omelettes.
Besides, you can't digest bush verse with chives.

[Stephen Whiteside]

I gathered three sturdy bush pomes
From the carton I'd bought in the shop.
I cracked each one's shell.
I managed it well.
They dropped in the pan with a 'plop'.

I added some milk and I stirred them.
The poor pomes got mixed up a treat.
The gold yolks were torn,
But a new thing was born
As I carefully turned up the heat.

No trace of those three pomes remains now.
They all of them paid with their lives,
But they've got a new start
In a fine work of art,
Capped off with a sprinkling of chives.

Don't grieve for these sacrificed pomes.
Don't mourn them. Don't pity. Don't fret.
Though they've run their race,
What stands in their place
Is a handsome, delicious pomelette!

[Maureen K Clifford]

You are a clever man Stephen - bet you have a great bedside manner - this is so good

Cheers

Maureen

[Stephen Whiteside]

Aw, shucks, Maureen. Thanks!

[Neville Briggs]

I second Maureen's comment. Very well done. Putting the two versions together is an excellent example to illustrate how carefully chosen language makes the poem.

[Stephen Whiteside]

Thanks, Neville. I wanted to put in some verses about the drought poem being a free range pome, the poem about poor old hen-pecked grandpa being a battery pome, and the poem about Christmas being a pome that could go either way (!), but it all got too complicated - or maybe it was just too late at night.

[keats]

Haha. Good piece Stephen. Thoroughly enjoyed it, mate!

Neil

[Stephen Whiteside]

Thanks, Neil.