It was too personal, said far too much.
As for that one, I liked the imagery,
But it had no structure or rhymes as such,
And got no boost for lack of symmetry.
And that one, that one I tried to salvage
But the sands of time have not dulled the pain,
Nor have torrential rains become flame's bane.
So the bit grinder its soul will ravage.
Add to the heap this one I won't retouch;
Not that one, to which I cling: cripple's crutch.
Keep those on dreams that I've yet to obtain,
But let go those that are far too arcane.
Spare those that speak of my little cabbage,
Or of Christian journey telemetry.
Author’s note: i started a poem the other day in which I tried to salvage another that i have no intention of publishing, with a note explaining:
“This takes some bits and pieces from an unpublished poem that evolved over the course of about a year. One version of that poem took a dark turn after six or seven stanzas. One version was too much of a “when you know what you don’t know” situation. The most recent version of that poem doesn’t end as hopefully as I would like, though I think it does capture the sentiment of “things are falling apart, no matter what I try to do to hold them together,” or, “this is not how I pictured things would be a year ago” with an unstated “can we go back a year and get a do-over?” I generally liked that poem, but often end up having to explain myself to some of my followers, and it was maybe too personal, and in some minds, lacking context, could be seriously misunderstood. So, I’ve opted to canabalize that one in favor of other art.
Ultimately I put that in the WordPress trash, providing the inspiration for this poem.
Copyright ©️ 2024 H.K. Longmore
Musings of a Kunderian Monster 
If I Were a High School English Teacher…
Darwin city skyline from East Point Reserve by Bidgee
If I were a high school English teacher, I’d have my students write a compare and contrast essay on the Hoodoo Guru’s song Tojo (lyrics) and Santa Never Made It Into Darwin by Bill Cate.
First I’d have them listen to Tojo, with a printed version of the lyrics in front of them, and write their initial impressions of the meaning. Then I’d play for them Santa Never Made It, with the lyrics to reference. Then I’d ask them:
The relative sizes of the United States, Cyclone Tracy and Typhoon Tip, the smallest and largest Pacific tropical storms recorded, respectively
Hideki Tojo
I’d award some bonus points to students who accurately describe who Tojo is; slightly less points for making a good guess. I would also possibly award various levels of bonus points for various levels of answering the question, “What would be required for a computer to understand either song?” It’s probably a good thing I’m not a high school English teacher: my students would have too much fun. Or I’d get fired for not following Common Core.
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Posted in commentary, others poetry, videos
Tagged analyzing lyrics, analyzing poetry, Bill and Boyd, Common Core, Cyclone Tracy, Darwin, Hoodoo Gurus, Santa Never Made It Into Darwin, teachers, Tojo