Little Jack Horner sat in his corner,
thinking of Little Bo. Lovely Bo
his long-lost Bo, was his former
squeeze. Sad now, twenty years ago.
.
Why would he even think of her
after all so many years? Little Bo
had loved him. Shy neighbour
so lithe and lovely, little echo?
.
.
Meanwhile here is Little Bo
who's visiting next door,
rememb'ring how, so long ago
they'd parted. To be no more.
.
The grief of bitter acrimony
the words of stubborn pride!
Forget all hope of matrimony.
Rebuffed, put it all aside.
.
.
The twenty years past were all alone,
words regretting, as their love died.
Jack worked his mind down to the bone
succeeding at all that he had tried.
.
"Little Jack Horner" sat in his corner,
ruminating. Thinking while eating
his bowl of curds and whey. Not former
Jack, to be sure, never retreating
.
even to thoughts of broken hearts
that he had suffered long ago.
Or to regret his counterpart's
pain had forced her far, to go.
.
Many were the lonely years that went,
but their pain had dissipated.
It was impossible to circumvent:
but of strangers, memories abated.
.
.
"Little Bo" was no longer small, as
she once had been "befo'"
The chocolates that were scandalous
when Jack had been her beau
.
"cause all her friends are thin"
consoled her broken dreams.
Miraculously, though no mannikin,
her beauty's bloom redeems.
.
Remembering her slenderness
and great beauty of her youth
Bo acquired tenderness,
gentle humility, and truth.
.
.
Inevitably the day gently came,
when both stood there together.
Voicelessly Bo, while without blame,
stood with Jack unsure whether
.
it had once been real. Would he
know the trembling of her hand
that held her purse, the woody
counterweight in her wasteland?
.
There was a sudden sadness,
threat of tears in lovely eyes.
Who'd think a time of gladness,
her Jack could not recognize?
.
Together a thousand miles apart,
no reason there for her to stay.
There was no place within his heart.
Bo turned her back and walked away.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
.
Little Jack Horner stood alone
there, pensive in the crowd.
In ways that he had seldom known
unseeing, he was not allowed
.
to see his future disappear
as she was swallowed whole
by her car. Far, yet so near
new longing took its toll.
.
.
Later, Jack Horner sat in his corner
alone with his Curds-n-Whey,
pondering, remembering his former
sweet neighbour, so long moved away.
.
Something that he'd not known or seen
had happened there today.
Something yearning there, between?
Love? Forever gone astray?
.
Desolate, he felt his loss yet knew not
why it had wrapped its tendril
'round his heart. That beauty he forgot
would be his Lifebook's Codicil.
Terry Gibson 12-08
Author notes
"Codicil," a legal term for a later addition to a document or will to explain or alter its content.
"Remembering" orally sounds like "rememb'ring"
A contest entry
- In Honor Of My 50th Gold Trophy On AP by BluesMan.
3000 points, ended February 27, 40 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Does it work to mix fairy-tale names to show ethnic difference?
Comments
1 - 12 of 12
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Well Terry you took a nursery rhyme and brought tears to my eyes. This poem held my interest from start to finish It is not an easy thing to be consistent in rhyme in a poem this long but you have done so . Thank you so much for entering my contest
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Thank you Bill! Totally unexpected!
Your kindness goes far beyond what normally happens to a withdrawn poem!
The help I gave others was just what I do, glad to be able. I had memorably wonderful teachers who did as much and more for me, made sure we knew how wonderfully poems work, so I know what to look for. Result, I enjoy passing it on, and expect I always will. If today's poets learn from day-before-yesterday's scribe, that is great!
Terry
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I love the take you have on these nursery rhymes
I've often wondered (as I got older) what more there was to fairy tales and nursery rhymes. I've always loved stories by the Brothers Grimm and Aesops Fables and of course, nursery rhymes. In their simplicity they are great for kids and I think perhaps, that same simplicity makes them great for grown-ups too If it were all cut and clear, we couldn't have much fun with them, could we?
As for mixing fairy-tale names to show ethnic differences, I think it really might do something simliar. There is a persona that people assosicate with a person's name. I get a very diffrent image of Jack Horner than of Bo Peep For me, Jack Horner conjures images of a serious, over-achiever whereas Bo Peep conjures images of a pretty, shy-but-flirty-fun butterfly with many friends and no serious interests. Because of the persona, different stereotypical ethnic backgrounds come to mind. Jack Horner belongs, in my mind, to a driven, very planned and executed ethnic lifestyle whereas Bo Peep would be placed in a more flittering, rootless lifestyle. Jack Horner, voted most likely to succeed and Bo Peep, most likely to be band with 50 other people (because she needs them for direction) to protest some infraction of animal rights, proposal for demolition of a historic building or something, else, that for the moment, she is interested in.
If a person can read as much into the names of fictional characters, imagine just how much stereotyping happens the moment we introduce ourselves (or someone is introduced to us)!
s and best wishes always... ~Genie~
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Withdrawn from Competition
To my great regret, even though my two poems were submitted long before I even thought of helping in judging, I must withdraw them from competition.
Enjoy the poems so they may retain at least SOME value. The other was an older poem, Quebec, My Muse and Me.
Terry
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This is very interesting and enjoyable to read; my favorite part about the poem was how it started out light and airy, but then became darker and deeper, but then came out from the heaving tide to the air once again when you reached the ending.
I liked the format, as the lines were realtively short, and made the length easier to cope with. It is very insightful, the way you manipulated childresn stories into what happened after the final page in the book was closed.
Thank you for sharing ^_^
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Thoughtfully rich.
Taking the children's stories as known by little kids, extending the tale past its end into more serious futures was not something I expected to see noticed. Reading between the lines is not taught in schools, and the skill is as rare as the exploits of Mindreaders! How gratifying it is to see such a perceptive comment here!
Manipulation of the passage of time was also noticed.
There are other things in it too, but I can wait!
Thank you for this!
Terry
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This is very rich as outstanding poetry and many faceted narrative. Instructive and moving.
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Thank you Ellis. Kind of makes you wonder why so many of the elderly are sadly alone when at last there would be free time to enjoy last years together. Those are the things no one tells.
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Pride kills love, the best thing to do is walk away. We have both seen it, and a tender heart must protect itself somehow. It's too bad that he is sad and alone, but it is his own making. Deep lessons here, good luck!
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In the land of silent dreams and hunches, I imagine many over the years have left unsaid the life-altering things we did not fully notice. Sad.
Thank you for the comment that may help someone someday.
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a final encounter that failed to connect
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Yes Matt, bang on. On a subliminal level, perhaps in spirit, it is possible we all have vague memory of events that did not break into the light of day, the stuff of which dreams are made.
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