In Defense of German Lyrics

I used to think that German was
not lyrical at all, because
it has so many "achts" and "ichts" and "unzes".
But Brahm's could write a melody
to shame those guys from Italy.
I like the words to some of Brahms's tunes's.

*** especially, "Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen." 
As the self-appointed poet laureate of the Syracuse University Oratorio Society, I composed the first five lines on the way to a rehearsal. Then it took a week to come up with the final rhyme.  I was too stubborn to make it easy by changing line three. "Semper procedamus" .. or should I say, "Weiter, immer weiter"?

VERDI'S REQUIEM

 (with apologies to his countrymen, 
                        especially the Gambino Family)

A composer whose name was "Giuseppe"

Wrote a Requiem ever-so-peppy.

When heard by the Pope,

He shook his head "Nope!",

"I'm-a supposed to be-a sad, 
                                    but I'm-a heppy!?"

An Invitation to Repeat Visitors

Welcome back, whoever you are.

If you come to visit from time to time
to my humble attempts at rhythm and rhyme,
A "Follower" I invite you to be.
It would feel most rewarding to me,
For, as a poet, I don't earn a dime.

You only need to register with an email address, to protect us bloggers from anonymous abusive comments.   You won't get any spam.  It would sure be inspiring to know that somebody out there actually reads some of this stuff.    I'd just like too know if it piques anyone's interest.   Comments are always welcome (even slightly abusive ones if they're the least bit constructive).
Lavish praise and unbridled admiration are preferred, of course.

   Thanks !

In ENGLISH CLASS

My English teacher is The Lord of Nerds.
He claims he knows a lot of words
that rhyme with no other.
"Try me", I muttered.
This heated exchange then occurred.

"Surely you can't rhyme 'elephant'."
"Professor", I touted, "the Hell I can't!"
"Nice try", he told me,
He gave me a 'C'.
At least it was better than 'pelican'.

"You won't even come close with 'month'."
"Oh yeth", I lisped, "I'm no dunth".
"Well, how about 'orange'?"
"Will you thettle for 'porridge'?
He anthered with groanth and thum grunth.

WHEN SOMEBODY KNEADS YOU

Note: I reclined on the couch with my laptop and tried to finish a play.
Shamus, our only live cat, made it impossible to type.
So I composed this verse instead.

Why, Lord, when our cat wants to rest,
must he rest right on top of my chest?
And why must he circle
and claw ‘til I’m purple?
Am I really too firm for a nest?

AT THE CONCERT

The conductor looked down to his right,
where two cellists were squeezed in so tight
that neither poor fellow
had room for his cello,
but they were engaged by the end of the night.

An AWFUL VERSE for an AWESOME SOPRANO

You've heard Herman sing about Mrs. Brown's daughter.
Well, no one who's met her has ever forgot her.
Famous she'll be,
Inevitably.
If you haven't yet met her, you really oughta.

THE CHORAL DIRECTOR

When we're singing in the chorus
the director stands before us
looking like he wants to grab us by our throats.
Our heads are buried in the score
although we've sung this song before.
We're not together ...
     but we're singing all the notes.

An EASTER BASKET of LIMERICKS

A Gift of Verse
for Each of My Sopranos
(except the one that married me)
_________________________________

A lovely little lady named Anne
was wed to a very tall man.
Whenever they dance,
she holds onto his pants,
and her legs move as fast as they can.
_________________________________

Debbie came up from Long Isle-
and she always dresses in style.
So when she goes out,
men whistle and shout.
She ignores them, hiding a smile.
_________________________________

There’s another soprano named Ellie.
Her older sister is Kelley.
Like her twin sister Katie,
She turned into a lady,
After putting her mother through hell-y.
_________________________________

Here’s to Elizabeth F_____.
Her blouse is a little bit green-y.
She’s as pretty can be,
Though she’s got a bum knee.
Anne and Lisa she sits in between-y
_________________________________

A beautiful dyslexic soprona
developed a case of dysphonia.
She couldn’t sing for a while.
She’d just stand there and smile.
So we called her our Lisa Mona.
__________________________________

She says it's Reh-NAY, not Reh-KNEE,
But it looks like Reh-KNEE to me.
Although she can't spell,
She sings very well.
She can even hit a high C.
__________________________________

Let’s not forget Kathy D_______.
She’s the County’s kindest pet owner.
Every poor creature that strays
Shows up on her doorstep -- and stays.
On the bed, all the others move over.
__________________________________


Easter 2010