THE MOOSEANELLE
Steven Cornish: Lew - if you detail the form of a moosanelle I will try to write one.
Lew Turco: Hmmm, let me think.
Cornish: Lew - a question - should the small a and b lines rhyme with the A and B refrain lines?
Turco: Yes. The capital letters are refrains:
A form invented by Lewis Turco at the request of Steven Cornish.
This is the pattern for the MOOSEANELLE:
A
a
B
C
b
A
D
a
B
E
b
A
F
a
B
E
e
B
A
MOOSEANELLE
Last Friday night, down at the Moose Lodge,
as Murray, my moose friend, drove up in his Dodge,
the most troubling sight that I ever saw
appeared in that parking lot before my own eyes,
(and I admit the thought of it stuck in my craw)
last Friday night, down at the Moose Lodge.
My ex-girlfriend, Mary Moose, sat by his side,
and try as I might, I could not dislodge
the most troubling sight that I ever saw
from my mind, when I thought I was long shut
of her. The sight of it was like a sock in the jaw
last Friday night, down at the Moose Lodge.
I don’t want to see them stuck in a rut -
his antlers are huge, he wears them like a badge -
the sight would trouble most bulls if they ever saw.
From my mind, when I thought I was long shut
of her, it comes back at me like a kick in the nuts -
the most troubling sight that I ever saw
from last Friday night, down at the Moose Lodge.
-- Steven Cornish
Turco: Well, a good try, Steven. The meters seem a bit dodgy.
Cornish: You didn't indicate meter in your scheme for the form!
Turco: Read my poem, Steven. Iambic tetrameter or pentameter (one OR the other). If you revise, take your time:
MOOSEANELLE
The moose in Maine stay mainly in the rain.
They're gentle creatures that do not raise Cain --
They browse among pond scum for tasty leaves
That grow upon the riverbed's thick silt
Where it's impossible for them to wilt.
The moose in Maine stay mainly in the rain
Unless it's sunny out, and then they hide
So they will not get sunburn on their hide.
They browse among pond scum for tasty leaves
Then hide in shadow so they will not burn
Until the hunters spot them in the fern.
The moose in Maine stay mainly in the rain
Until they're brought to barbecue at last
Out on the lawn to take part in repast.
They browse among pond scum for tasty leaves
Until they're eaten at a barbecue
Where they will feed a crowd and not a few.
They browse beneath pond scum for tasty leaves.
If they remain in Maine out in the rain.
n Lewis Turco
REVISED MOOSEANELLE
One Friday night, at the Moose Lodge,
some moose friends drive up in a Dodge,
and bugle out this awful news:
Turk asks that I fix my mooseanelle
to please his lurking gargolye muse.
On Friday night, at the Moose Lodge,
it’s noisy, dark, can’t think to write.
But I will face this irksome charge.
Who bugled out the awful news
on Facebook that my poem was flawed?
That same old Turk who paid his dues
most Friday nights. At the Moose Lodge,
to prove I’m not some poet fraud
I’d gladly pay out twenty large.
Or better still, bugle awesome news
on Facebook, with a poem less flawed.
Let’s hope the readers all are awed,
don’t bugle out more awful news
next Friday night, at the Moose Lodge.
-- Steven Cornish
Turco: Magnifique! This gets posted on my blog!
Suggested Writing Exercse:
Write a mooseannelle
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