Today's prompts:
WBP: Write a poem with the title "________ Better."
NPWM: "...write a poem based on one of the curious headlines, cartoons, and other journalistic tidbits featured at Yesterday’s Print, where old news stays amusing, curious, and sometimes downright confusing."
PSH: "... write a poem about something someone has told you that you shouldn’t write about. You might want to title it, 'You can’t put ___ in a poem' or 'You can’t write about ___ in a poem.' Then go on to explain why you’re not supposed to include it, and use it anyway. "
Here's a response to the second prompt - I'm still mulling over the other two.
Communication
Dog Understood the Phone –
Invited to Spend the Day with Child Playmate He Complied at Once.
(Headline from St. Louis, MO, Post Dispatch, Aug. 11, 1901)
The details are lost to history, but
imagine a medium- to large-size dog with reddish fur—
a retriever, perhaps, named Rover—
whose owner receives a call on the new-fangled wall phone
in his farm house outside St. Louis.
The neighbor’s kid (let’s call him Billy)
wants Rover to come play with him, and the owner,
Farmer Jenkins (whose bumper crop last year allowed
this new invention to be installed),
puts the receiver up to Rover’s ear.
He recognizes Billy’s voice and immediately
barks and wags his tail. Invitation accepted.
It would have been an amazing story then,
especially considering the new-technology angle.
Nowadays, though, it might not impress us as much
as, let’s say, a dog who has learned to text,
although it would likely consist of emojis,
mostly cats and bones.
Invited to Spend the Day with Child Playmate He Complied at Once.
(Headline from St. Louis, MO, Post Dispatch, Aug. 11, 1901)
imagine a medium- to large-size dog with reddish fur—
a retriever, perhaps, named Rover—
whose owner receives a call on the new-fangled wall phone
in his farm house outside St. Louis.
The neighbor’s kid (let’s call him Billy)
wants Rover to come play with him, and the owner,
Farmer Jenkins (whose bumper crop last year allowed
this new invention to be installed),
puts the receiver up to Rover’s ear.
He recognizes Billy’s voice and immediately
barks and wags his tail. Invitation accepted.
especially considering the new-technology angle.
Nowadays, though, it might not impress us as much
as, let’s say, a dog who has learned to text,
although it would likely consist of emojis,
mostly cats and bones.
1 comment:
A dog who can text, that would be something. In my experience, dogs don't respond to voices on the phone, probably because they don't smell the person. But it makes for a good story and a good poem. Great job, Bruce!
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