Jabberwock Revisited

This poem is an exaggeration full of satire and hyperbole.  I wrote it in response to what a poet said concerning the use of a dictionary and thesaurus by other poets.  The poet said that if they’re real poets, they won’t need them.  I was so astonished and shocked by that statement (since I use them all the time) that I decided to write a poem extending that idea to other professions, such as mechanics, pilots, doctors, lawyers and poets.  Of course, all of these professions need to continue to keep up to date, be accurate and precise.  I conclude with the excerpt from Lewis Carroll’s nonsensical poem “Jabberwocky” to drive home the point.  The last two lines say it all.

Jabberwock Revisited

Why do mechanics need manuals when they've fixed it before?
Answer my question or I'll walk out the door!
Didn't they attend trade schools or get OJT?
Why need repair manuals?  That's what gets me.
I just want a mechanic who won't refer to a book.
Just fix my car already, don't give it a second look!

Why do pilots run checklists and reference their charts?
Just push the dang button and hope the plane starts!
Didn't they go to flight school and pass all the tests?
Pilots fly most days, so who needs all the mess?
I want a pilot who knows without referencing a chart.
Just get on with the flying and prove that you're smart!

What about the doctors who are practicing still?
Why can't they get it right?  And that includes the bill!
They're always researching new studies in journals,
When time's better spent attending patient's internals.
I just want a Marcus Welby, Ben Casey or Kildare.
Instead of keeping up to date, I just want them to care.

Why do lawyers review case studies and legal decisions?
Such antics in my book leave them open to derision.
All that studying in law school should have been more than enough.
After passing the bar they should already know their stuff.
I just want an attorney who's a know-it-all ace,
Not a book worm mouthpiece to plead my case.

Finally, the poets, being wordsmiths their art.
You won't see them referencing a checklist or chart!
But look, in their hands, what can that be?
A dictionary?  Thesaurus?  Are those what I see?
A real poet never needs help reading Shakespeare or Keats
Using Webster and Roget would make all of us cheats!
If a poet is real, the words should just flow
I think that all poets should automatically know
The right words to use, and literary crutches forgo
How dare they try better vocabulary to hone!
They should come up with good things to say on their own
I'm looking for poets who'll just know what to say,
Like Lewis Carroll's poems in his heyday:
"Twas brillig, and the slithy toves, Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogroves, And the mome raths outgrabe."

Don't bother looking up his words, for that would be a dumb thing.
Using a dictionary or thesaurus, you might actually learn something!

 

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Poetry notes:
01/01/2019

Poetry form: A Flight of Fancy Rhyme

I just published this poem in my book on wattpad.com entitled Footle Fest & Flights of Fancy.

FYI- This isn't a footle, but it is a flight of fancy   This poem is an exaggeration full of satire and hyperbole.  I wrote it in response to what a poet said concerning the use of a dictionary and thesaurus by other poets.  The poet said that if they’re real poets, they won’t need them.  I was so astonished and shocked by that statement (since I use them all the time) that I decided to write a poem extending that idea to other professions, such as mechanics, pilots, doctors, lawyers and poets.  Of course, all of these professions need to continue to keep up to date, be accurate and precise.  I conclude with the excerpt from Lewis Carroll’s nonsensical poem “Jabberwocky” to drive home the point.  The last two lines say it all.

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