The Ostrich and the Lion, Poetry and Digital Art
The Ostrich & the Lion
An ostrich thought to believe in lions deranged
Until he saw one …
strong, true, and magnificently-maned
What was our scared little darling to do ...
He couldn’t run; four legs last longer than two
He couldn’t fly, having grown so tall
so ridiculously plumed
Fear not, for he knew the power of self-prophecy
Dig a hole, take a breath …
stick your head within, entirely
The breath on your neck remains a terrible itch
But you can pretend it’s just the wind
Lions don’t really exist
That’s right …
Keep your head buried in the sand and the grass
Get devoured feathers and all …
just like our stupid little ostrich
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Digital Art is a composition of works found in the public domain or creative commons.
- https://www.pexels.com/photo/red-petaled-flower-near-yellow-grass-during-daytime-68528/
- https://pixabay.com/en/swaziland-africa-natural-savannah-2637331/
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ostrich_or_Common_Ostrich_(Struthio_camelus)_at_Rietflei_early_morning,male_and_female_with_a_gaggle_of_young.(10088025713).jpg
- https://pixabay.com/en/lion-wild-animal-dangerous-animal-2327225/
Resulting image and the Ostrich and the Lion are copyright Pryde Foltz. The Ostrich and the Lion was originally published in Monsters. For more information, click on the image below.
I like this poem, it really makes you think. It reminds me somehow of when they would put a bag over the condemned person's head before execution. Well done graphic and poem!
Thank you, lightsplasher:)
There's a life lesson here in proximate rhyme:) Nice digital art, btw
Proximate rhyme ... that was the word we were looking for. Thank you, John. Thanks for kudos on the digital art ... this one took a lot of overlaying to get it to work:):):)Lions were definitely the image of the night and maybe tomorrow too:)
Hemingway would love us :)
I think we would go wonderfully with a daiquiri and some Cuban sun:)
@johnjgeddes,
Pryde studied artsy-fartsy stuff in college. And, from what I can tell, a lot of it. I was being shot at in the desert. There's no excuse for her not knowing a "proximate rhyme" when she sees one. Especially since she used three! Who can we report this to?
I lost the title and not the how-to. I'm awful with names but have a great memory for faces. I should let you know ... I studied a great deal more than the artsy-fartsy. I simply received letters after my name for the artsy fartsy.
@prydefoltz,
Easy lioness ... at least you forgot it, I'd never heard of it. Although giving the phenomenon a name doesn't explain the effect.
The "effect" requires "pattern recognition" ... meter, rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, assonance are all patterns ... what pattern was recognized?
@johnjgeddes, feel free to chime in too.
You got it:)
@prydefoltz,
I LOVE this poem! This is my favorite poem that you've written.
I actually went back and deconstructed what you'd done. Almost-rhymes. That's what causes the effect. The words are just close enough that they tantalize you with the expectation of rhyme ... but damn it, they don't!
In the first two stanzas, it's assonance talking. But the last three ...
For you non-poets, this is harder to pull off than it looks.
Clever.
Thank you, Quill. This was a really fun one to write and you know how I like to turn things on their heads. Be anything but predictable or something like that:):):)
@prydefoltz,
Pryde, you are nothing if not unpredictable.
To be honest, I'm still amazed you managed to pull this off. I've re-read the poem a dozen times. Those words ought not work together. I think there's actually something rather sadistic about what you're doing here. If there was someone I could report this to, I would. It's like teasing a tiger with a pork-chop. Not nice. :-)
Left scratching my head.
BTW: My daughter and her friends have been checking in on my feed periodically. Do you know what they are calling me now?
Quill.
There was a boy named Fire
He grew ever lonely and thinner
No one ever called to him to play
And his mother, never to dinner
@prydefoltz,
Laughing my ass off! :-) :-) :-)
Now I'm hungry. Ice cream. I need to make up for lost time.
LOL ... fire doesn't have the same ring:)
Although ... fire does cause a stir.
Nice art