Faster, faster...

Thanks to Jinksy, author of the poem in my sidebar, I learned today of a blog called Imaginary Garden wherein Laurie makes writing suggestions and poets follow them. Laurie’s most recent suggestion had been to write a poem of eight lines in one minute and include the word “allegro.” It sounded like a fun exercise, so I did, immediately, on Jinksy’s blog in the comments. Then, when I went over to have a look at Laurie’s blog, I discovered she meant that I should display my poem on my own blog and include a link to Imaginary Garden.

Consider it done.

I once had a dog named Poco à poco
Because its dimensions were little by little;
The neighbors all thought its owner was loco,
Which I helped along by drooling my spittle;
Some afternoons I’d sit nude in the garden
And watch my tomatoes to see how fast they grow;
When neighbors came out they’d say, “Oh! Beg your pardon!”
And ask God to make my tomatoes allegro.

[Note. I shall now give you a rare peek at the process of editing and the art of rhymed poetry. If I had had a bit longer to construct that poem, it might have had a few different words, more consistent rhythm, and might have ended up looking like this:

I once had a doggie named Poco à poco
Because its dimensions were little by little;
The neighbors all thought that its owner was loco,
Which thought I helped foster by drooling my spittle;
Some afternoons I would sit nude in the garden
And watch my tomatoes to see how fast they grow;
When neighbors came out they’d say, “Oh! Beg your pardon!”
And ask God to change my tomatoes allegro.

Or perhaps:

And pray that my lovelies would ripen allegro.

Oh, well. Some things apparently cannot be improved by time or editing. --RWP]