Thursday, June 2, 2022

Hijacked By A Fish

This post was originally supposed to be about the importance of a sense of purpose in one's life, but along the way it was waylaid by a punny fish.

The pain of cancer's really hard,
and time is like a tortoise,
so there's a pool in my backyard
for a senseless porpoise.
This is not what you might wish,
still less what you would ask,
but know, please, that this dotty fish
is well up for the task
of puncturing pomposity,
of soaking down the grave and grim
to banish faux-solemnity
with deluge from flapping fin
that leads into a back-flip path
which splash makes even Zealots laugh.

If you're interested in how these things get written, I came up with the first three quatrains in my head while taking care of the dogs. I figured that it would be easy to remember it, and so didn't write it down immediately.

Yeah, well...at that point I could only recall the first quatrain.

So I wrote the version shown below...and then recalled the original!

The pain of cancer's really hard,
and time is like a tortoise,
so there's a pool in my backyard
for a senseless porpoise.
He will soak the pompous
with joyful fins a-flapping,
infuriate the serious
(if they are caught napping)
with water from his blow-hole,
aimed with gleeful care
to wash the grim unsmiling soul
and let it breathe free air,
because there's not much we can do
but laugh, until this life is through.

Funny thing, though, this does kind of describe the Christian life, in which self-important solemnity is punctured (with, I think, a Holy glee) by rebirth in Christ, which restores the true and pure innocence of the soul, in which fun can take its deepest and most stable root. And the symbol early Christians used was...a fish!

Yeah, I know. A porpoise isn't a fish. Barb told me.

No accident, I think, that C. S. Lewis' autobiography is called 'Surprised By Joy'.

If you're with me so far, the Five Minute Friday prompt this week is DANGER. Oh, wow.

There's a danger upon waking,
there is danger when I sleep.
Jesus, do not be a stranger,
and please hold my soul to keep
if the ending comes in dream-time,
or it ends in sand outside;
either way I go in full prime
for the cancer just can't hide
a heart that jollies up the fear,
and guffaws at wracking pain,
letting loose of what's held dear
so that humour can remain,
and I'm gonna hit it big
in my Heaven stand-up gig.

Three minutes thirty. OK.

Music from Coldplay, with Life In Techicolour II.

Sylvia will investigate fishy happenings... after the ice cream. 








27 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing, Andrew! I'm impressed - you remembered the new and the original! And didn't even write it down:)

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    1. Jennifer, thanks! Some say that I have a photographic memory with a burned out flash bulb.

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  2. I'm thankful Jesus isn't a stranger to us, Andrew. And laughter is good medicine.

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    1. Lisa, cancer is a blessing in that Jesus is truly here with me; my eyes and ears have been opened, and I see Him smile, hear His laugh.

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  3. I have a hard time even writing one poem. I can't imagine writing two equally sound poems on the same topic. Well done.

    FMF #17

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    1. Barb, thanks so much! I think there's a link between poetry and music; I can't read a note but can transpose by ear, and with poems it's kinda similar.

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  4. It's a twofer week! I don't know how you do it.

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    1. Suzette, it's actually easier now than prose, to write a structured sonnet. I think the musical explanation, described above in my reply to Barb, has a lot to do with it.

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  5. I was never much for poem writing! You do a great job. I love the line "I'm gonna hit it big in my Heaven stand-up gig." We should all be excited for what awaits us in heaven.

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    1. Cindy, thank you for this. I only started at the end of 2018, writing sonnets as blog comments, as a joke. Then it became my schtick, and I guess I now have more words in collected sonnets than Tolstoy has in War And Peace. That says something, but I don't know what!

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  6. You are a funny man! Glad you can see such humor in the days that are hard for you. Keep pressing on. Jennifer, FMF

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    1. Jennifer, thank you! I figure that if I can't laugh at cancer, it's not worth dying of it.

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  7. You have a real talent, Andrew! I always love your poems and how they both make me laugh and make me think!

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    1. Lesley, your comment made my day. Thank you!

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  8. Thank you for sharing this, as always. Sending love and prayers to you and Barb.

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    1. Paula, thank YOU, for your encouragement, and your prayers.

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  9. Glad to see you're still writing poetry, Andrew. Cancer may be after your body, but your mind is soaring above it's reach--grateful.

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    1. Debi, thank you... I am mostly bedridden now, but not unhappy. Barb's moved my tools to the bedside.

      Which, yes, means wood shavings between the sheets.

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  10. Glad.to see the dog getting a treat!

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    1. Michele, ice cream is Sylvia's favourite, especially when combined with a 'just me' outing.

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  11. Andrew, thank you for your poems. Your indomitable spirit inspire me to keep a positive perspective when life wants me to go down hard. Thank you for the reminder we can always choose how we respond to the things that happen and the impacting choices others make. You and Barb are in my prayers, my friend!

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    1. Jeanne, we're so honoured by your words and prayers.

      God is here, in the most literal sense. I couldn't do this alone, and don't have to.

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  12. Love your poetry as always, Andrew, but I particularly loved this line afterwards: rebirth in Christ, which restores the true and pure innocence of the soul, in which fun can take its deepest and most stable root. I have definitely found fun to be present when we allow Christ to deal with our pompous solemnity.

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    1. Kath, that rings so true, that God's way is to puncture the grey balloon of religious solemnity, and replace it with a laugh, a shout of joy.

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  13. Amen Andrew, what a wonderful poem. I always glean something from your writing. Continued prayers as always coming your way for Barb too.
    Visiting today from Tell His Story #20
    I invite you to link up with my newly launched monthly link-up Sweet Tea & Friends.

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