Monday, June 21, 2010

Word & Question

Word & Question is a meme hosted at Shredded Cheddar. What happens is you send Enbrethiliel, or potential future host, one word and one question, each of your own choosing, according to whatever strikes your fancy. She then takes everyone's words and questions and randomizes them. She sends back to you a word and question that other people have chosen. You then have to write a poem in answer to the question; the poem must also include the one word in it somewhere.

The Word I received: Legend

The Question I received: Are we there yet?

I really wanted to write the poem as a direct answer to the question, but I got pulled in another direction -er, distraction:

Legend turned to prospect in Pizarro's
steaming brain, and prospect fell to languishing
mid death-smelling flies;
swords of the Spanish court, hacking at vines
like frantic bones warding off demise;
the famished Native and Conquistador train
began to pine.

Brute Gonzalo turned on his men and roared:
"Unless you want my sword plunged in your throat,
I swear, do not ask me one more time!
When you see the gold is when we'll have arrived!"

Fickle Gonzalo gave up, a few hours
after stating the above - that driver, starver,
chewing up men into his jungle dreams:
he who did not have the means, nor know the way;
nor know there was no there at all.

9 comments:

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

You weren't kidding about your dark mood, were you? ;-)

Seriously, I think it's a fine poem. Either your death imagery or my current Horror trip (or a combination of both) is making me picture them hacking through the jungle forever, lost in a limbo from which there is no escape, the perfect ghost-zombie variants (with a moral lesson to teach!) for a Horror film set in the South American jungle. What priest figure would it take to exorcise them and save our heroes?

Belfry Bat said...

That's... it was... it would have been funnier if it weren't so... it makes me think of The Mosquito Coast. Only... backwards, somehow.

--the Bat is some guy on the street

Bryan said...

Nice. I like it.

Paul Stilwell said...

Enbrethiliel, you write the story, I'll draw the panels, and we'll have ourselves a graphic novel. Serious.

BTW, I was thinking of the film Ravenous today (haven't watched it for years), and I realize what it was lacking (and how much better it would have been) was a priest figure!

Bat, funny you should mention The Mosquito Coast. I've been writing a review of Witness, and in it I mention how The Mosquito Coast sort of marks the point at which Peter Weir's films started to, uh, not be as good as they used to be - as good though as they are. I'm fascinated by your words, weren't so...it's killing me. But I know what you mean. It's The Mosquito Coast, but backwards. ;)

Bryan, thanks, and I'm glad you like it!

Belfry Bat said...

Oh, and thanks for linking; c'etait un plaisir!

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

But we need to brainstorm first!!!

(Even The Mosquito Coast would be funnier if it weren't so so.)

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Paul Stilwell said...

Welcome!