An Ode to the Subject of Knots as a Comparison of Bleak Week’s ‘In Cold Blood’ and the Classics Series’ Lady and The Tramp
Pulling, pulling
Perry Smith
makes daisy chains from rope
he’ll later bind the Clutters
when he finds it hard to cope
Richard mean and pretty
with a very twisted stutter
Seems to find the robbery
A good excuse for murder
Perrys mother with a lasso
cruelly yanks a calf
His mother being beaten
by his drunk and angry dad
Being poor is aggravation
Aspirin by the can
The Clutters found
Shot and bound
On a treasure map
Hog tied he slits his throat
Hog tied life ends with sturdy rope
Tied in a sweet and sturdy knot
Lady with the Darlings finds
a collar is a source of pride
Aunt Shirley puts the muzzle on
and Lady flees to unbelong
Slurping bread ropes with the Tramp
She finds it once again
The Tramp says now lets go find out
where freedom really ends
The catchers come
so now shes snug
In penitentiary
Then she’s tied up in the yard
The men have come to save her
offering to tie the knot
of what became of that old hat
The Tramp returns
and kills the rat
(The rat would eat the baby!)
with collars on
and pedigrees
The Tramp belongs with Lady!
12 thoughts on "An Ode to the Subject of Knots as a Comparison of Bleak Week’s ‘In Cold Blood’ and the Classics Series’ Lady and The Tramp"
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Similar sinister genre, similar sinister origin
Love stories tied up in knots
Great juxtaposition
of seemingly incongruent works.
It works well
and is funny as well.
Thanks Z.Z.!
I could have worked on it a little bit more, but it felt smooth enough. And overworking things is always a risk. If you got something out of it perhaps, as with most things, it was good enough.
This is flat out amazing. Loved it. “The rat would eat the baby.”!!
Ha!!!! Thanks Bill! I was hoping to get some chuckles, guffaws, chokes and eyebrow raises!
I love the subtle rhythms and rhymes. In my tradition we have a devotion to Mary, the “Undoer of Knots.” It was a favorite of Pope Francis.
Oh wow! That’s so cool! I was inspired by a fellow poet on here. Their work has taken on greater meaning by what you’ve said here. I’m not Catholic but I’m interested in everything and I find all of life to be sacred and spiritual. Thank you for your comment!
You’ve tied them together quite nicely, mirror-world twins garrotted together to tauten a tight rope. It reminds me Edward Lear, not the limericks of course, just something about the rhythm of it, which, to me, adds an almost storybook innocence to all of these abounding horrors. It’s really interesting. What’s more, I think it’s a point of comparison only you could cook up, but you’ve done it so well it seems obvious now. You’re really good at bending the branch to make what was once obscured by countless pawpaw fronds seem like it was always pregnant, low-hanging fruit.
That’s such a nice compliment! Thank you! I do love Edward Lear…
I never would have thought of putting these two movies together. Cool that you did.
I saw TLATT the other night at the Kentucky—better than I remembered, though the gender politics are a wee bit retro 😏 and what about those Siamese cats?
After seeing Ponyo, as part of the Studio Ghibli festival Lady and The Tramp looked positively horrific to me. I loved it as a kid, and my Grandma loved it. But yes, the racism and sexism is on full blast. The cartoon before was Mickey Mouse which I had never seen before. Seemingly twisted and cruel, I thought. I was primed by the Miyazaki movie for utter loveliness and that definitely made LATT seem bleaker than ever. I still loved the music and drawings though.
I’m crazy about movies at the Kentucky Theater, obviously.
But I still missed nearly all of Bleak week. Glad I caught In Cold Blood though. It’s been like over 30 years since I read it! Never saw the film.