Sixpence & Rye
I wake with the old rhyme in my head,
wondering why anyone would bake
two dozen live blackbirds in a pie.
Sounds neither ethical nor sanitary.
Wondering why anyone would bake
this confounding atrocity which
sounds neither ethical nor sanitary,
I turn, as one does, to Google.
Sounds neither ethical nor sanitary,
this elaborate Renaissance party trick.
I turn, as one does, to Google,
imagine a flock on the wing in a banquet hall.
I turn, as one does, to Google.
Two dozen live blackbirds in a pie.
Imagine a flock on the wing in a banquet hall.
I wake with the old rhyme in my head.
14 thoughts on "Sixpence & Rye"
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Oops, I just realized I messed up my pattern. That’s what I get for trying to write a poem at 5:00 a.m. 🤣
lol, I love that you write at 5 am!
LOL! Props to you. I will be getting no tasks completed or even attempted at 5am!!
I enjoyed this pantoum – the form enacting its subject and the loop of morbid curiosity
I had to fix it! Here’s an edit:
I wake with the old rhyme in my head,
wondering why anyone would bake
two dozen live blackbirds in a pie.
Sounds neither ethical nor sanitary.
Wondering why anyone would bake
this confounding atrocity —
sounds neither ethical nor sanitary —
I turn, as one does, to Google.
This confounding atrocity
served as an elaborate Renaissance party trick.
I turn, as one does, to Google,
imagine a flock on the wing in a banquet hall.
Served as an elaborate Renaissance party trick,
two dozen live blackbirds in a pie.
Imagine a flock on the wing in a banquet hall.
I wake with the old rhyme in my head.
Delightful, Chelsie!
Love this!
delightful pantoum!
social criticism in disguise
Love it!
Nice use of the form, and the humor is delightful. Taken literally, that pie would be an atrocity.
You handled this difficult form well. Enjoyed it.
I lo e the circular structure of this piece and the sudden eruption of birds in a formal hall is particularly striking.
love