Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Ode to a comet (in a very modern way, with no rhyming couplets and a healthy dose of irreverence to the poetic model)

McNaught-y you vixen of the skies
For you I drove over to Wainuiomata
And almost got run off the road
By vans with tinted windows

I looked at the sky
And felt proud to recognise Venus
I was listening to a song in the weekend
That didn't rhyme Venus with 'penis'
And I thought "what a wasted opportunity" (because I was on my drive and blog-thinking)

I digress

Embarrassed I couldn't see a comet
I went to leave
And a nice young man
And an old lady asked if I'd seen any action

And I said no

And he told me to look low in the sky
When it was dark
This ode goes forever

Lo! Behold a light
In the south west
Rising above the hill

If I was a pagan type person I'd sacrifice Julio (my cat)
But I'm not
I listened with irritation to the man in front of me say it was a plane

A plane like that would take 7 years to get to Palmerston North

I couldn't see a tail on the comet
But my eyesight is poor
So I don't blame the comet

Then it was gone.

Amen.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Te Mata poet laureate, that's what you should go for! Think of the benefits! (mmmmmmmm!)

I didn't see that comet at all.

Mrs Smith said...

I don't normally like poetry, but that was wonderful. Very epic. And you mentioned 'penis,' so a winner all 'round, say I.

Martha Craig said...

Alan, Te Mata laureate would be nice (I'm now understanding the attraction of poetry), but I'd settle for Moore Wilson's laureate or even Ata Rangi laureate. I'm not fussy.

Mrs Smith, thanks love. I do seem to be particularly talented at a hobby I have particular disdain for. I'm glad you noticed the epic qualities of it, Beowulf eat your heart out.

llew said...

We saw it Saturday night. Trooped up to the Carter Observatory (the little rise beside it) with half of Wellington. Someone from the observatory came out with a big telescope.

At 9.45pm, we could all see it, and it looked like it'd be visible for an hour or two more.

then Wilma got spooked by the crowd & I took her home, and came back a few minutes later to tell Mrs Llew that the comet was clearly visible from our place anyway & so we went home & watched it from there.

It'd have been visible again last night, but we forgot. We'll try this weekend from SunnyO.

Martha Craig said...

I saw it last night, but it was only visible for about 10 minutes (even thought hte sky was clear).

My friends saw it really clearly from Waitarere, so I imagine SunnyO will be brilliant.