Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Word Garden Word List--The Smiths

 

Hello poets! Today we'll be joining Mr. Peabody and Sherman as they graciously lend us the use of the Wayback Machine so that we can go back to the 1980s and listen to The Smiths!

Led by Morrissey, the Smiths were known for their irresistibly catchy melodies and sly, sardonic lyrics. I remember the first time I heard them quite clearly. The song was "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" and it began

I was looking for a job and then I found a job
and Heaven knows I'm miserable now


My ears perked right up. I sensed a kindred spirit. (And for our purposes here, we'll skip over some of Morrissey's more recent bouts of foot in mouth.) Somehow these songs managed to be fatalistic and funny, edgy and vulnerable, all at once. I know, you can't imagine why they appealed to me, right? *rolls eyes*


Your word list this week is taken entirely from the lyrics of songs by The Smiths. No doubt, at some point I'll do a Morrissey solo list, but for today, it's all Smiths. Here's the lowdown: please use at least 3 of the 20 words provided in an original new poem of your own, then link up and visit others. So easy a child could do it! 

And now, your list:

bigmouth
Caligula
charmer
coma
devil
exactly
false
heavenly
humdrum
Joan of Arc
joke
miserable
panic
shoplifters
shyness
skinny
stitch
thorn
typical
verse


18 comments:

  1. Can't go wrong with "Caligula!"

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  2. The 80's. When I really came alive. Cool.

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  3. OK folks: "Fire in the hole!" as they say. I generated the poem from OpenAI/ChatGPT. I posted my seed text and the resulting poem. Not perfect, but I've read way worse on blogs. OK, way, way worse. It's gonna get super weird out there everyone. I will come back and write another post. Possible I will collaborate with the AI. Understood if everyone is "The horror! The horror!" Mr. Kurtz, he dead.

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    1. Thank you for picking up on my "Hollow Men" lede.

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    2. So others don't have to go look it up:

      "This is the way the world ends
      This is the way the world ends
      This is the way the world ends
      Not with a bang but a whimper."

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  4. Struggling with vertigo this week......hoping it lifts.

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    1. Know what that's like. Hope it passes very soon. There are variations on the epley maneuver that you can check on YouTube. Or simply Google. Going to hold a good thought for you

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    2. I hope you feel better soon Sherry.

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  5. Thank you, Shay... I need prompts these days - or a cattle prod.

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    Replies
    1. I definitely need a cattle prod. Hope all is well with you these days Margaret!

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    2. A cattle prod!? Yikesies. No cattle prods at the Word Garden, just firm nudges, ok? ;-)

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  6. Your lists and features are always such a wonderful variety Shay! I am not sure if I will be back with a poem in hand, but I will for sure be here in spirit.

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  7. Excellent word list, Shay!!! Oh, you're stealing my heart a bit with the Smiths, now I have to listen to them (even though I have listened to them to death over the years!!) :)

    Rest assured I shall return to post my attempt at words-that-look-like-a-poem-soon!

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Spirit, what do you wish to tell us?