The Handbook of Poetic Forms defines macaronic verse in this fashion.
So, your challenge for this week is to write a poem that uses more than one language. If you don't know another language, make one up. Pig Latin, anyone? Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.
Macaronic verse is a peculiar, rare and often comic form of poetry that sometimes borders on nonsense. It is a mixture of two (or more) languages in a poem, in which the poet usually subjects one language to the grammatical laws of another to make people laugh.You can read more at Wikipedia and learn a bit about the history of this form. I was interested to note that the Carmina Burana (which I sang eons ago in high school) is a fine example of this.
So, your challenge for this week is to write a poem that uses more than one language. If you don't know another language, make one up. Pig Latin, anyone? Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.
Subject is Matter
ReplyDeleteSubject is matter,
And matter is verse.
The one can be versatile,
Or something worse.
Verser and verser,
Berserker we go
Into the mental
And magical flow.
Floe is the answer,
A berg of real choice,
When verse is much better
Than verbiage or noise.
And so burgermeister
Come sell me some rhymes
That I can take with me
In virtual times.
©2010 by Jane Yolen, all rights reserved
GRATIAS
ReplyDeleteBy Steven Withrow
Mother of merci
beaucoup
and grazie mille
and muchas gracias.
Estranged relation
of vielen dank
and mange takk,
among many others.
You grace—you gratify
my philologist’s heart
with your Latinate
morphology.
Gratias,
Gratias,
Gratias tibi ago,
Thank you so.
Fairly sadistic, Tricia! Even though I'm bilingual... Here goes:
ReplyDeleteNo
I cannot make a telephone calle
or cut the abundant grasa.
I will not shoot the revolver
or lift the heavy masa.
I won't congratulate the champú
or buy a movie pasa.
Nor will I pet the cat's furia
or polish up the brasa.
Don't ask me to drink a cola
or shelve books in a casa.
And no matter how fast I can run,
I'm not going to win the raza.
—Kate Coombs, 2010, all rights reserved
NOTES:
calle = street
grasa = grease
revolver = to turn
masa = dough
champú = shampoo
pasa = he/she passes
furia = fury
brasa = live coal
cola = tail (of an animal)
casa = house
raza = race, lineage
("No" is the same in Spanish and English.)
I am trying to decide whether I like you anymore. Actually this was fun...once I stopped sticking pins into my Tricia voodoo doll.
ReplyDeleteEcond-say Anguage-lay
Igs-pay are riendly-fay.
Igs-pay are mart-say.
If you ike-lay igs-pay
Ou'll-yay do our-yay art-pay
to isten-lay ell-way
to peak-say in wine-say.
Irst-fay etter-lay ast-lay
Add ay
You'll e-bay ine-fay.
(If is-thay is oo-tay
ard-hay or-fay ou-yay,
emember-ray...
igs-pay peak-say
Glish-enay oo-tay.)
© Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Song in Macaroni
ReplyDeleteJust south of Rigatoni
is the city of Bologna
and for a pocket full of pennes
you can get into the fair.
Where Ms. Elizabeth Rotini
Signs her book on Ditalini
Who painted Acini de Pepe
with the long spaghetti hair.
--Barbara J. Turner
Not Lost In Translation
ReplyDeleteBy Liz Korba
English can bee sew confusing.
(How can “says” be said that way?!)
I am walking. I am running. I am sading… (No? Can’t say?!)
I walk slowly. I run quickly. I work hardly… (Not that way?!)
Every rule we know gets broken. My pants ARE?! Shirt IS! (Ok…)
You my teacher good and friendly. Gracias for help and tries.
Here’s a card – “In Sympathy” – What?! It’s for when someone dies?!
Read my note, then you will see…
“Thanks for all you did to me.”