1533: Inspiration

(The opening sentence for this story was suggested by Chris of chrisnelson61. If you want to join in the fun of suggesting a future opening sentence for these stories, click here for a peek as to what’s what.)

The opening line was always the most difficult to write. He’d written openings many times before, but this time it seemed doubly important. It was as if people’s lives depended on it. Certainly his life depended on it, especially his career. I suppose having a career is like having a life.

Strangely, he was in a train when the opening line struck him. He’d spent days on his opening line. He’d changed it dozens of times, rarely on paper but mainly in his head. Once the opening was decided upon, all else would follow. But he had writer’s block. What was he to do? And then WHAM! it came to him while on a train.

Abraham stepped forward.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Poem 18b: Four relatively famous shadormas

(A note of explanation: I had/have decided to post a poem on the first of each month written in a particular poetic form. Any poem after that first posting throughout that month will use that form. For the earlier months of this year, the forms were chosen at random. For February it is the shadorma. The shadorma is an invented poetic form that does not work in English. Everything in English has “syllables” and simply to divide a “poem” into a set number of syllables per line is a nonsense.

My contribution to this ridiculous form is to point out that the syllabic pattern was widely used even before the idiot who invented it invented it. The form is 3/5/3/3/7/5 per stanza. Look who used it! WOW! I publish these four poems to highlight the sheer nonsense of the form. I won’t post any more poems this month as I think the selected form is a load of crapulent garbage. Life is always a learning curve.)

By Jesus

Our Father,
Which art in heaven
Hallowed be
Thy Name. Thy
Kingdom come Thy will be done
On earth as it is

In heaven.

By Abraham Lincoln

Four score and
seven years ago
our fathers
brought forth, u-
pon this continent, a new
nation, conceived in

liberty,
and dedicated
to the pro-
position
that “all men are created
equal.” – – –

As used by Marie Curie

One two three
Four five six seven
Eight nine ten
Eleven
Twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen
Sixteen seventeen

As used by Jane Austen

A B C
D E F G H
I J K
L M N
O P Q R S T U
V W X

YZ.