Another Puzzle Poem

[boheme]

I like "threatened" rather than "meant" -- I think it works better. I'm all for using a word other than "ram" in the first line, but couldn't think of anything else that would work. (What's a "tup"?)

[Ann]

I've got it, I've got it!!!

ape+rill = april

Great minds and all that Graham. I was thinking the same thing over tea this evening.

I did have to resort to the thesaurus and dictionary though. Apparently, a castrated ram is called a wether. So, april weather.

I'll put the whole thing together under the pic. Let me know if you have any amendments before I look up the solution.

[Ann]

It was April weather and I was sad, (10)
So sad I felt my heart would break. (8)
All the sky threatened rain and badly clad, (10)
I wandered around the drear dank lake. (8)
If I weren't a christian, oh I would plunge, (10)
And wipe out my troubles as with a sponge. (10)
But the wind moved above, the sun came out, (10)
A cowslip at my feet looked up, (8)
All the firs shook wet limbs about, (8)
The swifts came forth for song and sup (8)
And my linen looked so refreshed and clean (10)
I thought what an idiot I had been. (10)

[boheme]

Yay, Ann !!!!!!

I like it ...... ;D

[Ann]

boheme said:

Yay, Ann !!!!!!

I like it ...... ;D

I think high fives are called for. This is the first one we've actually managed to complete in full.

[PAWS]

Whey man Ann yer a good 'n! The metre still seems a bit off to me, but 'rill' is brill and wether's better than tup.

Boheme, 'tup' is a sheep under certain circumstances, but not sure of the details (that is, I'm unsure, not the sheep, which by the way is not necessarily de-tailed, if you see what I mean).

[Ann]

I can't work the metre out either, but there do seem to be some lines where try as you can, there are only 8 syllables, and others where there are definitely 10.

I'll go and look up the solution. Should be online in the next 15 minutes or so and we'll see how we've done.

[Ann]

So close. And Kaye, we should have stuck with meant!

It was April weather and I was sad --
So sad I felt my heart would break.
All the sky meant rain and badly clad
I wandered round the drear, dank lake;
"If I weren't a Christian, O, I would plunge
"And wipe out my troubles as with a sponge!"

But the weather-cock moved -- the sun came out --
A cowslip at my feet looked up,
All the larches shook wet limbs about,
The birds came forth for song and sup;
And my garden looked so refreshed and clean
I thought what an idiot I had been!

According to the Examiner's Report, not one solution matched the author's version exactly (what a surprise!!)

Quote: "Firs and pines are quite as good in conjunction with dripping, but having regard to the length of the line, not with wet."

Quote: "In the 11th line the "guard" was commonly taken for a line yielding the curious reading "linen". One's linen is not generally improved by a shower of rain, unless it be in a very reprehensible condition indeed." (That told us!)

To give you some idea of just how exacting the examiners were:

"Many authors of these perfect solutions will wonder why their names do not appear in the prize list. The omission of the necessary comma between drear and dank, the substitution of "were'nt" for "weren't", and the writing of "weather-cock" otherwise than as a compound word are the chief of the responsible imperfections. Another very cmmon error was a neglect to divide the poem into two stanzas."

Does this mean I have to scan in a fourth one?

PS I've just modified this as I realised there was actually a misprint in the solution. The examiners commented that a lot of girls carelessly substituted "thought" for "felt" in line 2. So did they in the solution!

#nosmileys

[boheme]

Ann said:

Quote: "In the 11th line the "guard" was commonly taken for a line yielding the curious reading "linen". One's linen is not generally improved by a shower of rain, unless it be in a very reprehensible condition indeed." (That told us!)

Perhaps this is a British term? Because I have absolutely no idea how a line or rope becomes a "guard" ? ? ?

But #4? AbsoLUTEly !!!! ;D

[Ann]

I have no idea what a guard is either Kaye. I thought your linen was inspired.

OK, I'll scan another one in tomorrow.