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March 13, 2015

Poetry Friday--Ch Challenge

This is the second week of Heidi Mordhurst's ch-ending words challenge. Monday through Friday for the month of March there is an assigned word to use in a poem.

I think of this as a musical challenge! Many of the poems I've written so far have some bit of music associated with them, at least in my mind, and starting with a connection to David Bowie that encompasses the whole ch challenge. It has become the "ch-ch-challenge" for me. Here's a version of Bowie's "Changes" that may be a little less familiar:



I made several more musical connections with my poems of the last two weeks:

March 6, word: "fetch"
Fiscal Therapy

The old lady spends
her days online
religiously checking
prices on eBay.

A born kvetcher
she tells her son that
everything she
has labeled will fetch
a good price

when the time comes.

"Okay, Ma," he says.

The labels are only
a warm-up.

She crosses out $6.99
and re-marks the
Xavier Cugat LP, $8.99.
All the while
humming "Perfidia."

Xavier Cugat and his orchestra performing "Perfidia":




March 9, word: "unhitch"
Hitching Up Your Wagon

How's that expression go?
"Hitch your wagon to a star"?
Just how far is the closest star?
More years than you'll have.
Of course, if your goal
is procrastination, then
you'll shine, shine, shine!

Take my advice--step in front
of that wagon, insert your head
and buckle up the collar, attach
the traces. You can click
to yourself if you'd like--no
further motivation is necessary.
Lay back your ears and go.

I didn't realize that Heidi had changed the day's word from hitch to preach, so if you visit her post for March 9, you'll mostly find preach poems. Here's a song the hitching poem dredged up. It's from the 1956 film Westward Ho the Wagons!:




March 11, word: "smooch"
Bésame (No) Smoocho

A kiss is a peck or a
passionate surrender.

A smooch is not a kiss--
a smooch is an event.

Onomatopoeia
as performance art.

The title is a play on words of the song "Besame Mucho." Here's a fantastic version by Diana Krall:



And here's the ultimate smooch performer--Snoopy!



Next week I'll have a few more ch poems that I've tied to music. But, now, if you haven't already visited, you must head over to Author Amok for the Round-Up.


9 comments:

  1. Smooch -- one of my favorite words! Don't you love how it has that "oo" in the middle?

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    1. It also puts me in mind of Teri Garr in Young Frankenstein, "The feeling is mOOchal."

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  2. These are wonderful -- love Besame (No) Smoocho the best. Love your wacky sense of humor. Thanks for this musical treat!

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    1. And don't you just love Diana Krall's version of the song? I've listened to it several times today.

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  3. Love hearing the soundtrack for your ch-ch-ch Challenge poems! That Snoopy! The king of smooch!

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  4. Love all these musical connections to your poems. I'm a big fan of Xavier Cugat (one of those childhood records I heard my parents playing), so I'm quite fond of your Fiscal Therapy poem.

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    1. I remember Cugat from my childhood, too. Probably the radio and Ed Sullivan.

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  5. It's terrific how you've taken this challenge and made it your own with the musical component! I'm rather partial to your smooch poem...and not just because you sent it to me by accident. ;) Love "...a smooch is an event./Onomatopoeia/as performance art."

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