May 14, 2010

Poetry Friday--Standing on One's Head

Earlier this week, I came upon the poem, "Father William," by Lewis Carroll, in which an old man is found standing on his head.
"You are old, Father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head--
Do you think, at your age, it is right?"

"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again."
Read the rest here.


There are several videos of "Father William" on YouTube, most are simply recitations. One is from poetryanimations, and although the animation is rather minimal, the audio is quite engaging:



Like Father William, I'm getting old and somewhere along the line, I have misplaced my brain, sadly, though, I'm unable to stand on my head. Life's just not fair!

So, the point of this post is, I suppose, to warn others not to get old and lose their brains before they learn to stand on their heads. Or, maybe there's no point at all. It's been that kind of week...

Head over to Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup for the Round-Up this week.

I'm honored to be featured today at Tabatha A. Yeatts' place today! Thanks, Tabatha!

2 comments:

  1. Love this Carroll parody poem. (It was based on a poem by Robert Southy, "The Old Man's Comforts and How He Gained Them", which you can read (if you're so inclined) here.

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  2. What a lovely poem. I wonder when I get old what will be my secret superpower? I know it will not be standing on my head.

    Laura Evans
    all things poetry

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