Poetry in notion...

When I was in Form 6, I was in a class of 33 students with a ratio of girls to boys of exactly 2:1, that's right, 22 girls to 11 boys! When we had inter-class football competitions, all of us boys had to take part, including nerd like me, with no reserves. (Sad note: one of the boys, Peter, died in 1996, while I have just found out a few days ago, about Mary's demise two years ago).

It was supposed to be Arts class with most students taking English as in English Literature. General Paper was English to other students under the Higher School Certificate system.

As I did not want to miss the company of the girls, I continued attending class when they were having English literature until one day, Mrs. Tang asked me a question. There and then, I said I am not taking Literature. She was both upset and disappointed when she asked me, 'Why then are you attending class?'

The most memorable thing I learned in English literature was 'alliteration' when we use words beginning with the same alphabet as much as possible in our construction of sentences. Offhand, I can think of Martin Jalleh as the one writer who is very fond and really good at it.

Unless we are really into literature, most of us 'laymen' know poetry as verses ending in rhymes, which is certainly not necessary the case. But anyhow, below is something for us 'laymen':

THESE WERE ENTRIES TO A WASHINGTON POST COMPETITION ASKING FOR A TWO-LINE RHYME WITH THE MOST ROMANTIC FIRST LINE, AND THE LEAST ROMANTIC SECOND LINE:

1. My darling, my lover, my beautiful wife
Marrying you has screwed up my life

2. I see your face when I am dreaming
That's why I always wake up screaming

3. Kind, intelligent, loving and hot
This describes everything you are not

4. Love may be beautiful, love may be bliss,
But I only slept with you 'cause I was pissed.

5. I thought that I could love no other
-- That is until I met your brother.

6. Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you.
But the roses are wilting, the violets are dead, the sugar bowl's
empty and so is your head.

7. I want to feel your sweet embrace;
But don't take that paper bag off your face.

8. I love your smile, your face, and your eyes
Damn, I'm good at telling lies!

9. My love, you take my breath away.
What have you stepped in to smell this way?

10. My feelings for you no words can tell,
Except for maybe 'Go to hell.'

11. What inspired this amorous rhyme?
Two parts vodka, one part lime!

WHO SAID POETRY IS BORING?

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