dversepoets.com we are introduced to the photo art of Phyllis Galembo;
we are to write a poem from one of her intriguing photos -
He had been the young king of hearts,
fondly thought of throughout the land;
he bestowed upon all he met fresh fruit tarts,
but perhaps he was dealt a bad hand
Men thought him the king of plenty
for his gold alone, he lived on an island
He seduced ladies with glasses of champagne
liked them to be at least the age of twenty,
but from sex with them he did abstain
for they were ooh so pretty and innocenti
Folks say he was pleasant, spoke gently;
though they did not know he was insane
All twas not for his own personal gain
but it didn't pay, for his crown was taken away
Outcast and alone, he was driven to feign
There is safety in the trees they say
So he lived as a tree twixt and twain
Though he had one fourth wheel missing,
he was, for all he did, more valiant knight
First, he let all prisoners get away
and, as he was known for his kissing,
they grabbed him and locked him away
Soldiers put him in handcuffs tight;
his destiny became just an existing
Who can explain the turn of events-
he became the king of the asylum,
first using his natural talents to start
by earning degrees in the fine arts
Proud of his aboriginal descent,
he still was crazy, one hundred per cent
Whew, what a turn of events indeed. (Interesting to see what you did with the same picture I chose!)
ReplyDeletewell at least he abstained from sex, it could have been worse....daddy coulda brought the shot gun along...ha
ReplyDeletethis guy sounds like quite the character...i wonder to what end...then again, who is to question the insane
expecting a straight answer
Well that was an unexpected ending K ~ So sad for his misfortune though ~ Good one ~
ReplyDeleteGreat take on the image... sad ending.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree with Marie there - what turn of events, smiles.
ReplyDeleteInteresting poem with a twist..still crazy one hundred percent..
ReplyDeleteWell, he had it all, huh? I don't care how much you have,
ReplyDeleteit can be taken away just like that... okay, at the end, he earned
his degree in arts. For a crazy guy, that ain't so bad.
Silly perhaps but writing a poem that rhymes and meets the prompt in hours anything is liable to come out ;)
DeleteHi - in the 4th line from the end, did you omit "first" ?
ReplyDeleteI liked how it was a bit like Alice in Wonderland - but he found his way at the end
Yes, thank you
DeleteIntriguing story on this photo, kkkkaty! Sad they locked him away for just kissing the "innocenti" (like your word)...i think the insane are mostly gentle
ReplyDeleteoften those in a way cracked personality seem to be fantastic artists... probably it is because their way of thinking differs from the norm and makes them see things in a way others don't
ReplyDeleteI liked this - actually you touched on lots of myth - celtic and otherwise by purpose or by chance is not matter because it's better with a rhyme and somewhere in there it stands as a metaphor for persistence, strength of character and resiliency. Kudos to you for a truly fresh poem that completely explicates the image.
ReplyDeleteWhat a poetic biography you have written! Apparently some very powerful artistic works are made in asylums.
ReplyDeleteThis reminded me of Gauguin, somehow - the island and the sun, kissing the native maidens... He was probably not mad, though, although who knows what ravages the syphilis may have done...
ReplyDeleteLike Alan Bates in THE KING OF HEARTS, when the inmates take over the asylum; very creative take on the image. Somehow I ended up in the South Pacific with mine.
ReplyDeleteI realized that half way through..borrowed a bit of classic movie I guess.
DeleteA lovely canter through the world of make believe... or other reality. Made me think of the King's new clothes:)
ReplyDeleteI love this character.. so unpredictable! Wonderful piece...
ReplyDeletea very fun piece...from the king of hearts to the king of the asylum...(sounds like he wasn't suffering from insanity as much as he was enjoying every minute of it!)
ReplyDeleteSuch a creative piece that I found captivating.
ReplyDelete