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Lillian here . . . the “here” being far away from Boston’s winter, basking in the California sun!

Today, we’re going to consider proverbs and adages. The two are actually quite similar because they’re both short sayings that are quite well known. Proverbs tend to give advice while adages generally state an accepted truth.

Where do they come from? Some are from Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack, published from 1732 to 1758. Others are from Adagia, a collection of Greek and Latin proverbs. Its first edition was published in 1500. And of course, there’s Aesop’s Fables. Did you know the short stories in Aesop’s are said to be developed by a slave in ancient Greece? Some of them date back to 620 BC. Some biblical phrases have also become well known as adages/proverbs. And I know at least one line from a modern day movie that could be considered an adage.

For today’s prompt, I’d like you to consider one of the adages/proverbs listed below as inspiration for your poem. You don’t have to include the line itself….but we should be able to guess pretty easily, which line you used as a jumping off point to create your poem. Do give the line and its source at the end of your poem, and of course, mention the poem is written for dVerse.

  • “Many hands make light work.” Adagia
  • “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Poor Richard’s Almanack
  • “Fish and visitors stink after three days.” Poor Richard’s Almanack
  • “To err is human, to repent divine, to persist devilish.” Poor Richard’s Almanack
  • “Things are not always what they seem.” Bee-Keeper and the Bees” from Aesop’s Fables
  • “The truth shall set you free.” John 8:32
  • “To everything there is a season.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
  • “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.” Forrest Gump, the movie.

New to dVerse?  Need to be refreshed on the rules?

Here’s what to do:

  • Write a poem inspired by one of the adages/proverbs listed above.
  • Include the adage and its source, in comments at the end of our post.
  • Post the poem to your blog AND add the exact URL for your poem to Mr. Linky below.
  • REMEMBER to either TAG dVerse in your post, or include a link at the end of your poem that leads readers back to dVerse (https://dversepoets.com). 
  • If you do not TAG or include a link to dVerse, I will gently send you a reply asking you to do so. If you do not, sadly, I will have to remove your post from Mr. Linky.
  • Remember: providing a TAG or link to dVerse will increase your readership and lead others to dVerse as well. The more the merrier!