Greetings, fellow word doodlers! De Jackson, aka WhimsyGizmo here. And while Mondays aren’t my favorite, I’m always happy to be here hosting my favorite of all the dVerse prompts, the Quadrille. This pithy little poetic form is an invention of our own making: a poem of exactly 44 words, not counting the title, and including one word we provide.
In case you can’t tell, today I’m feeling a little punchy. I’m after the perfect poetic punchline. So grab your word punching bag and get started. Turn a punch recipe into a refreshing poem. Holepunch your way into the lyrical universe, and dive right in. Don’t pull any punches; I want you to punch that writer’s block timeclock and just go for it.
Whether you deliver a poem straight to the gut,
or add a shot of rum and an umbrella and drink it down…
…make sure your piece contains some form of the word punch and comes in at exactly 44 words total. (And of course, punching up your piece with hyphens, enjambment, and creativity in the areas of both wordcount and word usage is always welcome.)
Anybody here old enough to remember the old puppet show Punch and Judy? Did you know the phrase “Pleased as Punch” refers to the character from that show? I didn’t!
Are you feeling a little punchy yet?
I’ll beat you to the punch with some more poetic inspiration:
On Lending A Punch-Bowl by Oliver Wendell Holmes Next |
This ancient silver bowl of mine, it tells of good old times, Of joyous days and jolly nights, and merry Christmas times; They were a free and jovial race, but honest, brave, and true, Who dipped their ladle in the punch when this old bowl was new. A Spanish galleon brought the bar, so runs the ancient tale; ‘T was hammered by an Antwerp smith, whose arm was like a flail; And now and then between the strokes, for fear his strength should fail, He wiped his brow and quaffed a cup of good old Flemish ale. ‘T was purchased by an English squire to please his loving dame, Who saw the cherubs, and conceived a longing for the same; And oft as on the ancient stock another twig was found, ‘T was filled with candle spiced and hot, and handed smoking round. But, changing hands, it reached at length a Puritan divine, Who used to follow Timothy, and take a little wine, But hated punch and prelacy; and so it was, perhaps, He went to Leyden, where he found conventicles and schnapps. And then, of course, you know what’s next: it left the Dutchman’s shore With those that in the Mayflower came, a hundred souls and more, Along with all the furniture, to fill their new abodes, – To judge by what is still on hand, at least a hundred loads. ‘T was on a dreary winter’s eve, the night was closing, dim, When brave Miles Standish took the bowl, and filled it to the brim; The little Captain stood and stirred the posset with his sword, And all his sturdy men-at-arms were ranged about the board. He poured the fiery Hollands in, the man that never feared, – He took a long and solemn draught, and wiped his yellow beard; And one by one the musketeers – the men that fought and prayed – All drank as ‘t were their mother’s milk, and not a man afraid. That night, affrighted from his nest, the screaming eagle flew, He heard the Pequot’s ringing whoop, the soldier’s wild halloo; And there the sachem learned the rule he taught to kith and kin, Run from the white man when you find he smells of “Hollands gin!” A hundred years, and fifty more, had spread their leaves and snows, A thousand rubs had flattened down each little cherub’s nose, When once again the bowl was filled, but not in mirth or joy, – ‘T was mingled by a mother’s hand to cheer her parting boy. Drink, John, she said, ‘t will do you good, poor child, you’ll never bear This working in the dismal trench, out in the midnight air; And if – God bless me! – you were hurt, ‘t would keep away the chill. So John did drink, and well he wrought that night at Bunker’s Hill! I tell you, there was generous warmth in good old English cheer; I tell you, ‘t was a pleasant thought to bring its symbol here. ‘T is but the fool that loves excess; hast thou a drunken soul? Thy bane is in thy shallow skull, not in my silver bowl! I love the memory of the past, – its pressed yet fragrant flowers, – The moss that clothes its broken walls, the ivy on its towers; Nay, this poor bauble it bequeathed, my eyes grow moist and dim, To think of all the vanished joys that danced around its brim. Then fill a fair and honest cup, and bear it straight to me; The goblet hallows all it holds, whate’er the liquid be; And may the cherubs on its face protect me from the sin That dooms one to those dreadful words, “My dear, where have you been?” |
And more here if you need it: https://hellopoetry.com/tag/punch/
New to the Q? Here’s what to do:
Pen us a poem of precisely 44 words (not counting the title), including some form of the word punch. Post the poem on your own blog and use the Mr. Linky below to link up. Then punch those keys to make your way around the blogisphere to check out some of the best poets around. The Quadrille is up all week, so if you’re feeling particularly punchy, feel free to give it the ol’ 1-2 poem punch, and come back to write – and read – some more!
whimsygizmo said:
Greetings, all! Happy Monday!
I’m serving up some Hawaiian punch, flaming rum punch, and plenty of crunch-and-munch treats. Happy poeming! So happy you’re here!
de
lesleyscoble said:
Cheers 🥂
Always enjoy a good punch 🤛
I’ve just posted my quadrille PUNCH AND THE HANGMAN in participation of this wonderful prompt.
whimsygizmo said:
So happy to see you here! Cheers!
whimsygizmo said:
Loved it, and hoping my comment went through. Having some issues today.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I would love to have a glass of punch today…
whimsygizmo said:
Comin’ right up, Bjorn.
lesleyscoble said:
Me too!
whimsygizmo said:
You got it.
msjadeli said:
Happy Monday De and All! Can’t wait to read what your prompt word inspires. I think I’ll skip the punch. One pint of Magners please!
whimsygizmo said:
You got it, Lisa!
msjadeli said:
Thank you. Cheers!
kim881 said:
Good evening regulars and newcomers at the dVerse Poets Pub, and thank you De for a pugilistic prompt. It’s ben a sad day here in the UK and I’m not really feeling very punchy, but I’ve had a go at writing a quadrille about a place I know and its legend. I wonder what other poets will be writing about.
whimsygizmo said:
So many hugs, Kim.
And goodness, I wish I’d thought of the phrase “pugilistic prompt” when writing it! So clever!
kim881 said:
Thank you, De. We’ve had quite a few weeks of it. An old student of mine was buried the day after the Queen died. She was killed in a hit and run at the end of August. I wrote a poem for her, which was read at the funeral, Then my son-in-law was admitted to hospital – he’s still there but may go home tomorrow; my daughter is heavily pregnant and grandson has just started pre-school! And then today we said goodbye to the Queen.
whimsygizmo said:
Goodness. So much. Praying for brighter days ahead. The Queen certainly left an incredible legacy.
I am so deeply sorry for the loss of your student. Holding you (and her family) in my heart.
lesleyscoble said:
Sorry for your loss Kim. Saddest of times. 💐
kim881 said:
Thank you, Lesley.
lesleyscoble said:
🤗
sarahsouthwest said:
Hi, De! Hot punch sounds good, and something salty. An interesting prompt, wasn’t sure I could get “punch” into a poem – but I did!
whimsygizmo said:
Love it, Sarah. Hot punch and plenty of salty snacks coming right up!
jazzytower said:
Hi De,
Thanks for hosting.😊
Pat
whimsygizmo said:
My pleasure, Pat! 🙂 Glad you’re here!
lillian said:
Thanks for hosting, De! Was up at 4 AM Boston time and have been glued to BBC to watch everything involving the Queen. Incredible historical footage as well as living through the final day of ceremonies in real-time. So I’m a little bleary-eyed!
I’ll be back tomorrow morning to read others’ posts.
whimsygizmo said:
Happy to see you, Lillian. May she rest in peace.
Jim said:
Nice prompt, De. Thank you for hosting.
My favorite “punch poem” is Mark Twain’s “Punch brothers, punch.” I thought of writing a takeoff of his but couldn’t get my act together. Since your use of “Punch” didn’t include the “punch bowl or punch, a drink,” I decided to use that. But then right away when I come back to comment I see you used it in your informal greeting. That’s okay, sometimes great minds run …
..
whimsygizmo said:
NICE! I found a rendition of this to share, here:
http://www.online-literature.com/twain/3268/
Thank you!
Jim said:
Thanks, Dee. I found a copy of the newspaper that he published it in at the Houston (TX) City Library, his actual poem is longer than this. Several verses about his earworm and at the end he rids himself of it by giving it to someone else.
Jim said:
p.s. I added a “fiction” label to my write. It isn’t a true story and it isn’t me.
..
whimsygizmo said:
Hey, gang. I’ve got a ton of work and life stuff going on today, so will be in and out of the bar as I am able. I’ll leave the keys, and snacks. Poem amongst yourselves. 😉
rothpoetry said:
A great prompt, De. Lots of ways to go with this one. I think i will give it a punch! :>)
whimsygizmo said:
Thanks, Dwight. Happy to see you here!
rothpoetry said:
Thank you. I finally got one figured out!
rogblog666 said:
hi all
a great prompt, De. my poem nearly did not make it. I lost it from my computer and had to retype (my own fault pushed the wrong button). lucky I recalled it as had just punched it into this infernal machine.
a rum punch would calm me down and help me nod of to night.
rog
whimsygizmo said:
Boy, I’ve been there, Rog! Pouring you a fabulous rum punch now. Over to read soon…
Rob Kistner said:
Thanks for hostin’ De, and for the killa’cool prompt. This one should be a blast! 🙂✌🏼❤️
whimsygizmo said:
My pleasure, Rob. Happy to see you here!
cognacproject said:
Here’s mine 🙂 https://cognacproject.wordpress.com/2022/09/19/motherhood-quadrille/
whimsygizmo said:
Beautiful. ❤
cognacproject said:
thank you 🙂
writingpresence said:
Yes, thank you for detaining me, De, with a Crocodile Punch (or the other way round) And for the evocative seaside Punch and Judy image (which I have “borrowed”… I hope I won’t be arrested by the Policeman).
Incidentally, my parents in the 1950s read the punchily named British satirical magazine… apparently some issues appeared in my pram, from which I ejected them, yelling ‘Punj!’. I remember being repulsed by the grotesque faces of Mr Punch that featured on the front cover
whimsygizmo said:
Happy to see you here! Making today’s poem-reading rounds now. 🙂
kittysverses said:
Hi De,
Thank you for hosting a wonderful prompt Quadrille. 🙂
whimsygizmo said:
My pleasure! Cheers!
kenhume31 said:
Great prompt gizmo, really enjoyed writing it! 👍👍😁😁❤️❤️
whimsygizmo said:
So glad you found some inspiration here! Heading over to read now…
kenhume31 said:
Great! Looking forward to seeing what you think! 🙏🤞😁
Jewish Young Professional "JYP" said:
Is anyone not going to order punch? I mean, I don’t even like punch as a beverage, but gotta be on theme!
Jewish Young Professional "JYP" said:
Btw, Idk why my name on Mr. Linky says “#2” – I’m only posting one poem for this challenge.
whimsygizmo said:
If you’ve posted more than one in the past and changed it, you just have to change it back. No biggie, though.
Ali Grimshaw said:
I am late to the party again. Luckily I can still find everyone’s poems through Mr. Linky. Thanks for the fun prompt.
whimsygizmo said:
Yes, the Q is always open all week. 🙂 Enjoy! Heading your way now.
whimsygizmo said:
Ali, I can’t tell if my comment went through on your blog or not. Just wanted to be sure you get it, because HOLY COW. I could not love your poem more. All those gorgeous colors, a brittle-leafed binge, indeed. I love autumn, and was thrilled to drink in every drop.
Ali Grimshaw said:
Thanks for your effort in communicating back to me. I feel appreciated. I did get your comment and it made my day. May nature’s beauty continue to inspire us all.
whimsygizmo said:
My pleasure, Ali! 🙂