Since Nobody Asked...

Somebody or other, somewhere, was looking for something to read. And I recommended to her "The Brand X Anthology of Poetry," edited by William Zaranka. And, finding myself with too much time on my hands, and National Poetry Month being (blessedly) over with, the following verse sprang somewhat laboriously forth from my exhausted brain:

Ode to the Brand X Anthology of Poetry

Much had I travell’d in the realms of gold
And never found a blessed thing to eat
For laurels, though they may smell very sweet
As nourishment – try one? – they leave you cold.
By not one teacher was I ever told
There was a land both lowly and obscene
And by Zaranka ruled as his demesne.
I got a copy from a girlfriend old
Bought from wherever such odd things were selling.
And now, two decades late, to write I’ve hasted:
For though I know that flowers are for smelling
I were a liar if I kept from telling
How many a precious hour and day I’ve wasted
Since first I of Zaranka’s garland tasted.

No kidding, though, if you like poetry at all, check it out. The parody of Poe's Raven is, all by itself, worth the price. Especially if you find it in the library.

And yes, "hasted" is, too, a word. Lucky for me.