Friday, April 19, 2019

Q is for QUANDRY #AtoZ Challenge

First, it is Poetry Friday..  so you have to opportunity to read and relish poetry from all around the world today, just by clicking on a few links at Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, our Poetry Friday host today at The Poem Farm.
Secondly, yesterday was Poem in Your Pocket day - though no one seemed to know that.  But I gave my grandson poems to be handed out at school anyway - he handed out 30 poems for kids to put in their pockets!   I visited our local library and handed out a few myself.  I figured, why not?  It was a school break day for some area schools, so there were parents and students everywhere.

And then a side note...our motorcycles arrive today sometime, along with my helmet, jacket and boots!  So exciting.  Hope the trip goes smoothly!

And now for AtoZ Q day.  Honestly, this has been the worst letter every year!  People just don't like using Q on their plates.  I have used these all in the past on Q day.
Q is for...QUANDR3 - I made my own plate and posted all my other years entries...I'm not liking Q.  When I get back to Maine, I think I'll have to think of a good Q vanity plate for my car.
ACME LICENSE MAKER
Really Q?

It’s a quandary, a difficulty,
A dilemma with no end;
My plight is for the letter Q
And rules I’ve had to bend.

I’m bewildered, it’s a puzzle,
Though predictable predicament.
I’m in pickle, in a bind,
And in awed bewilderment!

The hang-up is the letter Q,
The letter after P -
All the other letters aren't
Fraught with perplexity.

The impasse I’ve arrived at,
This sheer uncertainty,
Of where my next plate comes from,
Is not my cup of tea.

Q could have been for QWEST
Or QUILT or QUILL or QWIK
Instead I’m left with nothing
And it just makes me sick.

So please, if you are reading this
And wondering what to do
Please reconsider plates with K
And changing them to Q.

ThanQ

By Donna JT Smith ©2019

************
For AtoZ in 2018, I had this plate and wrote this poem:


Quatro
One and two and three and four.
Strumming on guitar?
Or counting?
by Donna JT Smith,  ©2018
I wrote a Quinzaine for this one.
A quinzaine is an unrhymed verse of fifteen syllables in three lines with the syllable distribution of 7/5/3.  The first line is a statement and the next two lines ask a question relating to the first line.
Quatro = four in Spanish
Quatro = a small guitar with four or five strings or pairs of strings, used in Latin American and Caribbean music.
********
In 2017 this was my posted poem and explanation:
So, you say, this doesn't begin with a Q.  But, see those two Q's!  So this counts.  And it is the only one I could find besides GQQD LF which I used a while ago on a Sunday this month.


MQQSEY

"Mooose,"
said Doc BrownCow,
"I think she'll be fine!"
"Thang-Q,"
Said Mommoose.
"I'll cut down on the pine."
"She does needed some fiber
But stick to the reeds,
That's all the fiber
a growing moose needs."
QT Moosey moaned,
"No more piney trees?
I love how they taste;
Just one more tree, please?"
"You heard Doc BrownCow now,
Not one more tree, dear;
You must eat in the marsh;
Doc BrownCow was quite clear!"
"I promise," QT said,
Then they moosied on down
For a snaque in the swamp
Brows furrowed with frown;.
They lunched on some ferns
For growing strong bones,
But then came dessert -
A cool treat of pine cones.

by Donna JT Smith, 4/19/2017

So, forgive me for no Q at the beginning?

************
On my first vanity plate year, 2016, I only had this one:
I didn't have a clue what to write about this one, not having any idea what it could possibly refer to.  Then I did a quick Google of the letters and came up with Quidditch, a game in the Harry Potter books.  I've not read or seen any Harry Potter stuff, so was at a loss as to what to write.  I researched this elaborate and kinda violent game, and this is what I came up with:



What, you have never heard of Quidditch?
You do not know the sport of Wizzes?
Why everyone who's anyone
Plays it and knows what this is.

1 seeker, 3 chasers, 2 beaters, 1 keeper
Make up two seven person teams;
Add 2 Bludgers and a Quaffle ball:
It's not as confusing as it seems.

Astride brooms players dodge the Bludgers;
The Seekers snatch the Snitch,
While Chasers try to score with Quaffle -
Worth 10 points in the game Quidditch.

Snatching Snitch earns 30 points
To bring it to an end;
If you're confused, you aren't alone -
How 'bout a game of chess, my friend?

by Donna JT Smith, 2016, all rights reserved



12 comments:

  1. "awed bewilderment" describes it! This year's poem made me absolutely laugh. That ending is dead-on. And this collection. It is so cool that you do this every year and can go back and see how each year, each letter has a new spin. Fascinating and fun too! Happy motorcycling...and love to your poem-giving grandson. xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have to admit being partial to your quidditch poem. Honestly, your spunk and energy for poetry (and lots of other areas of life) inspire me. I love that this is an annual exercise for you....but might you consider publishing? I think you should.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree with Linda -- we need a book full of these fabulous poems!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol! Maybe...I wonder if you’d have to get permission from owners to use plates - guess not. I haven’t yet, come to think of it!

      Delete
  4. I always say quidditch rules are unfair! My daughter disagrees. But, it seems that the other team can be far ahead, but when that snitch is snatched, game's over and the snatcher team wins. Maybe that's not the way it should work, but have you ever heard of a game where the non-snatcher side wins? The loser just wouldn't end the game and catch it if that happened!
    Cute poems for all your Qs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The rules didn’t sound very intuitive or fair to me either!

      Delete
  5. I had to laugh at : This sheer uncertainty,
    Of where my next plate comes from,
    Is not my cup of tea.
    My daughter has a "I bleed black and gold" Hufflepuff quidditch t-shirt.
    Congrats on getting your motorcycle!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hee-hee! Took my bike for a quick spin in our back alleyway and a short jaunt on the city street - wearing my long denim skirt, no jacket, gloves or helmet - and expired Maine plates. What a rebel! Felt great. Now to work on being legal here!

      Delete
  6. That first poem is everything I feel when I'm left with Q during a game of Scrabble :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh my, Q does present quite the quandary. You've done quite well with it, though. Enjoy your new bike!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These are actually our bikes just shipped down from Maine - not so new really, but very excited to see them again!

      Delete

Drop some breadcrumbs! Let me know you were here!

October

Poetry Friday... Go enjoy some great poetry by clicking links on Poetry Friday's host Matt Forrest Esenwine's page : My poem for Oct...