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I began this odd little work in 1985 to amuse a very smart young friend. The project got stalled somewhere around the letter "i," and there it remained until, 32 years later, it got stimulated by two other adventures in verse (which can be seen at: http://dracoandcameron.blogspot.com/ and
1. Avaricious Avio Achins,
###
1. Avaricious Avio Achins,
Boldly Baiting a Box with Beer,
Caught a Clutch of Coy Capuchins,
Dainty Dwarves and Druids Drear.
Clutch: A handful or small
number of things, as a clutch of eggs.
Capuchin: a
friar belonging to a certain branch of the Franciscan order. Their name means “little hood,” and their brown habits with
lighter-brown hoods gave rise to the names of both the coffee drink called “cappuchino,”
and the similarly colored capuchin monkey.
###
2. Elephantine Elbo
Eblins
Found a Firbolg Full
of Fight,
Garbed in Grimy
GalliGaskins
Hung with Heads to
Half His Height.
Firbolg: Ancient Irish Swamp-dweller,
said, like many proto-Celtic tribes, to have enjoyed headhunting.
Galligaskins: Loose-fitting trousers,
breeches or gaiters.
###
3. Irrepressible Igor Ittens
Jauntily Juggling
Jars of Jams,
Kept in his Kitchen a
Kindle of Kittens
To Lark
and Leap Like Little Lambs.
Kindle: a group or litter of kittens.
To Lark: play joyfully.
###
4. Mistress Mousekin and her Minions
Naughtily Nibbled, with Nary a Noise,
On Oranges, Oysters, Oats and Onions,
Puddings, Pasties, Puffs, and Pies.
Pasties: Small turnovers
filled with meat and/or vegetables.
Puffs: light flaky pastry
shells with various fillings.
###
5. Quaintly Quizzical Quimby Quiggle,
Reciting his Really Rotten Rhymes,
Shocked Some Solemn Souls with Several
Tropes Too Tasteless for the Times.
Trope: A figurative or
metaphorical use of an expression.
###
6. Ullia Utilized, Untaught,
Vaporous Veils from Vents Volcanic,
Wondrous Were the Works she Wrought:
Xenomorphic, Xylophonic.
Xenomorphic: taking an
unexpected geological shape.
Xylophonic: somewhat like a
Xylophone.
###
7. In Yonder Yard, a
Youthful Yokel
Zings his Zither Zealously,
Yowls and Yammers, Yelps and Yodels
In Zany
Zoomorphology.
Zings: Give me a break; there
are only about seven verbs beginning with “Z,” most of them from comic books.
Zoomorphology: The
artistic representation of animal forms.
###
And there you have, from A to
Z,
Vignettes of eccentricity
Rescued from obscurity
(For no good reason I can
see.)
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D IS FOR DYLAN  Twenty-odd years ago, when baby Dylan Kai was born to my friends Karen Thorsen and Doug Dempsey (documentary filmmakers extraordinaire), I wanted to give them a unique baby gift. As I happened to be going through an illuminated-alphabets phase, I decided to illustrate the letter D
.
I have no idea whether this drawing had any effect on Dylan’s current budding career, but it probably didn’t hurt that he grew up with a pair of sly watchdragons guarding his dreams. (This accompanying verse just kind of wrote itself and was intended for the amusement of Dylan’s parents.) D is for Dragons, Drowsing and Dozing, Deep in the Darkness of Dungeon or Den, Dreaming of Damsels In Damp Dishabille Deliciously Dimpling in Darling Disdain, Dreaming of Dybbuks Dull, Dim and Doleful In Damp Deliquescence of Desolate Drains, Of Denizens Droll In Depths Dionysian Demigods, Demagogues, Demimondaines, Dreaming of Dido Decked in her Diadem, Dauntless Diana, Demure in Divinity Diminutive Duchesses Delightful in Damask Dazzlingly Draped in Diamonds and Dimity, Of Dread Disembowlings And Dire Disenchantments Dull Destinations and Dingy Disguises, Deeds Disconcerting, Dukes Dis-anointed, Deviant Dastards and Dirty devices, Dreaming of Dryads, Dancing in Dew-fall, Dainty as Dill-seeds, Diaphanous as Down, Of Decorous Druids In Drab Dusty Duffle Dyspeptic as Dishrags, Disputing till Dawn, D is for Dylan Dawdling in Dreamland, Drowsing and Dozing and Drifting Downstream, Dreaming of Dragons Who all Dream of Dylan Who Dreams of Discovering just what Dragons Dream. |
