24-Hour Prep: The Bible Poem
Last year, when I was toying with the idea of doing all 24 hours with original material,* I knew I would need some long poems to pad out some of that time. I mused how I might do it reasonably, considering the natural length of my poetic voice (which is long), but in the end 24 hours of material is still 24 hours of material. As it turns out, I was way too busy - and lazy - to write that much material over the last year.
Not long ago, I came up with this idea to do the Bible in verse. I opted to do it in fifty haikus, the whole thing. Well, not the WHOLE thing, but you get the idea. So today I set about finishing up my magnum opus and you know how the Evel Kneivel of Poetry do: it's complete! I even ran through it to see how long it would take to perform it. 10 minutes flat, son! This will be the longest original poem I've ever performed in terms of how much time it takes. This may not stay true: I have one I'm working on still that might beat it. "The Bible in 50 Haikus" clocks in at a whopping 7 pages. **
It turned out to be a veritable feast of emotions while writing it, veering from reverence and sarcasm. I tried to make it something my mother wouldn't cast holy water on me over.***
Here are two that I like, one from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament (respectively, for you heathens out there):
13) Joseph and The Coat of Many Colors
His brothers didn’t know:
In time, a coat like that
will just be bad plaid.
35) John the Baptist
His head on its side,
eyes open on a platter.
Mouth wide, still preaching.
Notes
* - Mostly all new, obviously, since I've read so many of my poems to date worth sharing...98 prior to tomorrow night, to be exact. What wack cats out there are still thumping their chest over having written ten poems they do over and over again everywhere they go? Wimps!
** - Mind you, I use a size 14 font for performance texts. That way, if I end up in less than good conditions regarding light or whatever, I can still read it without burying my face in the page.
*** - While not a particularly religious man, I love doing relgious poems. I have enough poems in this vein to do a book comprised solely of poems based on religious themes or characters. The Book of Scott!
Not long ago, I came up with this idea to do the Bible in verse. I opted to do it in fifty haikus, the whole thing. Well, not the WHOLE thing, but you get the idea. So today I set about finishing up my magnum opus and you know how the Evel Kneivel of Poetry do: it's complete! I even ran through it to see how long it would take to perform it. 10 minutes flat, son! This will be the longest original poem I've ever performed in terms of how much time it takes. This may not stay true: I have one I'm working on still that might beat it. "The Bible in 50 Haikus" clocks in at a whopping 7 pages. **
It turned out to be a veritable feast of emotions while writing it, veering from reverence and sarcasm. I tried to make it something my mother wouldn't cast holy water on me over.***
Here are two that I like, one from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament (respectively, for you heathens out there):
13) Joseph and The Coat of Many Colors
His brothers didn’t know:
In time, a coat like that
will just be bad plaid.
35) John the Baptist
His head on its side,
eyes open on a platter.
Mouth wide, still preaching.
Notes
* - Mostly all new, obviously, since I've read so many of my poems to date worth sharing...98 prior to tomorrow night, to be exact. What wack cats out there are still thumping their chest over having written ten poems they do over and over again everywhere they go? Wimps!
** - Mind you, I use a size 14 font for performance texts. That way, if I end up in less than good conditions regarding light or whatever, I can still read it without burying my face in the page.
*** - While not a particularly religious man, I love doing relgious poems. I have enough poems in this vein to do a book comprised solely of poems based on religious themes or characters. The Book of Scott!