‘The better part of valor is discretion‘
(Henry IV, Part 1, Act 5, Scene 4)
By Shakespeare
After 38 years of marriage
I have learned to be very discrete~
I just say yes dear you are right
"The smug and silver Trent" - Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part I
************************************************
"The smug and silver Trent"
flooded badly in seventeen ninety-five,
when every bridge was damaged/washed away.
It's a risk today, but less so, so they say.
"The smug and silver Trent",
Will Shakespeare's quill recorded,
though at "smug" he took free license,
I would say.
10/27/2015
Wind that I pass poisons air with one blow
It stinks to the moon, stays 'til the morrow
Nonchalant, nearly blue, frown on my brow
Don't hold it; Farting is such sweet sorrow. 1
Notes:
1. A play on Shakespeare's famous line, Romeo and Juliet: Act 2, Scene 2.
2. While I do not wish to offend the fine sensibilities of our more delicate poets, most of us are familiar with the The Bard’s propensity to include references to farting in his plays. To name a few:
Comedy of Errors: Scene I; Two Gentlemen of Verona: Scene IV; and Henry IV: Part I
24 October, 2015
Wind, Snow or Rain Acrostrain
Sponsor: Jan Allison
Poor Prince Hal, just wanted a pal, a friend
Someone to drink and laugh with til the end
Pawning all his hopes on white lies so far
Spending all his coins at Quickly's bar
Playing pranks on Falstaff to pass the time
Jolly as the youth, but well past his prime
Wagered then lost in the field, all bets found
Til death do they part and in friendship bound
But a king has no need for washed up knights
Against his own will, the young prince now fights
And Hal then forsakes his friend John the Clown
As King Henry, he now takes up the crown
--
My ode to Henry IV by Shakespeare
DISCRETION IS THE BETTER PART OF VALOUR
The river has run dry, its bed is empty sand.
Across the flower carpet’s dim and dusty land
Penstemon and brave little Brittlebush,
Expecting an inundation, stretch in a rush -
Spreading petals and leaves which their vast
Tapestry of color and life weaves - but they fast
Revert to survival tactics and retract petals in fear
Of the drought of the Sonoran summer each year.
......................................................
Note
The poem’s title is taken from Shakespeare’s HENRY IV PART ONE
Enterprising Henry IV declares suzerainty over state
Xenophobic princes seek the royal prerogative to abate
Cautious king uses diplomacy, threats his minions to subjugate
Old rivals in Saxony Henry's consolidation with tyranny equate
Morose princes in the hinterland seek to avoid a similar fate
Manic King Henry sends his forces the opposition to eradicate
Unifying his kingdom, Henry dispatches puppets, builds forts his
subjects to ingratiate
Nouveau Pope, Gregory VII, seeks his spiritual fiefdom to
accentuate
Invoking ban on German King's power to bishops nominate
Calculating King refuses to cooperate with this diabolical dictate
Arrogant Pope responds to Henry's disobedience with a writ to
excommunicate
Terrified, Henry performs penance to wipe clean the slate
Ecclesiastical mantra restored; Pope Gregory VII absolves the
humbled magnate
Demeaned but not demised, Henry continued to temporal, spiritual
power appropriate
That he is old more the pity
His white hairs do witness it
If food, wine and beer be a fault
Then God help the wicked
But for a sweet Jack Falstaff
Kind Jack Falstaff
True Jack Falstaff
Valiant Jack Falstaff
Therefore more valiant
Being as he is old Jack Falstaff
Banish not him from your friendship
Banish plump Jack
Then banish all the world
My apologises to Shakespeare !
An adaption from Henry IV
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