I, too, have been to the land of Oz,
where everything is
that never was,
where nothing is never
anyone's sole endeavor,
and where whatever is
is never just because.
When I arrived in the land of Oz,
I met a guy who claimed he wasn't who he was.
And neither was he who he'd been.
So, I was very confused when he did begin
to explain why he thought I was his next of kin.
Winky claimed she spent the night with the Wizard of Oz,
who graciously invited her to partake of his noz.
But she declined, saying, “Oh, Mr. Oz!
I can't do that ~ because~
I'll never again be the same as I was.
The way it is it never was
in that funky land we know as Oz,
where girls are girls and boys and boys,
and girls play with their dinky toys
to condemnation or applause.
One day in the Land of Oz,
I got hit in the back of the head by a big bag of fuzz.
And this is the first thing the doctor said,
when I woke up in an Oz hospital bed:
"At least now we know what getting hit in the head by a big bag of fuzz does."
Close my eyes, home I feel
I cannot be dreaming, dreams aren't this real
Ruby red shoes, three clicks of the heel
I will never forget how they all helped me heal
My friend made of straw and the other Tin steel
Our heroine Dorothy is caught up in a storm,
She looks around as she lands, unbeknown will transform
Children’s dreams in an adventurous way,
With her new friends, let’s say hurray,
Magic shoes travel The Yellow Brick Road, not the norm.
They discovered the Wizard Of Oz was human, a con,
But gave Scarecrow his much wanted brains, wow he won,
The Tin Woodman was given a heart,
Which he wanted from the start,
Cowardly Lion made brave , ruled all beasts under the sun.
Witch East splattered by Dorothy's house landing, she was bad,
Grateful Good Witch North, gives Dorothy magic shoes, Dorothy glad,
Bad Witch West dissolved with water, airfoam,
Good Witch South Glinda, sends Dorothy home,
Click your heels Dot, destination Kansas, a fairy-tale grand.
HEADING – FIRST TWO LINES OF JUDY GARLAND’S SONG
Poetry Competition; Wizard Of Oz Limerick Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Charles Messina
Date: 2024/11/23
Placed 1st in the contest
As a child I became frightened and froze,
When I watched where yellow brick road goes.
For the witch in the sky,
Made me quiver and cry,
"Turn it off! I can’t stand her crows!"
The scarecrows head is full of straw
So his thinking is really poor
With an empty head
He has to be led
Maybe a brain would even the score.
Now the Tin man was really smart
Even though he was falling apart
He was off to Oz
Just because
What he needed was a heart.
Then the Lion put on a great act
Jumping from a bush to attack
Pretending he was brave
But there was no way
For he was just a pussycat.
Now it was off to the land of Oz
Hoping to meet the wonderland boss
When asked where you going
They said without knowing
To see a wizard that never was.
So off down the yellow brick road
Happily skipping they would go
Having travelled so far
Wishing upon a star
Led by Dorothy and little Toto.
Even though their friendship had grown
Still dear Dorothy felt so alone
With a tear in her eye
She bid them goodbye
For there was no place like home.
Dorothy's friends comprised a quite motley lot
Wanted Wizard to fix things that were shot.
Thought Wizard surely must know
best fixes for poor ego
Instead he said "These guys the best you've got?"
In the movie The Wizard of Oz
Dorothy had a major cause
how did it all begin
they would take a spin
she and her friends were breaking laws.
The law of wind took them far away
a wild storm with huge clouds of gray
to a far off land
with music and a band
now to see the sun's bright ray.
With her cute little dog in tow
where in this big world would they go
meeting three crazy friends
yellow road to the end
it was just a dream did you know?
A heart for the Tin Man
A brain for the old 'crow
I
Hello there, metal man,
How do you do today?
Dear tin brain
Dear tin limbs. Oh dear!
Weren't they always tin?
Dear, gold and bronze golem,
You don't mean to say
You were a man?
A real one?
A tin beast, you were born
Aluminum in your heart, aluminum in your soul,
Can't you feel its dust in your lungs?
Silly man, you don't have a heart,
You don't have a life
You have limbs rusting with malaise
And a hollow head
You metal man.
Dear tin fellow.
II
Have you any eyes? Have you any eyes
Or simply hollow metal wounds gaping in your forehead with small grins
But do you grin?
Or does your metal mouth simply
Stretch across your face like
A bloodless axe wound?
Do your limbs run with that crimson stuff?
Or are they hollow, hollow, hollow
Like the hole in your chest?
Swing your axe, dear tin man,
Chop your trees, metal golem,
Let me watch you
With a pathetic smile
You pathetic man
Metal cannot feel
Tin cannot burn
You cannot die
Goodbye, dear tin man,
Rest your tin head and sleep.
Happy ending in the movie: Dorothy: Oh, but anyway, Toto, we're home. Home! And this is my room, and you're all here. And I'm not gonna leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all, and - oh, Auntie Em - there's no place like home!
Despite the happy ending
Miss Gulch won't fade away
like a rumble of thunder.
She'll clutch the sheriffs order,
Pester Em and Henry
until Toto lies as still as sky
after a cyclone,
and Dorothy realizes
Glinda was a very wicked witch.
"Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue,"
A radio plays where the curtains withdrew
Her distant voice drifts from another room,
Drizzling drops still fall and dark clouds loom
In another place, another day, another time,
The house was new and the weather sublime
Winds whistle through windows broken,
Singing along with the lyrics spoken
Echoing from somewhere with hope anew,
"Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue."
My work is identity
The axe in my hand
No blisters to bother me
As for years I just stand
The weeds and the flowers
Call me back down to earth
The brown rust confuses
Destroys my self-worth
The tears and the rain
Have frozen me here
It could be forever
At least that is my fear
But then I hear singing
And love with a twirl
There's something of beauty
This dog and this girl
She stops to acknowledge
Where my work is so stale
I am rescued completely
My Dorothy Gale
We converse, no lips moving
I creak and I groan
She talks of a journey
To get herself home
I determine to help her
As she's helping me
We walk and we talk
It feels good to be free
It's strange but I know that
She strives for the best
I feel something beating
Once again in my chest
Not sure where we're going
When this journey will end
But I feel like I love her
This newly found friend
It's raining mud in Kansas,
200 miles an hour wind-hammers
broke Kentucky's heart.
Good people rush to help,
poets watch,
dogs bark
reporters report.
In the days of the Delta variants
children are left out in the cold
to eat lunch -
it's for their own good.
Meanwhile an iron gauntlet
grips the neck of the Republic
for its own good,
but it's all bad
and there is still no vaccine
for stupid.
They are coming to take me away ha ha
Witches, goblins and ghosts that I saw.
Did you see the lions, tigers and bears? Oh, my!
I stared at Kansas girl and started to sigh.
You’re in the wrong fairy tale, I hope you know.
Knew I was wrong as the wind started to blow.
Ah
Oz
Wizard
Wicked witch
Emerald City
Lions and tigers and bears oh my
Insuring singer Judy Garland immortality
She is most watched movie of all time, thrilling generation after generation
Wicked Witch of the West’s
Castle is now a home for unwed children, numbering twenty-three,
Children who are gloriously sock-loose and dance-e-bee.
The flying monkeys have turned into baby sitters, and lovers.
They protect the children from all mean witches and mothers.
The scarecrow and the lion come by about twice a week,
To make sure things are comfortable, they both do peek.
Tin-man runs a home for cairn terriers down the road.
He occasionally also saves an iguana, or a horny toad.
They get a face-time call from Kansas, USA, once a day.
Dorothy is in college now, so she does not have time to play.
But she picks up the ruby slippers and makes them shine,
Showing them she will never forget Oz was a fabulous time!
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