ODE TO A BLOGGER BUDDY.

Just as in the 'real' world, here in blogsphere we have friends that come and go, friends that we see almost every day, friends that we may see only from time to time and then, of course, friends who just seem to disappear. I was thinking about one such blogger buddy only the other day when I saw this article about Flarf.

Flarf? I hear you ask.

"Flarf, in case (like me) you didn't know, is nonsense poetry for the digital age. It uses weird word combinations produced by Google searches. Now K Silem Mohammed, a university lecturer, is working on a 'flarfirst' version of all 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets, retaining their rhyme and metre but entering every line into an online anagram generator. each resulting sonnet contains exactly the same letters. Here, for example, are the first two lines of Sonnet 13 when 'flarfed':

O! that you were your self: but, love, you are

No longer yours than you your self here live

becomes:

Wise fools who rub the curly heads of state

Sweet monsters who sell honor out for fun.

Aha! What do you think?

Anyway, not flarf, I dedicate this verse to Carla who once upon a time hosted the weekly meme FreeVerse.

In Celia's face a question did arise,

Which were more beautiful, her lips

or eyes?

"We," said the eyes, "send forth those pointed darts

Which pierce the hardest

adamantine hearts."

"From us," replied the lips, "proceed those blisses

Which lovers reap by kind words

and sweet kisses."

Then wept the eyes, and from their

springs did pour

Of liquid oriental pearl a shower;

Whereat the lips, moved with

delight and pleasure,

Through a sweet smile unlock'd

their pearly treasure

And bad Love judge, whether did

add more grace

Weeping or smiling pearls to

Celia's face.

- THOMAS CAREW (1595 - 1640)