Random (Funny) Stuff

Replacement Poem

(sobbing and laughing because dear Lord, this is horrible)

The prompt: "Take any poem you admire and replace all the nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs with other words that are in each case the same part of speech. Other parts of speech—conjunctions, prepositions, articles—you may leave or change as you please. Browse around the "anthology" reading at end of Ch. 1 and choose one that you truly admire. Then write your "replacement poem" by changing the words, but leaving the structure of the poem in tact. A poem that is both like and entirely unlike the original will emerge. You don't need to worry about making sense; the poem will do it for you. You can fiddle afterward if you want to move it nearer to logical meaning."

Yeah, I only had two that actually seemed worth reading, and I chose Barn Swallows by Ted Kooser over a poem about a dead cat (yes, that was better than any of the other poems in the anthology section).

The result?

(looks at it) Some weird thing where dolls and animals enjoy ice cream so much that they later host whoever gave them ice cream.

Here it is:

There are half of the colors in radianceshined down in simple linesfrom the light bulbs up on the ceiling.Every time in this space they cry outFor ice cream, dolls and animals,licking the milk produce gonewith their tongues, in cups and bowls,from the tops to bottoms. With extremely gleefulmelodic noise they expresstheir goodbye song: Here whilewe were receivers we soon become hosts!For that warm time they're generous,sat in their home with an abundance of giftshappily as the small spirit watches.

Honestly, wtf.

This was so hard though. I will never recommend creating a "replacement poem" to anyone. Ever.

It would've been so much easier to follow the syllables instead of the part of speech---