W.H. Auden once said that he preferred poetry students who loved playing with language over those who felt they had Something To Say. Sometimes - and this is one of my problems - poets get so tangled up in saying something that matters they forget to have fun. I have to keep reminding myself that writing a poem doesn't have to be like passing a kidney stone.
Listen to children playing with language. They delight in the sounds, the silliness - they will riff on a word and dissolve into laughter at each new variation. Nursery rhymes and good children's poetry reflect this sense of fun - the idea that language can approach music, and the pure joy in that music. Remember this one?
"Disobedience" by A.A. Milne
James James
Morrison Morrison
Weatherby George Dupree
Took great
Care of his mother,
Though he was only three.
"Mother," he said, said he,
"You must never go down
To the end of the town,
If you don't go down with me."
James James
Morrison's Mother
Put on a golden gown.
James James Morrison's Mother
Drove to the end of town.
James James Morrison's Mother
said to herself, said she:
"I can get right down
To the end of the town
And be back in time for tea."
King John
Put up a notice:
"LOST or STOLEN or STRAYED!
JAMES JAMES MORRISON'S MOTHER
SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN MISLAID.
LAST SEEN
WANDERING VAGUELY
QUITE OF HER OWN ACCORD.
SHE TRIED TO GET DOWN
TO THE END OF THE TOWN -
FORTY SHILLINGS REWARD!"
James James
Morrison Morrison,
(Commonly known as Jim)
Told his
Other relations
Not to go blaming him.
James James
Said to his mother,
"Mother," he said, said he,
"You must never go down
To the end of the town
Without consulting me."
James James
Morrison's mother
Hasn't been heard of since.
King John said he was sorry,
So did the Queen and the Prince.
King John
(Somebody told me)
Said to a man he knew,
"If people go down to the end of the town, well,
What can anyone do?"
(Now then, very softly)
J.J.
M.M.
W.G. Du P.
Took great
C/o his M*****
Though he was only 3.
"M*****," he said, said he,
"You-must-never-go-down-to-the-end-of-the-town-
if-you-don't-go-down-with-ME!"
In addition to the topsy-turvy reality (the kids are in charge! the parents are naughty!), the repetition and variations are addictive - we anticipate for the next verse to see what new twist will be there. Humans are hard-wired for music (see Oliver Sachs' most recent book, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain), so when we encounter it we feel comfortable with it and welcome it. This is why very rhyme-y and rhythmic pieces are so easy to remember, and it's why advertisers depend so heavily on jingles. (I bet everyone can remember commercials from their childhoods, even commercials they haven't heard in years and years.)
So, I have to keeping tell myself, it's okay to have a good time when writing a poem. It's okay to play with words and sounds and variations and to laugh -- every poem doesn't have to be "Lycidas" or "The Waste Land." And in the spirit of having fun, here's the ultimate salute to tongue-twisters and the music of silly language.(Click the "HQ" button to watch in high quality.)
