Poetic Mad-Libs! HAWMC

Day 21! "April is the cruellest month," beautiful though it has been in Homer. Grueling as it's been, it's one of those time periods that simultaneously feels endless, if you look all the way back to April 1st, and yet on another level, seems to have flown by. I was a little skeptical of today's prompt--to go to a website called "language is a virus," of all things, plug in some words, and generate a "mad lib" poem. But then I allowed myself to recall that poets play all kinds of word-generation games to strike sparks. I even posted a picture a few months ago (which I can't find becaus the internet's too slow) of a poem of mine cut up into strips as I tested better juxtapositions.

So, I ended up doing two mad lib poems! I didn't really know what "mad libs" were before I started, but I infer that it's a process of taking a template and plugging in more or less random words to create a different series of associations with the same structure as the original. Both poems I did were generated as being by "Ela and e.e. cummings," so I was able to track down the original poem off which my "mad libs" were based--for both poems, it was cumming' "all in green." I know Meredith's mad lib came from Sylvia Plath, so there are several possible templates.

Of course I revised the computer-generated mad libs--there was odd morphological splitting and splicing--random orphan "-ing's" and "en-'s" peppered the verses. I changed the word order a bit but tried to preserve most of the repetitive structure of the original poem. Since I'm sharing two poems, I'll spare you the original computer-generated version and just give you the "fair copy."

The first poem is more tame, on the theme of springtime. The second is more directly related to health challenges. What do you think?

1. Melting into a hopeful meeting

All moving went my ground, melting

a new spruce wistful
into the hopefulness of meeting .


wild mythical storage substantial rooting
the proud bed before.


freer be they than listening sleepers rooting
the static sound bed
the sound proud bed .

wild sound growth against a boundless rock
the emphatic quiet before.


earth from snow went my ground melting
melting the rain down
into the hopefulness of meeting .

wild mythical storage substantial rooting
the listing woman before.

more restful be they than hastening sound man
the mythical boundless bed
the green substantial bed .


wild green grass and wistful chives
the young birds before.


sunset's return went my ground melting
melting from the south down
into the hopefulness of meeting .

wild mythical storage substantial rooting
the young north before.


greener be they than rooting water
the shifting drifting bed
the young hesitant bed .


young heart melt at the moving south
the hesitant awakening before.


All moving went my ground, melting
a new spruce wistful
into the hopefulness of meeting .


wild mythical storage substantial rooting
my light turn sunset before.




By a total serendipity, I even had an updated photo of the grass growing "against a boundless rock" in our yard, but I'll have to upload that when I get home.

And here's the more health-related poem:

Swinging Mercurial Mind

All mysterious went my mind swinging

through visionary sounds, powered
thoughtless into lessons .


mad listening lessening elusive winging
the helpless growth before.


more tremulous than deceptive shrinkage
the raging shameful growth
the shameful helpless growth .


mad shameful seduction, addictive reduction
the dramatic interruption before.


body and love went my mind swinging,
swinging the heart down
thoughtless into lessons .


mad listening lessening elusive winging
the divine showing before.

more lunatic than shameful fear inspired
the listening addicted growth
the insomniac elusive growth .

mad insomniac lies, fear-powered insistence
the night-long presence before.

meditation for nourishment went my mind swinging
swinging help down
thoughtless into lessons .

mad listening lessening elusive winging
the night-long power before.

more blasphemous than abusive machination
the mercurial spent growth
the nonlinear diminishing growth .

mad nonlinear let-down, mysterious help,
the diminishing trial before.

All mysterious went my mind swinging
through visionary sounds, powered
thoughtless into lessons .

mad listening lessening elusive winging
medication persistent meditation before.

Oh, and if you're curious, here's the e.e.cummings original:

All in green

All in green went my love riding
on a great horse of gold
into the silver dawn.


Four lean hounds crouched low and smiling
the merry deer ran before.


Fleeter be they than dappled dreams
the swift red deer
the red rare deer.


Four red roebuck at a white water
the cruel bugle sang before.

Horn at hip went my love riding
riding the echo down
into the silver dawn.

Four lean hounds crouched low and smiling
the level meadows ran before.

Softer be they than slippered sleep
the lean lithe deer
the fleet flown deer.

Four fleet does at a gold valley
the famished arrow sang before.


Bow at belt went my love riding
riding the mountain down
into the silver dawn.

Four lean hounds crouched low and smiling
the sheer peaks ran before.


Paler be they than daunting death
the sleek slim deer
the tall tense deer.

Four tall stags at the green mountain
the lucky hunter sang before.


All in green went my love riding
on a great horse of gold
into the silver dawn.

Four lean hounds crouched low and smiling
my heart fell dead before.

ee cummings
So, two very different takes off from one poem! Which one do you prefer? What does yours look like?