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HA! You and Angel and Brian can't be fooled, clever devils all. You caught me with a true snap writ in quick-glib for a laugh and suffering from gross haste. After I'd sent it in, a 'dear friend' noticed that Jurgen's mantra and his wife Frances' remark to her lover were different and wondered why. I hadn't noticed the difference [so much for patience and proofreading], then realised I must've subconsciously refused Frances' saying the heartless "If it ain't dead, don't replace it"---tho 'twas my initial intent, as Brian thought, to have her make that sarcastic remark. What amazes and fascinates me is how such slightly-developed characters became emotional connections to me and to you guys. My guess's the Jurgen tendency carries a lot of emotional freight for us. Right now I can't imagine a rewrite that'd be witty yet not damning [of Frances]. A well crafted short story might manage it ... I dunno. Wit and sympathetically-drawn characters aren't mutually exclusive, to be sure, but ... What think you all? [note to Brian: 2 October was just specificity, like other details, to make characters 'alive' and present] Best, Judy 2009/10/8 David Bircumshaw <[log in to unmask]> > I suspect a bit of going for the jurgen > > 2009/10/8 Angel Marquez <[log in to unmask]> > > > yea, i hope jurgen organized a few mistress encounters so the poor ole > chap > > could truly rest in peace. not knowing his recently widowed half cougar > > half > > milf life partner would have the nerve and so quickly have a replacement > > stand in to pay her last respects at his grave. > > c'mon joodlizer! that's not love. that's total b*tch gold digger > syndrome. > > > > what do you think jurgen's best mates thought of the old lady bringing > her > > new shag to the send off. > > > > > > On Wed, Oct 7, 2009 at 10:11 PM, Brian Hawkins <[log in to unmask] > > >wrote: > > > > > Thanks Judy, > > > > > > you've clarified some elements of this entertaining poem that I was a > bit > > > puzzled by. I took the final line to be some sort of snide or > sarcastic > > > reference to the wife having taken a new lover (pre Jurgen's decease?) > > and > > > couldn't quite work it out. Also: why the specificity of "2 October"? > > > > > > Brian > > > > > > --- On Wed, 7/10/09, Judy Prince <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > > > > From: Judy Prince <[log in to unmask]> > > > Subject: Re: snap: HIS BEST SHIRT > > > To: [log in to unmask] > > > Received: Wednesday, 7 October, 2009, 11:30 PM > > > > > > Thanks Partick, Angel, and Andrew; it's terrific to know the snap > may've > > > hit > > > a resonant chord, and to know just where it might've resonated. > > > The men and women I've known and loved most have the Jurgen > tendency---as > > > well as the K,J and F tendency. Kind of like "penny wise and pound > > > foolish", it's universal. > > > > > > Good laugh, Andrew! A thought: Females throw away their partners' > stuff > > > with impunity, but a male wouldn't dare do it with hers. Hmm.... > > > > > > And Angel, you nailed it: Frances loved Jurgen. Her words at his > > funeral > > > were a tribute to him; she'd had no need to replace him because he > wasn't > > > "broke" [meaning she'd always been sexually and sensually drawn to > him]. > > > > > > Best, > > > > > > Judy > > > > > > 2009/10/7 andrew burke <[log in to unmask]> > > > > > > > I understand the man, and I understand the poem. (I save things and > my > > > wife > > > > throws them out - somewhat quickly for my taste.) If I complain, I > may > > be > > > > next ... > > > > > > > > 2009/10/7 Angel Marquez <[log in to unmask]> > > > > > > > > > at least she waited it out. > > > > > stacking and labeling resonated well with the tone of voice the key > > > > phrase > > > > > conjured. > > > > > > > > > > the red ribbon and bow are killer. > > > > > > > > > > On Tue, Oct 6, 2009 at 11:05 AM, Judy Prince > > > > > <[log in to unmask]>wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > HIS BEST SHIRT > > > > > > Jurgen's spleen rejected waste > > > > > > the sort that his children and otherwise > > > > > > frugal wife quietly ordered online > > > > > > > > > > > > these substitutions for chronically ill > > > > > > but working computer towers, keyboards > > > > > > mouses, printers, cellphones, refrigerators > > > > > > mattresses, and eyeglasses > > > > > > > > > > > > insulted Jurgen who mantra'ed aloud > > > > > > "If it ain't dead, don't replace it," whilst > > > > > > Kelsey and Jane and Frances unboxed > > > > > > sleek grey metal electronic cubes and cords > > > > > > > > > > > > and Jurgen refused to sleep on any sheets > > > > > > younger than his daughters, could be depended > > > > > > upon for pieces of string > > > > > > as well as both local newspapers > > > > > > dating from the day they'd bought their home > > > > > > all which he carried to Dad's Room in the basement > > > > > > and gently stacked and labeled > > > > > > > > > > > > this living library of his life which his daughters > > > > > > [to themselves] called Dad's Mausoleum showed > > > > > > family and friends that which made him proud-- > > > > > > his singular focus, healthy philosophy > > > > > > gentle triumph, his reassuring insistence > > > > > > on a conflated pragmatic aesthetic > > > > > > > > > > > > Discourageless, K, J and F put a shirt box > > > > > > beside his plate of birthday cake on 2 October > > > > > > their candle-blowing puckers especially energetic; > > > > > > Frances handed him his eyeglasses > > > > > > held together with paper clips, and he read > > > > > > their accompanying card assuring him > > > > > > it'd been 30 years since they'd first > > > > > > given him this white Oxford cloth button-down shirt > > > > > > so he could wear it now > > > > > > > > > > > > "But I already have white shirts I haven't worn; > > > > > > therefore we can keep this one for perhaps Christmas > > > > > > dinner with your cousins," Jurgen smiled with > > > > > > his happy solution, adding the red ribbon and bow > > > > > > to his careful collections > > > > > > > > > > > > at his funeral in November his wife > > > > > > remarked to her lover as they appraised > > > > > > the coffin'ed Jurgen in his splendid new shirt: > > > > > > "If it ain't broke, don't replace it." > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > > > > > jbprince > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Andrew > > > > > > > > 'Beyond City Limits', pub. ICLL @ ECU, available at topnotch indie > > > > bookshops > > > > - list at http://hispirits.blogspot.com/ > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________________________________________________________ > > > Get more done like never before with Yahoo!7 Mail. > > > Learn more: http://au.overview.mail.yahoo.com/ > > > > > > > > > -- > David Bircumshaw > "A window./Big enough to hold screams/ > You say are poems" - DMeltzer > Website and A Chide's Alphabet > http://www.staplednapkin.org.uk > The Animal Subsides http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html > Leicester Poetry Society: http://www.poetryleicester.co.uk > Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/david.bircumshaw >