Saturday, October 18, 2008

My Style for Suday Scribblings

“’That ain’t my style’ said Casey. ‘Strike one!’ the umpire said.”
~Ernest Lawrence Thayer


This is the first thing
that popped into my head
when I read the prompt
for this week.

I thought I’d be able
to whip up a poem
in no time at all.
Instead, I sit here

staring at the screen
thinking about teaching
“Casey at the Bat”
years ago to my eighth-

grade students
and reading it to my
high schoolers in October
2004 when it looked

like the Red Sox
could never beat
the Yankees.
But, tonight, it is letting

me down. No ideas
are percolating. No words
are marching down my arms.
I’m at bat, like Casey,

and the ball is coming
toward me but, “It ain’t
my style” so I don’t
even bother to try to hit it.

23 comments:

anno said...

Love the quote, the anecdotes, the wonderful extended analogy. This was no first strike. More like a home run. Nicely done!

linda may said...

Sounds a bit like me trying to think up something on a prompt. I enjoyed your poem.

Anonymous said...

I hope you ducked! Love your style.

anthonynorth said...

Well you still did it with style :-)

totomai said...

lol, after all you are responsible for your decisions hehe :-)

Mya said...

What a style- love it! I think you knocked it out of the park anyway.
-Mya

Anonymous said...

Love it!

This week was hard...one would think MY style would be easy because it is US...but not so much.

Thanks for the poem.

Anonymous said...

Hehe I love the ending

Tammy Brierly said...

You never disappoint Linda. You are one of my favorite poets. The dollhouse still resonates in my memory. YOU ROCK!

Crafty Green Poet said...

aha there's a lesson in that...

Lucy said...

Home RUN LInda!

Andy Sewina said...

Love the last line!

Anonymous said...

You have created something out of nothing. turning a "writer's block" into a work of art. Connections made. I remember reading that long ago to my students. Thanks. This was surely the case of me, No scribble from me this week

Granny Smith said...

What a delightful take on a difficult prompt! You wrapped your analogy neatly in those last lines.

paisley said...

sometimes even something in the strike zone is so not worth swinging at... know the feeling well........

latree said...

I can still see your style :)

Sherri B. said...

This was very clever! You still did it with style. :~)

Tiel Aisha Ansari said...

Linda, I posted an answer to the question you asked on my blog: About me?

b+ (Retire In Style Blog) said...

I loved that you found such a stylish way to say what did not happen. :)

b

Tammie Lee said...

wonderful! just won't do it if it ain't your style.

Anonymous said...

thank you so much for the comment on my writing :)
i love the fact that when you wrote about style, its not fashion you were talking about, its just personal style in general. i like that :)

Rambler said...

ah this was fun :)

rebecca said...

oh, how i can relate. there are times when the words flow so easily and quickly and other times when constructing one simple sentence is an arduous, incomplete task. right now i am going thru a dry spell. hope it rains soon.

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