no metre only rhyme

STORY OF PERSEUS

2009-04-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

Acrisius of Argos
Was by Apollo’s oracle warned
He would meet his Final Fate
By his daughter Danae’s son

So Danae was locked up
In a tower of bronze
No doors, only a window
To prevent any harm

But Zeus came visiting
In a shower of gold
And impregnated Danae
A son – Perseus she bore

Acrisius now enraged,
Had them cast out to sea
And so mother and son
Were at the sea’s mercy

Somehow they made it through
They were found by Dictys :
A fisherman, and brother,
Of the land’s ruler – Polydectes

Polydectes, king of Seriphus,
For Danae fell hard
But he never got a chance
With Perseus always on guard

So he planned with shrewd cunning
He sent Perseus out
“Get me Medusa’s head”
-She of the Gorgon clout

Medusa, the snake-haired cursed,
Her eyes turned man to rock
Her sisters were immortal
But she was of mortal stock

Perseus left on his quest-
With Hermes’ adamantine sickle,
Good advice, and winged sandals,
And Atlanta’s shield-brazen

“First look for the Graeae-
Three, grey hags in a cave
They share one eye between them
They shall show you the way”

He found the Graeae cave
And tricked the old women;
If they wanted the precious eye,
To the Nymphs they’d guide him

From the Nymphs of the North
He took the Cap of Darkness :
Hades’ helmet, for invisibility
And for Medusa’s head – a wallet

Further north – the Gorgon’s lair
The three sisters – deep asleep
Medusa’s head reflected
In Atlanta’s brazen shield

Hermes’ sickle put to good use-
Perseus carved sinew and bone
In one strike real deep
Before she could turn him to stone

Blood erupted at the site
And out flew Pegasus
Perseus escaped on the winged sandals
And used the Cap of Darkness

With Medusa’s head in the wallet
He was thus Seriphus-bound
On the way, rescued Andromeda,
In her a wife he found

(Some say he helped Atlas
His burden lightened he
By turning Atlas to rock
But we’re not sure of this story)

In Seriphus, Perseus found
Danae by the king enslaved
For she refused to marry him;
Perseus was filled with rage

He turned the court to stone
And the head to Atlanta yielded
Then with Danae and Andromeda
Towards Argos he headed

Acrisius, in morbid fear,
Disguised himself to hide
He went to the Argos’ games
But fate was not on his side

Perseus was at the games
He played in discus throw
But the winds havoc wrought
The discus struck – a blow!

The victim – an old man
Was Acrisius in disguise
And so the prophecy fulfilled
By Apollo’s oracle – the wise

THE DOT SONG ( Conceived by Rahul Dandekar )

2009-04-26T04:36:00.000-07:00

A line is a dot that went for a walk.
- Paul Klee (contributed by Bimal Bharath)

A curve is a dot that flew like a hawk.
- Rahul "Anonick" Dandekar

An icosahedron is a dot that didn't know where to stop.
- Madhura Rane

A scribble is a dot not knowing what it sought.
- Anisha "Anne" Zaveri

A circle is a dot that just goes round and round,
A coil is a dot that keeps getting wound.
-Adi Sengupta

An exclamation is a dot with an erection.
-Bimal Bharath

An asterisk is a dot with hair.
-Srikanth Viswanathan

A Buckyball is a dot that was out there to shop.
-Shatabdi "Express" Chowdhury

A doodle is a dot that dances a lot.
-Rahul "Anonick" Dandekar

A colon is a dot who found true love.
-Siddharth "Sid" Joshi

A knot is a dot that lost it's path.
(disclaimer: in a closed space)
-Ravitej U.

A star is a dot that's really really hot.
-Adi Sengupta

A tittle is a dot.
-Anandi Rajan

Z is a dot after too many drinks.
-Shivam Gupta

A bot is a dot, out of silicon wrought.
-Preyas P.

A semicolon is a dot taking a dump.
-Ranaji Deb

A division sign is a dot looking at the mirror in vain,
A curl is a dot that had too much champagne.
-Anisha "Anne" Zaveri

A comet is a dot with a wild streak.
-Nikita Mehra

A shooting star is a dot that can't be caught.
-Shatabdi "Express" Chowdhury

A squiggle is a dot that lost the plot
-Nikita Mehra

An O is a dot yawning.
-Bimal Bharath

A bulls eye is dot that is tough to spot.
-Preyas P.

A fuzzball is a dot with goosebumps.
-Rajani Rajan

A double helix is a dot that is entangled and can't get out.
-Anandi Rajan

A dot is not what you and I thought.
-Achal Agarwal

A dot is a dot is a dot.
-Nikhil Karthik (A Gertrude Stein reference)

WERE(D) - WOLF

2009-02-14T02:21:00.000-08:00

Leonard, a lonely werewolf
In full-form on moonlit nights
Would hunt, kill and ravage
And make meal with strong, sharp bites

It was a curse he lived with
He craved for flesh and meat
But he wished to hurt no human
He scanned the woods for things to eat

On one such full-moon night
To his beastly self he was changed
He set out for quick kill
(At times like this he felt deranged)

He caught sight of a wild dog
He was now raging, on his feet
He knew not what happened next
Soon the wild dog was cold meat

When he awoke the next morning
He felt a tad too sick
Something was not quite right
His head felt like a brick

The next day passed in nought
He went slowly insane
Every minute that he spent
Was filled with stinging pain

And thus it was that Leonard
Had caught the heebie-jeebies
He thought he was immortal
But then he died of rabies

DRAGON'S GAME (pun intended)

2009-01-17T09:41:00.000-08:00

A red eyed vicious dragon
Ran off with a young femme – Vivienne

How she did scream and howl!
(Its breath was rather foul)

It took her to its lair
No one dared venture there

She was kept in a long, dark cave
She thought, ‘Now I must be brave’

She dreamt of a knight of ol’
He’d be dashing, brave and bold

He’d sweep her off her feet
(But right now she could only weep)

Not long after rode along he
Epitomizing sheer gallantry

He challenged the dragon’s might
(He was not yet wary of its bite)

And oh the shame! He became meal
(That one chomp closed the deal)

Vivienne’s tears dried up quick
(She thought she would be sick)

Now there was no knight to save her
(In any case who’d wait forever?)

She planned all night and day
For when the dragon’d be away

Soon after she got her chance
Through the cold she did advance

And ran as fast as her legs could
And made her way through a wood

She thought she’d made it through
(For some reason her fear just grew)

She was soon staring into its face
(Luck had clearly discarded her case)

What a frightful, horrible being
(But it was smiling at her it seemed!)

And then that creature spoke
It’s voice a harsh, fierce croak

‘Go on young girl, flee fate
You were only being used as bait'

CRINKLEWORTH FOWL

2009-01-16T05:17:00.000-08:00

Crinkleworth Fowl
A man most foul
Dug up old graves for a living

He pulled up old bones
Of Todd, Smith and Jones
And sold ‘em and made quite a killing

He once picked a grave
That housed weird ol’ Dave
He knew not he was making a mistake

The details being hazy
(The stories were crazy)
Ol’ Dave had been burned at the stake

It was a dull night
No moon and no light
And Fowl crept along at quick pace

That dark night he toiled
His grey clothes more soiled
And sweat was dripping from his face

He splintered the wood
With one pull real good
And took a long peek in the grave

He then scratched his head
‘Where’s the guy whose dead?’
And turned around to find ol’ Dave

Soon after, not far
In a dim, shady bar
They found a guy that looked like Fowl

But he wasn’t all there
He seemed cold and bare
He’d changed places with the strange ghoul

MEDEA

2009-01-15T09:20:00.000-08:00

Title: Medea Artist: Evelyn De Morgan Painting Date: 1889 Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 59 x 35 in Location: Williamson Art Gallery and Museum, Birkenhead, England

I have always wondered why Jason and the Argonauts is titled thus.

For the story is nothing without Medea. A sorceress, and daughter of King Aeetes

of Colchis, she assists Jason with each of the tasks, which he is at

a loss to perform by himself. Medea is involved in the death of her brother.

She leaves her father, her home, and her land for Jason, who promises to wed her.

She bears for him two sons and she gets in return treachery.

Which brings us to the question:

are her actions entirely criminal or is her revenge justified?

Jason, with the Argonauts
Headed Colchis’ way
To find the Golden Fleece
And return a hero, someday

Hera, Queen of Heaven,
Was on Jason’s side
With the Goddess of Love she pleaded
Aphrodite soon complied

King Aeetes of Colchis
A daughter, Medea, had
Eros struck her with his arrow
Now seeing Jason, she was glad

Aphrodite, through Eros
Her trick well-set and played,
Made Medea fall in love
(She was of Aeetes unafraid)

On his tasks was set Jason
“The Golden Fleece is mine
Complete the work you be given,
Great glory will be thine”

King Aeetes words thus sounded
Jason was lost and helpless
But love brewing in her heart,
Medea soon sought to mend this

Through each task she helped him
With sorcery and good advice
And Jason, the fleece recovered
By one such magical device

King Aeetes – full of fury,
The Argos’ ship he chased
Medea, being bound by love
Fled with Jason in haste

She left her land, her home
Her brother lost his life
But this mattered not to her
For she would be Jason’s wife

Thus to Greece they returned
For him two sons she bore
But Jason wanted glory
Medea was shown the door

For Creusa of Corinth
Jason wished to marry
Medea, thus rebuked,
Planned revenge-he’d be sorry

To Creusa she gifted
A wedding dress, accursed
The poison, a raging fire
Within Creusa soon dispersed

She knew revenge would be sought
So Medea, for long despaired
And killed her bonnie lads
So ruthless murder they’d be spared

Then on Helios’ chariot
She made good her escape
-Not before cursing Jason

Who would die lonely, unawake

BRAIN DAMAGE

2009-01-12T04:59:00.000-08:00

(Written during a particularly irksome lecture)

The talk, the talk
The talk just killed my brain cells

A squish! a pop!
They’re burstin’, all my brain cells

Oh! My olfactory just zoned out
There go all my senses

Oh no! oh no! oh no! oh no!
What sort of life is this.

THE PERFECT MAN

2008-12-25T06:57:00.000-08:00

Sir William Mellow
An elegant fellow
(about whom there has been much said)

Was known for his daring
His dignified bearing
(to him all girls wished to be wed)

They’d heard tales of old
Of him being brave, bold
(and how he could kill with a look)

His courage and valour
Such good grace and glamour!
(he didn’t always play by the book)

Ladies called him for tea
(they wouldn’t leave him be)
Hoping he’d fall for their charms

But Sir William Mellow
(he’d charm them with a hello)
Soon gave them cause for alarm

He met Mr. Wipples
(it sent shock waves and ripples)
They got along so well – oh bother!

The women’s hearts broken
(and the fellows awoken)
-the two men now live together

2008-12-19T08:54:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time
Long, long ago
(This story’s full of clichés)
Oh well, here we go

CINDERELLA
Oh Cinderella!
What a pretty, young thing
If you saw her
You’re heart would sing

She lived with two step-sisters
And a mean old mum
Their hearts were cold
(And her life was glum)

She worked all day
And she worked all night
Her forlorn face
-such a wretched sight!

One day she heard
Of the grand Prince’s ball
She wished to go
But her sisters drawled-

“You who are worthless,
You who have no grace,
Away with you!
Must we show you your place?”

Her poor heart broken
She could only weep
And then something happened
It made her heart leap!

A hope and a wish
And as if in a dream
There appeared her fairy godmother
In a light beam

“Don’t worry my child,
To the ball you shall go”
She transformed dear Cindy
She was all shimmer and show!

“But how shall I get there?”
“A coach of pumpkin, liquorice”
“But what about coachmen?”
“Bring me a couple of mice”

And thus Cinderella
Went to the Prince’s ball
She looked quite smashing
(She got her wish after all)

Her entrance was marked
All eyes on her, keen
At that very moment
She felt like a queen

The prince caught her eye
He felt like a dance
(It was but the beginning
Of a new romance)

The sisters saw this
They envied her to bits
They knew not it was her
(They soon felt like misfits)

The clock now struck twelve
It struck terror in her heart
She must leave her prince
She must now depart

When her wish was granted
(She had then been told)
“When the clock chimes midnight
You shall be as of old”

When she fled the scene
She’d left a crystal slipper
With this roamed the prince,
With it he hoped to find her

The women heard the news
To be his was their wish
(That couldn’t much be helped,
The prince was quite a dish)

At long last, he was here
The sisters tried the slipper
“Who is that young maiden?
We must see if it fits her”

And though the girls protested
They made Cindy try it
Her foot slipped in easy
It was the perfect fit

And then he recognized her!
That lovely girl - t’was her!
He whisked her off (and we hope)
They lived happily thereafter

But isn’t it ironic?
He knew not one from other
The only way he recognized her
Was by her crystal slipper!

Now how deep could such love be
(If love is what it’s called)
Years later I read to Cindy
This poem; and she bawled!

A Prehistoric Tale

2008-12-17T03:10:00.000-08:00

Jack and Bill
Fell for a chick called Jill
And they landed a fight for her

Jack used his club
Bill went blub-glub
And this round was an easy takeover

Jack trounced a rex-T
And brought it home for tea
And he looked an early winner

Bill went for gold,
Playing hard and bold
But of him Jack got the better

Bill thought, “all’s lost”
A smooth stone he tossed
And it struck a pile of some others

Voila! It lit a spark
A wish and a lark
And thus it was that Bill made fire

Jill thought :
Now here’s a man
Who truly can
And guess whom she named the winner

And so Jack, as you will,
Keeps going down the hill
But of Jill and Bill we know better

DAMSEL-IN-DISTRESS

2008-12-17T03:04:00.000-08:00

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair"
And she let go her wig
Prince Charming trotted off on his mare.