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Poem #1052 by Emily Dickinson reads:

I never saw a Moor–
I never saw the Sea–
Yet know I how the Heather looks
And what a Billow be.

I never spoke with God
Nor visited in Heaven–
Yet certain am I of the spot
As if the Checks were given–

Very good, but I would improve it:

I never saw a moor–
I never saw the Sea–
Yet I know how the Heather looks
And what a Billow be.

I never spoke with God
Nor visited in Heaven–
Yet certain am I of the spot
As if the Chart were given–

I think there’s room for a masculine version too, but I’ll have to put that aside for now.

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It’s a Jungle Out There by Randy Newman

It’s a jungle out there
Disorder and confusion everywhere
No one seems to care
Well I do
Hey, who’s in charge here?

It’s a jungle out there
Poison in the very air we breathe
Do you know what’s in the water that you drink?
Well I do, and it’s amazing

People think I’m crazy, ’cause I worry all the time
If you paid attention, you’d be worried too
You better pay attention
Or this world we love so much might just kill you
I could be wrong now, but I don’t think so

‘Cause there’s a jungle out there
It’s a jungle out there

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From Wikipedia‘s Balliol Rhyme:

First come I. My name is Jowett
There’s no knowledge but I know it.
I am Master of this College,
What I don’t know isn’t knowledge.

My name is George Nathaniel Curzon,
I am a most superior person.
My face is pink, my hair is sleek,
I dine at Blenheim once a week.

I am tall and rather stately
And I care not very greatly
What you say, or what you do.
I’m Mackail – and who are you?

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Our paper was under review,
Reports were 6 months past due.
At last they’ve got here—
We started to cheer,
Until we read referee two.
……………………. Arthur Lewbel

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How do you spell mnemonic?
It’s practically demonic.
You put an M before the N;
And then it’s just phenomic!
……………………………..Eric Rasmusen

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FROM POETRY MAGAZINE
September Pause, October Return
BY THE EDITORS

We cannot escape Poetry’s history, which we have exalted and continue to profit from. We are committed to understanding that history better in order to dismantle its structures and reparate the magazine’s debt to Black people, Indigenous people, other people of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, disabled people, and other marginalized groups of people who have been exploited, sidelined, and tokenized in support of white dominant culture. This pause is a necessary part of Poetry magazine’s reckoning with the deep-seated white supremacy of our organization.


On Submitting My Limerick to Poetry Magazine
So many odd things have menaced me.
If I send this to them– now let me see–
They admit they’ve despised
The marginalized
Can I get past their rich white supremacy?
……………………………..Eric Rasmusen

I remember my freshman roommate Barry Himmelstein saying he thought the secret to getting poems published in magazines like Poetry was to keep submitting over and over. Eventually, an editor would look at your submission and say, “Hey I’ve heard of this guy Himmelstein somewhere. He must be good.” I don’t know if that strategy works or not. Maybe they’ll read my limerick, and the lingering memory some day will help me get published.

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Help me now to sleep tonight
Till the sun’s new morning light.
Help me then to do what’s right.
Just what’s pleasing in Your sight.
……………………………..Eric Rasmusen

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I will not testify on a boat,
I will not testify with a goat.
I will not testify,
Here nor there.
I will not testify anywhere.
I will not testify first. Or last.
I will not testify slow or fast.
There’s nothing more for me to say.
I can’t remember, anyway.
………Dr.Seuss-Ford
………………………. Dr. Carol M. Swain
https://twitter.com/carolmswain/status/1043515828279422976

The background is that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford made implausible scandalous allegations about Supreme Court nominee Bret Kavanaugh and didn’t want to be cross-examined about them.
Kavanaugh accuser lays out testimony conditions

Here are the other items Ford requested:


Wants to testify second and Kavanaugh to appear first;
Doesn’t want Kavanaugh in the room at the same time with her;
Prefers not to be questioned by outside counsel, but rather by the senators on the committee;
Would like the committee to subpoena Mark Judge, the other student Ford alleges to be in the room at the time of the assault, to testify;
Says each senator should have equal time questioning (already committee practice);
No time limit on her opening statement; and
Will appear at a public hearing but she would like to limit the number of cameras to pool coverage.

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