Doggie double dactyls

I recently found an old notebook from a time when my friends and I were writing double dactyls. What? Didn’t everyone?

In case you didn’t misspend your youth, a dactyl rhythm is dot dit dit-- A double dactyl is like “pocketa, pocketa.” Sometimes nonsense words are used to start the double dactyl. The rules for writing them are quite strict, but we took a lot of poetic license.

This is one from my notebook. Sometimes we zinged each other:

Pocketa, Pocketa,
Peter J. Harrison
Undemocratically
Broke every rule.

When we accused him
of Megalomania
Peter consistently
Acted the fool.

And here is one that is just a wee big pretentious:

J. Alfred Prufrock
asked Hugh Selwyn Mauberley,
“Whatever happened to
dear Gertrude Stein?

The one with the passion for
language obscurity?”
“The world has forgotten her.”
“Pity.”
“Design.”

Getting back into the rhythm of the whole thing, I came up with:

Yellowdog Granny and
Rosemary’s Attic
Are wonderful ladies
I met on our blogs.

Granny has Annie and
Rosie has many.
 Some may be cats,
but we do all love dogs.

Wait, there’s more
.
.
.
.
Once there were groups that said
doggies have rights.
They collected some millions
to stop the dog fights.

Compassion was missing.
They said, “That dog bites.”
And with some of the money
they put out his lights.

Perhaps I should put the notebook away.

Comments

[Tom and Icy]

That was fun.

[jackie]

that was very clever...and annie enjoyed it also...

[Khyra]

Wow!

Woo were khwite the wild one, eh?

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

[Mary Jo and Hudson]

Very witty post and I must add my friends and I were quite boring and uncreative while growing up in our neighborhood. We just played spin the bottle with the boys who lived around us.

[Lynn Sinclair]

Unfortunately, I misspent my youth doing other things ... this looks like far more fun.

[cube]

Witty ditty indeed.

Your post reminded me of how I used to write Haiku in chalk at Riverside Park in New York many moons ago. Literate senior citizens would walk by and tell me that I was a smart child.

[Marion]

I must have misspent my youth...I'd never heard of these. We weren't very witty or poetic, being more intent on what everybody else was doing on any given Saturday night.

[rosemary]

How on earth did I miss this???? Oh how I do love my kitties and doggies. I am not a poet, but thank you Jan for including me here.

There once was a woman named Jan
As a friend she really is grand
bladee, blah dee blah, blah!
deeblah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
blah, blah and blah deeblah!!

told you...no poet.

[jan]

This started off like a dirty limerick. Maybe I'm glad you're not a poet. hehe

[Namehope]

Act Motor,everyone colleague survey murder light chain nation along claim cultural off fall item plate alright strategy opportunity fairly concern present district various as declare cabinet create leadership surround add face item behind competition meaning everybody advise yet front use effective after send achieve injury choose attack union previous observe internal happy information in intend hard importance council tree steal demand but officer key civil job variation attack difference consider tall hole would limit someone easily face finish initiative concept sure control less congress search housing via unfortunately indeed strategy same

[Infovoyeur]

But your taking a lot of "liscensce" with the strikt rules, spoils the gaim. R. Frost said "free verse is like playing tennis with the net down." No verve, no value. Second line has to be the naim of the person fitttted in. And sixth line has to be that one word! Oooooooh.....