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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Old Will meets old Kay on a spring day

William Shakespeare
April 23, 1564-
April 23, 1616
Wikipedia photo
Our prompt for the 23rd day of our poem-a-day for April is a familiar fellow who was born, and later died, April 23.

Alas, poor Will, to on his birthday die
I hope it ne'er shall hap to such as I.

At the Imaginary Garden with Real Toads, Susan has provided us with plenty of familiar Shakespearean quotes, along with links to many others. There are thousands, of course, from which we can choose.

The most fun I ever had with Shakespeare was the year my much-younger brother turned 14. I was helping him study English because he'd had more than half of his schooling in Spanish, thanks to our parents' early retirement in Baja. My idea of teaching was to help him rewrite Shakespeare's Macbeth into the early 20th century, with gangsters and gun molls, good guys and bad guys. We both enjoyed it.

So, I have a passing familiarity with Will S. (more passing, less familiarity as the years go by) and see this challenge as an opportunity for more fun. The following non-sonnet consists of one line from Shakespeare alternating with one from me.

To a lover while waiting for warmer weather


Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day,
Long unseen and so very far away?
What is your substance, whereof are you made
That you leave me here, so long in the shade?
For sweetest things turn sour by their deeds,
Like you, who never, ever, my love heeds!
The course of true love never did run smooth
What then, from you, will all my heartbreak soothe?
Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds
Impeding, thus, our marriage of true minds.




19 comments:

Jinksy said...

What a clever interlocking you have here1 Well done you. :)

Marian said...

it is SO CHILLY in the shade!

Anonymous said...

Kay, you rocked the prompt! The alternating lines serve as commentary on Shakespeare's original, reminding us that, just as the Gospels are constantly being updated by our actions, so the Bard can be updated in our thoughts. Daring and brill. Amy

Susan said...

Aw. I truly love this! I would not have imagined the Shakespeare's lines would fit together so well and that you would match his lofty tongue word for word. A serious poem from Kay? Pure fun! (And I know/hope it is a fiction, and not about your marriage of like mind!)

Kerry O'Connor said...

I love the back and forth of lines between you and Will S.
I must point out that this is Susan's prompt and not mine :-)

LLM Calling said...

that's so cool, well done

Hannah said...

What a cool unique approach, Kay!! I enjoyed your responses and the quotes you chose to feature!! Great work!

Joyful said...

I love your additions. I agree with the first commenter. You are clever ;-) Big hugs.xx

Friko said...

Cheeky! Have you no respect for our Will :-)

He might even have enjoyed this.

Scarlet said...

I am enjoying this very much Kay ~ This is a creative response to Susan's challenge ~

Janine Bollée said...

Brilliant idea.
You have invented a new form with this one-on-one idea. Can't wait to try it with some big name poet. Possibly Byron, whom I have only just discovered :-)
You asked about the date:
There was a shift in counting days in the year from the Julian calendar [named for Julius Caesar] to the Gregorian calendar [named for Pope Gregorius.]

The old date of April 23 [or 26th if you take his Christening date], needs to be forwarded by 10 days to get to the latter calendar which we now use.

WE said...

Its cool, good one :)

Helen said...

Love the back story of your younger brother! Also enjoyed the fun you had with Will!!

Margaret said...

How fun to see that story if your brother still had it. How sweet. Your poem was a hoot - and I think it pairs nicely with the bard's words!

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Kay, you are so clever! I loved every line, yours and the bard's.....

Susie Clevenger said...

Goodness, you and the Bard play well. I love it!!

Herotomost said...

Truly the best way to have handled this prompt...it was creative and I wish I would have thought of it. Just you and Shakespeare...I knew it was coming.

Tawnya Smith said...

Just commenting to echo those before me; this was a delight to read.

Kay said...

Excellently done, Kay! You are amazing!