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Thursday, March 16, 2017

Fireblossom Friday: Incongruity

Today's text, my flock, concerns incongruity. Specifically, we are going to try to write setting that doesn't match action, or character that does not coincide with setting. Let's start with the first.

For illustration, here is my poem "Garden Wall":

 They stood daddy up
against the garden wall
and shot him through the head for writing against the regime.

Our ginger cat
hid behind the tomato vines.
Its eyes were yellow. The sky was blue. The leaves speckled red on the green.

The peaceful sunlit setting does not line up with the brutal act that takes place within it. This incongruity jars the reader and heightens the effect. 

What about the latter? For this, my poem "In The Year Of":

 In the year of the pestilence,
in the time of the puppet government,
we fell in love.

We held hands, and gamboled 
as others doubled over and died.

In the year of the pogrom,
in the hour of the public noose,
we were giddy,

and grateful for our milky corneas
our couplings, and our luck.


Although this is not actually a love poem--but, rather, a piece about willful blindness--it *seems* like a love poem, played out against a backdrop of revolution and death. 

Both these examples are rather grim in their subject matter, but incongruity lies at the heart of humor, as well. It is the absurd, the thing we don't expect, that is often the very thing which makes us laugh. And so, your poem can be light, if you wish. 

So, mix it up, explore incongruity. Then link! Please write a NEW poem for this prompt, and no haiku or such like. 

  

16 comments:

  1. Really enjoyed the opportunity to read those poems again, Shay. I have no idea if I really hit your concept or not, but I have held my muse at gunpoint and made her produce *something* at least. Thanks.

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  2. What a great prompt...loved writing for this. Thanks.

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  3. Wonderful premise, FB. And both your poems are just brilliant examples.

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  4. Loved the prompt, Shay ❤️ hope I got it right. Sharing my poem 'Little (over the top) hope you all like it.

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  5. Not sure if I even came close, but this is a very cool prompt.

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  6. I too hope I fulfilled the concept. I didn't remember those poems, Shay but it was a pleasure reading them. Hugs!

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  7. This reminds me of a great prompt here with poetry by Carilda Olivar Labra.. especially her poem called Declaration of Love...

    I will come back later with something... love this prompt.

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  8. I have no idea what I'm doing. If I'm totally off the mark, my apologies to you

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  9. I will visit everyone, but I may not get to them all until Sunday. :-)

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  10. Yippee. Fireblossom Friday. I likely have an incongruous thing or two floating around my attic......will go look.

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  11. You did well with your examples, FB. I know I didn't do as well but I tried. It was a nice prompt and your concept deserves our learning to use it the best we can. Thank you.
    ..

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  12. Thanks for a really tricky prompt, Fireblossom, that made me think hard. I'm not sure if I've met the challenge but I got caught up in absurd science and a poem emerged from it.

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  13. Oh, I miss the Real Toads, especially you, FB, and some of the other long-timers there. If I ever begin to write poetry again, the Imaginary Garden is the first place I will come.
    Toad-hugs,
    K

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  14. ...What an excellent challenge - and you lead us with two absolutely amazing examples. I remember reading these two before and loved them then. They are exciting and finger-tip tingling poems! I tried - this was very hard for me as it is way off what I usually write (not because I don't want to, it just is beyond my abilities - but I tried and it is a it weak - but I started off many times ending in a face plant on the desk top ;)

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  15. Hoping i got the incongruity out clearly

    Luv the prompt

    much love...

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  16. I'm not sure I hit the challenge on the mark, but I had something I needed to say and you gave me the avenue to speak it.

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