Drawing by Mark Powell via Tumblr, with this caption:
‘we are all clowns with too much face paint’ Bic biro drawing on 1880s US citizenship form.
Let's write a mission statement
about the Declaration of Intention
we wish we could plan to complete.
It should be transparent and
indubitably sincere,
certainly not gawdy,
and without deceit —
A manifest to describe
our strategy for invention . . .
if it were prudent, if we
were brave and true,
instead of a bawdy
and bogus tribe.
.
about the Declaration of Intention
we wish we could plan to complete.
It should be transparent and
indubitably sincere,
certainly not gawdy,
and without deceit —
A manifest to describe
our strategy for invention . . .
if it were prudent, if we
were brave and true,
instead of a bawdy
and bogus tribe.
:::
Written for Friday Flash 55 - My post in exactly 55 words - for the G-Man.
-ALSO-
Written for Meeting the Bar: Critique and Craft—Just Do What You Don't Mean: Irony— at dVerse Poets. The host this week is Victoria C. Slotto, who invites us "to say what you do not mean. Write something ironic, whether it be tinged with humor or a searing commentary on the state of things.".
I had to look up "Declaration of Intention" -- fascinating -- about naturalization.
ReplyDeleteAnd the lies you expose in your poem are fantastic laid bare.
interesting! It is another irony if the person were as old as your forms picture & had been waiting that long!
ReplyDeletethey published some of the questions that they set in the test for people wanting UK citizenship a while ago and hardly anyone born here (including me) was able to answer very many of them.
ReplyDeletePersonally i think history shows that people have always moved from country to country and this is a good thing as they bring new skills, ideas and traditions with them
To quote the old joke - i always thought Irony was like Goldy and Bronzy, only made out of Iron
Ha, so much depends on the 'ifs' in life, doesn't it?
ReplyDeletethe use of declaration of intention has double meaning for me as well...understanding and standing by our intentions...which opened up a whole other thought....very nice lydia...well played...
ReplyDeleteThis is very nicely done!
ReplyDeleteSaying what you do not mean?
ReplyDeleteThat's supposed to be odd for a woman?
C'mon!!!!!
I just LOVE Manifest 55's
Yours was MARVELOUS Lydia.
Thanks for playing, thanks for your support, and have a Kick Ass Week-End
If we all fulfilled our intentions, the world would be a very different place.
ReplyDeleteYou're such a clever lady.
ReplyDeletesometimes mission statements are so obvious, that the effort is a waste of time
ReplyDeleteFirst Rose
A complicated subject you somehow manage to handle in 55 words. I like, "if we were brave and true."
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Clever to compress so much thought into G-Man's allocation. Well written,
ReplyDelete"If it were prudent, and if you
ReplyDeletewere brave and true,"
there be no moaning of the bar,
When you put out to sea.
Hmmmm. But of a mixed metaphor, there. Sorry. (Well, not really sorry, but I thought I had to say that, for the sake of propriety, lest Bear be considered a member of
"a bawdy
and bogus tribe."
Who? Me? Playful? I mean, really. Never.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
If a genuine intention should sneak through, we can throw paperwork at it until it stops that silliness! ;-)
ReplyDeleteHow much this resonates for me--all the parts. And now I have to think about why. What have you called from me, my history? Thanks, Lydia
ReplyDeleteI don't have a bucket list...I take it one drop at a time...that would amount to something maybe...if my bucket didn't have a hole in it...
ReplyDeleteCan't tell you how many such Declarations I've made. You captured it perfectly!
ReplyDelete*~~~* Thank you everyone for your thoughtful (and thought-provoking) comments!
ReplyDelete