Friday, 3 September 2010

Overheard

Do you listen to what people are saying as they pass by in the street? I own, I do, and that's where the germ of an idea took root and resulted in this motley assortment of phrases:-

Snippets Of Conversation

He hasn't had a bath since last October... 
I ask you, what's a girl supposed to do...
Do you think I need to change my outfit?...
That IT bloke just hasn't got a clue...
Will this train take me to Wolverhampton?...
I ask you, what's a girl supposed to do...

Don't talk to me about the price of basics...
I ask you, what's a girl supposed to do...
She said, 'You'll never shift a stain like beetroot...
and I think this needs a spot of super-glue...
The blue light on the trembly bit's gone out...
I ask you, what's a girl supposed to do...

I never do that ever on a Monday...
I ask you, what's a girl supposed to do...
why don't you go and ask your blooming Father?...
Well, shall I buy just one of those, or two?...
Now the Doctor thinks he'll have to snip it...
I ask you, what's a girl supposed to do...

Today,  Big Tent Poetry is asking for submissions created from random words or phrases taken from life, so I've chosen to offer these verses as my reply.

23 comments:

  1. The repetition of the first line holds it all together. I like it :-)

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  2. This reminds me a little of a villanelle, a la "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night." But it's pure vintage Jinsky!

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  3. I absolutely love it! I am excited when I'm in the open minded mood to laugh out loud at "found poetry"
    I've been working on something about the headlines on the pet magazines in the huge PetMart store check-out lines.....

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  4. My father once say behind two ladies on a bus. They were talking about one of them moving house the previous week and my father heard her say,
    'we had such a job, it took two men half an hour to get my drawers down!'

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  5. These may be random phrases, but in your hands they have become memorable.

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  6. They say "kids say the darndest things." but if your ears are open you'll find adults say their share too. You've turned their lines to nice effect, evoking a villanelle without actually writing one.

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  7. This could become a famous song, sang by the right person, Jinksy!

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  8. May I borrow your eyes and ears when mine aren't working?

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  9. I confess I do, and I have tried to do what you have done, but not with the same degree of success. Brilliant.

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  10. Great fun, Jinksy. Well, what is a girl supposed to do?!

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  11. That's a cute idea which you wove together nicely.

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  12. It works so well..

    The repetition is so very good.

    pavement musings

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  13. Brilliant! Loved it! I think I shall start doing the same! haha!

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  14. *clapping* I love it. I love to sit in a restaurant or on a bus and listen to snippets of the conversations around me.

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  15. Very clever Penny :-) - Dave

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  16. Very, very well-done. I find it fascinating that people in your part of the world speak so differently from people in mine (expressing the same kind of ideas, but using different words).

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  17. very cleverly written and very entertaining!

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  18. I love this! and often smile at the random sentences I hear when out and about. Some sound so bizarre and amusing isolated from whatever else the conversation may be about. :-)

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  19. Love the repetition in this piece!
    Pamela

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  20. So funny when out of context. You have a good imagination and a wonderful sense of humor.

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  21. :)
    Very funny.
    I love that line you repeated, it has induced lot of humor.

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