Autumn Colors 15 SEP: On the Tragic Fall of Maurice the Yellow

 

On the Tragic Fall of Maurice the Yellow

I’m up a tree, it seems to me.
My name’s Maurice, and life is hard.
There’s no way to fall gracefully.

In the Spring I was fancy free,
before I saw what’s in the cards.
I’m up a tree, it seems to me.

The Summer sun warmed and lulled me,
as my fate I did disregard.
There’s no way to fall gracefully.

But Autumn has come upon me;
I look down to imagine shards.
I’m up a tree, it seems to me.

Yellow with fear, I won’t let it be!
How was my life so evil-starred?
There’s no way to fall gracefully.

To have lived a life so shortly
to be thrust upon the pile of discard,
I’m up a tree, it seems to me.
There’s no way to fall gracefully.


This poem is part of a series of five, called Leaf Droppings. They take the form of villanelles. I hope you enjoy them. Feel free to make a few autumn verses of your own below.

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  1. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Arahant (View Comment):

    RightAngles (View Comment):
    I forget who it was, but there was one famous person whose tombstone said “I TOLD you I was sick”

    There are many of them.

    Oscar Levant proposed it as his own epitaph, but his family didn’t go through with it.

    • #31
  2. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    Percival (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    RightAngles (View Comment):
    I forget who it was, but there was one famous person whose tombstone said “I TOLD you I was sick”

    There are many of them.

    Oscar Levant proposed it as his own epitaph, but his family didn’t go through with it.

    I think that’s who I was thinking of.

    • #32
  3. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    KentForrester (View Comment):
    I’ve never met a student of poetic forms before.

    I take it you’ve never run into Lew Turco?

    • #33
  4. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    “Roses are red, violets are blue, I’m schizophrenic, and so am I.”

    “It’s not a pretty face, I grant you. But underneath its flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character.”

    “Strip away the phony tinsel of Hollywood and you’ll find the real tinsel underneath.”

    —Oscar Levant: composer, author, concert pianist, conductor, actor, hypochondriac, and general-purpose crank.

    • #34
  5. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Percival (View Comment):
    —Oscar Levant: composer, author, concert pianist, conductor, actor, hypochondriac, and general-purpose crank.

    A most delightful gentleman.

    • #35
  6. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    He played Gene Kelly’s unemployed piano-playing friend in An American in Paris. Here he is playing Gershwin’s Concerto in F in the movie.

    • #36
  7. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    And then there was Leif the Red.

    • #37
  8. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    Three cheers for @arahant and his poetry! This is the first of a series of seasonal and colorful poems  as part of our Group Writing Series under the September 2019 Group Writing Theme: “Autumn Colors.” Hurry, hurry! One ticket left! Step right up and try your hand! Our schedule and sign-up sheet awaits.

    Interested in Group Writing topics that came before? See the handy compendium of monthly themes. Check out links in the Group Writing Group. You can also join the group to get a notification when a new monthly theme is posted.

    • #38
  9. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Clifford A. Brown (View Comment):
    Hurry, hurry! One ticket left! Step right up and try your hand!

    That’s what you’re really cheering. 😜 Sounds like you can put out next month’s list. Put me on the first.

    • #39
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