Sestina (Whatever That Is) By Kirby T. Penworthy
Sestina
This is an homage to Bernie Little
And his partner, Chet the Dog.
They live in the desert
Where Chet uses his nose
To help find those who are missing,
And Bernie’s worried about the water.
Too many people using too much water
And they don’t care, even a little.
Their common sense is missing.
The aquifer worries the man, although the dog
Sees water everywhere, smells it with his nose
Where people water grass in the desert.
But deep in the desert,
It isn’t only the smell of water
That makes Chet ready his nose.
It’s the call to the Little
Detective Agency for Bernie and his dog
To hunt for someone who’s missing.
Once a girl went missing.
Chet found her in the desert.
She said, “Don’t hit that dog!”
They caged him without any water
But Chet escaped, and Bernie Little
Slugged the perp in the nose.
Another time Chet used his nose
To find a Princess who was missing.
She was fluffy and little,
Kidnapped and left in the desert
Cruelly without food and water.
The hero was Chet the Dog.
Again our hero, Chet the Dog
Hunted for an animal with a nose
Long and sinewy, perfect for drinking water.
This elephant was missing
And found caged in the desert,
Rescued by Chet and Bernie Little.
Where the water is missing
The man wants the dog to use his nose,
In the desert, Chet and Bernie Little.
Today, 2PM, Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale AZ: Spencer Quinn
This entry was posted on Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 at 9:55 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
5:02 am on October 2nd, 2010
Three Cheers For Kirby!!!
Hip, Hip, Hurrah!
Hip, Hip, Hurrah!
Hip, Hip, Hurrah!
5:21 am on October 2nd, 2010
I bow down in humble awe!
Kirby
Kirby
Kirby
Yeah!
5:26 am on October 2nd, 2010
Way to go, Kirby!!! Now you're immortal…
5:28 am on October 2nd, 2010
Darn it Kirby your fancy poetry puts our little ditties to shame. Well done my man
well done. I always knew there was deep thinking going on behind those eyes!
5:28 am on October 2nd, 2010
Kirby – That was the mostest awesomest ever! You rock!
5:33 am on October 2nd, 2010
Yowzer, Bowzer!
Kirby T. Penworthy living up to his name. You are the poetry dog.
5:37 am on October 2nd, 2010
I posted earlier on last night's blog, but will again tell you how amazing that was. We have incredible talent on this blog, two legged and four legged!!!
5:38 am on October 2nd, 2010
Holy cow! Go to wiki for "sestina. I never knew that a poem cold have so many rules!
5:39 am on October 2nd, 2010
Kirby!…. I take off my Rockies cap to you pal!…snort!…Amazing work and not an easy thing to do by all means…sneeze!
Staff!…Your last haiku was the best one we’ve had so far….grunt!
Kirby!…He probably won’t see this till tonight sometime ….heh! ….What a big surprise he will have…snuffle!
5:41 am on October 2nd, 2010
I can see that you use the same 6 last words in different order, but otherwise it escapes me. At least Spence didn't seem to know either!
Happy book signing,SQ.
5:44 am on October 2nd, 2010
I tried to do a haiku, but I am so humbled by the sestina that I will wait awhile before posting it. Not even sure if I did it right.
Melanie, How is Dan today?
5:45 am on October 2nd, 2010
MagPie!… First thing we did after we got up was read more of A Perfect Crime…SNORT!… OMG! …We are starting chapter 27 right now! Holy ax murder Bat Man!…grunt!
5:50 am on October 2nd, 2010
Rio, We told you it was a chiller-thriller! The upstairs hallway scene was unbelievable.
5:52 am on October 2nd, 2010
I commented on yesterday's post earlier this morning. Kirby, your sestina is superb!
5:53 am on October 2nd, 2010
MagPie!… Later, not right now, not twice in a row, we are going to re-read that whole part….snort!… But now I can’t wait to see what happens to the man holding the ax…grunt!
5:57 am on October 2nd, 2010
Yesterday Kirby posted the pattern of a sestina using Bishop's poem. Here it is:
123456
615243
364125
532614
451362
246531
The last three lines of a traditional sestina (called an envoy because those lines are supposed to address the poem itself or "send" it on a mission) are 531 or 135. Bishop has deviated from that pattern as many modern poets do. I believe her envoy is 541.
5:59 am on October 2nd, 2010
Rio: Thank you for "my" haiku yesterday. I really like it.
6:12 am on October 2nd, 2010
Wow. That is amazing, Kirby. Mom says she's never even heard of a sestina! You rock!
6:23 am on October 2nd, 2010
If the Giants win either today or tomorrow, then Dad gets to g a playoff game with our olderst son on Thursday!!! Everyone, keep your paws crossed!!!
Pig update – the potbellied pig (dirt nose) does indeed belong to the nasty neighbor. She does not respond to voice mails.
8:11 am on October 2nd, 2010
Riö: Forget goats . . . We've got Beavers! We've got 6 ancient apple trees. The first night they stripped a little. The second night a little more. The third they hit five out of the six trees. We bought the beaver tree savers, and two of my nephews put them up.
Here's what the beavers did . . .
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1286039458-IMG_1601.JPG[/img]
8:12 am on October 2nd, 2010
Here's what we did! We're hoping it works.
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1286039540-IMG_1606.JPG[/img]
8:14 am on October 2nd, 2010
And by the way, early this morning when I was reading yesterday's posting, I was laughing all the time.
Switching to limericks then haikus then the Sestina.
Awesome!
8:18 am on October 2nd, 2010
Beavers!… Wow…I’ve never seen a beaver myself…grunt!…This afternoon my friends friend is coming over with her son…snort!…He is going to clean out the gutters on my house…wheeze!…I have no idea why he wants to do that but we are going to let him do it…cough!
Reading!…We’ve been reading all morning and now we have to quit…snort!… Got to dash and do a few errands! I get to go!…yeep!
8:26 am on October 2nd, 2010
I think that the haiku is too easy for you poets. Want to try terza rima?
Dante invented it for The Divine Comedy. It has 3-line stanzas of interlocking rhyme: aba, bcb, cdc, ded, etc. (In other words, the last word of the second line is used as the rhyme for the last words in the first and third lines of the following stanza.) It's easier to do in Italian than English because Italian has more words that rhyme given the vowel endings. However, you could use consonantal rhyming (Yeats used it), meaning use the same consonant sounds even if the vowels don't sound the same: "tell/feel/well." Robert Pinsky does this in his excellent translation of The Inferno.
Here's the Wikipedia site that gives an good explanation and some very good examples.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terza_rima
8:34 am on October 2nd, 2010
B.Stover: Love ya, but my eyes just glazed over.
8:41 am on October 2nd, 2010
Bee, What Melanie said. OMG!
8:44 am on October 2nd, 2010
Barb is still trying to get up the nerve to try the haiku. Believe me, she is lame at this.
Abbie gave her the first line, so here goes:
Maggie caught a rat
In the chicken coop at night
Moon shinning above
9:14 am on October 2nd, 2010
B&M: Your haiku is lovely. You have a good sense of using place to evoke mood.
Melanie: I hope the trees will be okay.
9:31 am on October 2nd, 2010
WOW!! Mom comes back after working 2 double shifts (Thurs & Fri) and catches up on the last 3 days of postings. Kirby, way to go! Great poem and then to be the "blog post of the day" by Chet and SQ! What an honor. Sorry, B., we don't get all the ins and outs of that style of poem other than the last word of the 1st stanza is the last word on the 1st line of the 2nd stanza. Deeper than that, we don't go!!
Tomorrow is our big day to meet both SQ and MacyMP's Mom and Dad! What a day that will be! Due to the long work shifts, Mom had to stop reading TFAT until this morning. Now she has finished it and is totally blown away. What a great read !!(sorry, B.) This a super series and hopefully, SQ is already working on #4. We actually just got an email alert from Lee Child's website that his next book is due out this month instead of May as normal. Maybe SQ could do that??? 6 months instead of a year??
Macy MP, we would love to be able to tell you what Mom will be wearing tomorrow, but she will probably try on numerous outfits before making up her mind. She's kinda fluffy too, so you never know what she'll decide on. But she will have her badge on for sure.
9:50 am on October 2nd, 2010
Perfect!… A Perfect Crime is absolutely Perfect!….snort!…What an incredible story! And a Perfect ending!…grunt!…We LOVED IT! Every single chapter of it!…wheeze!…Any of you who have not read this one Should!…wow!wow!wow!
9:59 am on October 2nd, 2010
Talent!…Out the ying yang!…snort!…That’s how I would describe The Charming Mr. Abrahams!!… grunt!…It is so amazing the way he writes. Just amazing! How does he do it?…snuffle!…All you guys and gals who are going to meet him tomorrow please ask him, “How do you do it?” for me please…wheeze!… I have to know…dammit!
10:05 am on October 2nd, 2010
Questions!… Oh and will someone ask him who he thinks will go to the World Series?….snort!… I know he already gave his picks way back when, but now that it is closer, I’d like to know which two teams he thinks will triumph this year!…grunt!
10:08 am on October 2nd, 2010
More!… Oh and will someone also ask him if he puts his pants on one leg at a time?….snort!…With talent out the ying yang, one can’t be certain….grunt!
10:10 am on October 2nd, 2010
Stop!… I better stop and go rest…sniff!…Company coming soon and I always get way to excited about things like that!…yeep!
10:27 am on October 2nd, 2010
Pen-worthy indeed! I am impressed and inspired. How intellectual and brain-stretching this blog is – so much so that I think I'd better nap some more. Wish I had quilts like AK and Alice. But then, I have a whole bed.
I may try a haiku laterrrzzzzzz.
10:57 am on October 2nd, 2010
Kirby! You da Dawg!
11:03 am on October 2nd, 2010
Heh
Twins win, coming from behind with two out in the 9th inning. One more game to go and then the post season. ((Shudder))
11:05 am on October 2nd, 2010
Rio, I told you how much Barb liked The Perfect Crime. She said it is one of her favorite PA books. You are right, the ending was supurb and I hope some others read it.
We are on chapter 13 of TFAT and trying to drag it out. Usually with a book this good we would have it finished already.
Bee, thank you.
11:20 am on October 2nd, 2010
Barb just heard som tragic news. One of her English Shepherd Club friends died yesterday. She wasn't one of her closest friends, but she had been here to visit last summer and they emailed. She had a farm in Iowa and last night when her husband came home he couldn't find her or their new puppy, Sage. He looked for them till 2:00 a.m. and then called in a S.A.R. group. My half-brother, Tug, who shares my same dad, Whiskey River, is on that team. They fould her and the puppy, both dead, in an old well/cistern on their property.
There was only 3-4 feet of water in it, but they theorize that the puppy fell in, and when Marcia tried to rescue him, she also fell in, hit her head and drowned. She was about 50 years old.
11:23 am on October 2nd, 2010
Dear Barb and Maggie,
What a tragedy. I am sorry you lost a friend. You are never prepared for something like this.
Staff and the Kats
11:31 am on October 2nd, 2010
Barb and Maggie, how very sad. We're so sorry for the loss of your friend and her puppy. Wasn't Sage the puppy you had a picture with just recently?
G&BB
11:51 am on October 2nd, 2010
B&M: How awful. I am sorry.
11:57 am on October 2nd, 2010
Barb and Maggie: How terribly, terribly sad.
11:57 am on October 2nd, 2010
Thank you all for the kind thoughts. G & BB, No that was Topaz in the picture. She lives about 15 miles from us, but Sage was her littermate.
12:08 pm on October 2nd, 2010
B&M. That is so very, very sad. For everyone else, two legged and four legged alike, just remember to always be very, very careful out there (like they used to say on Hill Street Blues).
Rio. You have really gotten me excited about The Perfect Crime. Me and my dad are currently reading and finishing up one of PA's earliest books, Red Message, which is also quite good, but once done with that, we will jump to The Perfect Crime. One of PA's most interesting writing traits is his ability to refer to pop culture in his books — there is even a passing reference in Red Message to Rod McKuen (this is only for the real oldies on the blog).
Wookie
12:32 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Company!….All gone, and gutters all clean except for the back which has to wait until all the leaves come down!… snort!… Me, I’m a mess I kept getting stuff dropped on me while I was snuffling around under the ladder…grunt!… She will try to give me a bath but there is no way in H-E-L-L that is gonna happen…wheeze!
Wookie!…. I want to know your thoughts as you are reading A Perfect Crime…grunt!…We can use the Spoiler Alert message….sneeze!… I actually think they should have made a movie out of this book instead of messing up the baseball book, which we have not read yet!…snorkel!
12:41 pm on October 2nd, 2010
MagPie!… Please tell Barb that both of us are so very sorry for what happened to her friend!…sniffle!… I don’t think anyone ever wants to believe they will die from falling down a well…snort!
1:39 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Shout out to Kirby — Woooo-wooo!!! A masterpiece.
Beavers – did you all read about the time a few years back when 3 of the national cherry trees around the Tidal Basin (near the Jefferson Memorial) were found by the US Park Police to have been chopped down? VANDALS the papers screamed. How could this happen??? The culprits must be stopped!
The Park Police staked out the tidal basin to arrest those who performed the dark deed. Imagine, when in the dark of night, it was found that the vandals were BEAVERS!!! They were trapped and relocated by the Park Service — along with a lot of egg wiping from faces.
1:46 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Marge and Maggie we are all quite sad about your friends. Dad has such a soft heart for our kind I thought he was going to cry. When they were listening to DOI on va ca dad woke up in the night worrying about Chet being caged up with no water.
Sunday Mom meets Spence.
Excitement here is mounting,
Hope she sleeps tonight.
Rio. Beavers are really big rats with tails made for slapping.
1:50 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Barb my mind took a wrong turn when typing your name, sorry.
1:53 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Min Pin!…Did you see my questions for Spencer up above?… snort!snort!… I may have more as the evening rolls on. After all the Gutter Cleaning excitement we came in and started watching the new Hawaii 5-0!…wow!…Its better than we ever expected it to be….cough!…Still watching it now. Cops with no red-tape going after really bad guys on a beautiful island…dramatic!
1:56 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Haiku!…To the Beavers!…snort!
You beavers beware
The Newfs will eat you alive
Take your tail and run
There!…That should do the trick Melanie!…heh!
2:19 pm on October 2nd, 2010
We wondered who Marge was!
Melanie, Hope those beaver cages work. They do look like big rats, although I never actually met a beaver. Maybe I could help scare them away. I saw them on Animal Planet and it looks like they move a lot slower than rats. And Rio's haiku should help!
2:37 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Hey everybody! Wow — what a day! I am so honored to have my homage to Chet and Bernie chosen for today's column! (Of course, you'll notice it got Spence out of having to write about Astrid again!) Just so you know, Chet, a sestina is a really weird poem that doesn't rhyme, and has rules out the ying-yang!!!
Bee: Thanks for issuing the sestina challenge, but I think I need a day to recover before attempting a terza rima. That one has to rhyme — makes it much harder!!!
Barb and Maggie: I don't know why you keep claiming not to have any writing talent — that haiku was just perfect!
2:41 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Barb and Maggie: I was so sorry to read about your friend and her puppy. My heart goes out to her husband — such a sad thing to happen.
2:46 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Haiku!… I thought Barb and MagPies first attempt was very good too!…snort!….Kirby you are our Plundering On Hero today!…woooo!… Having an awesome Sestina Poem posted up on the top berth is truly a great honor and a first for the blog I do believe!…gruff!
2:52 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Thanks, Rio, and to everyone else for your words of good cheer. Since Mom helped me a little with the poem, she's pretty proud — it made her elbow feel a lot better! (Of course, maybe the pressure band, the pain-killers and the bag of frozen peas helped, too!)
Melanie: How are your knee and Dan? (Not necessarily in that order!) I hope the beaver guards do the trick — apples are deeeee-licious, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to those trees!
2:56 pm on October 2nd, 2010
MagPie: Tell Barb we're very sorry about her friend and puppy.
Also the haiku was great.
Riö: "top berth" snicker. Love that.
Hitting the hay early today. Hope the beavers go somewhere else. It's not like they don't have 200 wooded acres behind them.
Zoë just said, "Melanie, never leave your bedroom door shut and the windows shut all day, if you sleep with more than seven dogs in your room."
3:03 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Hope!….I hope all you guys are watching Last Chance Highway….grunt!… We absolutely love it and my friend wishes she could work for that great group of people …snuff!… But I don’t think they could pay her. Plus she would have to move us to Olive Branch, Mississippi and that will never happen even though for some strange reason she is very familiar with this town because of the Busy Place…snort!…Some Reality shows are very worth while to watch!…sniffle!
3:06 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Melanie!…Tell Zoe that my friend says, “Never sleep in a closed room with one Pug.”… grunt!… I have no idea what that is all about…sniff!sniff!
3:49 pm on October 2nd, 2010
What a day! First, the poem. Then Mom saved her crust from the leftover pizza she took to work today. Mmmmmmm, pizza crust! Now I'm wearing my special Iowa collar and watching my Hawkeyes, who are beating Penn State 10-0 in the second quarter! Go Hawkeyes!!!
4:00 pm on October 2nd, 2010
First of all, so sad to hear about your friend, Barb.
Mom says that she likes Beavers. Her busy place is right next to a creek and she likes to watch the dam progress. This summer, she got to watch a mom fox raise three babies. And just last week, a mama kat with two feral kit kats showed up. About half the company got involved with finding homes and they are all safe and sound now. Mom works with a lot of very nice people.
On a another sad note, the Giants lost. Dad is bummed.
4:06 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Wolfie!…The damned Giants still have a chance though, don’t they?….grunt!…They only have to win ONE game against the Padres…sneeze!
4:25 pm on October 2nd, 2010
SH hasn't posted all day.
4:25 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Rio. I think what your friend was talking about may have something to do with that Subtle Butt product I had mentioned a couple of days ago. That was also something my friend Casey was good at – he could clear a room all by himself. Wookie
4:31 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Stover!… I was thinking of him over an hour ago and wondering what the heck is up…snort!…But it is Saturday night and he is a good looking dude who just happens to wear mascara. He may have a hot date tonight with a girl dog from the dog park…heh!
Wookie!…Subtle Butt? Does my friend need Subtle Butt?…snort!…Is that what she is trying to say?…heh!
4:43 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Wow! My Hawkeyes are still ahead at the half, but Penn State kicked a last-second field goal after a questionable penalty against Iowa. Iowa 17, Penn State 3. No time to celebrate, though, since we were beating Arizona at the half and lost anyway. Go Hawkeyes!!!
4:51 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Wookie!…How much does Subtle Butt go for these days?….snort!….Someone around here may need a few bottles if what I suspect is true…cough!… If not bottles then whatever the Unit of Measure is on having a subtle butt…grunt!…Maybe I sleep very deeply and have not noticed this problem before…sniff!
4:53 pm on October 2nd, 2010
P.S. Dad put on my regular collar so he could take me outside. Mom says if Iowa loses it's Dad's fault for taking off my special Iowa collar and breaking the magic!
4:53 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Rio: You keep thinking that if it makes you feel better!
5:00 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Barb and Maggie, that is sad news. It makes us feel lucky to be safe and sound.
We did not tarry. We finished TFAT an hour ago. Favorite advice from Chet which we will follow when the situation demands it: "I made up my mind never to think about this again."
5:01 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Long day here, will be back in the morning. Good night, good friends. B & M
5:03 pm on October 2nd, 2010
From the S. B. ad: "…simply stick one in the right place and you're ready for a chili cook-off."
5:09 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Fattie!… Oh my. Now my mission is to somehow ‘subtly’ let my friend find out about this wondrous product! …wow!…We eat chili here quite often, maybe I have been systematically gassed in my sleep and have never realized it!…wheeze!…No wonder I have breathing problems…zow!
5:15 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Which reminds me – the chili your Friend makes sounds wonderful. She likes it hot, right? So does the Librarian. Does your Friend have a secret recipe? What kind of meat does she use – or does she? (Vegetarian chili always makes more gas.)
5:22 pm on October 2nd, 2010
I made chili today.
I am in need of some subtle butt. Sorry to say.
5:24 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Staff!…Not you too!…ugh!
5:30 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Fattie!… I will ask her for her deadly recipe tomorrow and try to post it. I do think she is one of those “whatever is on hand” kind of kooks though! …grunt!….Cooks, I mean….heh! … Now I am afraid to go to sleep tonight. There is no way I can pull my warm soft bed with all those baseball toys out of her room into the fresh air…wheeze!… Its just too far for me and my useless teeth! …dammit! …I’m going to be gassed again tonight!…gasp! wheeze!
SiberH!…Come Home!…sniffle!
6:01 pm on October 2nd, 2010
OMG!…We are watching Wallace and Gromit tonight in “A Close Shave”…snort!….What a hoot! It’s funnier now than ever before! …heh! …If anyone has not seen this, they Should!…chorkel!!!
6:04 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Maybe there is a pug-sized gas mask. But after all, if you don't really know you're being gassed, you can pretend it smells like…slim jims!
6:04 pm on October 2nd, 2010
I mean, because you're asleep and snoring and all.
6:05 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Golly!…Is everyone on a date tonight???…snort!….We give up – no fun talking to our selves is it? No its not…grunt!!
6:09 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Hmmm!…Apparently, my only other choice is talking to A Dead Kat….snort! … Why ever do you want a Chili Recipe is my question, Fattie???… wheeze!
6:11 pm on October 2nd, 2010
I'm back, Rio! My Hawkeyes were looking a little dismal in the second half, but then we got an interception and took it in for a touchdown! Final score — Iowa 24, Penn State 3. Yippee!!!
6:13 pm on October 2nd, 2010
No one expects the Dead Cat!
Congrats on your Hawkeyes, Kirby.
6:15 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Now that you have Kirby to talk to, Rio, I feel that you are in good paws and I will BBT.
6:18 pm on October 2nd, 2010
FK: Is that anything like the Spanish Inquisition?
6:24 pm on October 2nd, 2010
OK, now I'm the one talking to myself. It's been a long, exciting day. I think I'm going to call it a night! G'night, y'all!
6:40 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Brian or Ryan Cranston of Breaking Bad is hosting Saturday Night Live tonight. Mr Staff said…"Who is that?"
(Just for Rio)
6:48 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Hey!… For Pete’s sake!…snort!…Here is one I love, in “A Close Shave” Gromit is put in jail and he is seen reading Crime and Punishment by Fido Dogstoyevsky…heh!…And above his head on the wall is scrawled, “Feathers was Ere”….snort!…Feathers McGraw is the penguin who disguises himself as a chicken!…
STAFF!…Bryan Cranston is the star of Breaking Bad – Our favorite show of all time!..snort!snort!…Wow! I wonder if we will be able to stay up and watch him…heh!…Possibly! Maybe!…grunt! …To be continued… heh!…I think someone said that in the book we just finished today…snorkel!
6:57 pm on October 2nd, 2010
HooooWeeeee!….Rosie Gray will be missing Kanye West as the musical talent on SNL tonight along with my favorite character actor Bryan Cranston!!…heh!…Or maybe not. I wonder if they show this show in Prague…snort!…I’m sure she will see it somehow ….heh!
7:02 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Staff!…We are indebted to you and your unknowing hubby!…snort! … We can’t wait to see Bryan Cranston on SNL tonight!!…grunt!….And I do realize I am typing messages to myself again tonight…sigh!
7:43 pm on October 2nd, 2010
Well Rio,
My Mom always says, when caught talking to herself, "It is so hard to find a good conversation these days."
2:37 pm on February 14th, 2011
Fantastic information you have given. I will definitely bookmark your blog for future reading.