Remembering the poetry of erstwhile poster Van Bagnol

01-05-2007, 07:44 AM

The chain was a ribbon of rivets, slick as an owl's snot,
The bulb was a ghostly halogen, its filament glowing hot,
The road was a sinew of darkness, but my light was steady and bright.
My frame was the color of egg yolk,
The moonlight glint from my wheel spoke
As I savored the spin of my pedal stroke, into the jeweled night

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
See the books I've set free at: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

01-05-2007, 12:16 PM

Claire Petersky wrote:
> The chain was a ribbon of rivets, slick as an owl's snot,
> The bulb was a ghostly halogen, its filament glowing hot,
> The road was a sinew of darkness, but my light was steady and bright.
> My frame was the color of egg yolk,
> The moonlight glint from my wheel spoke
> As I savored the spin of my pedal stroke, into the jeweled night
>
> --
> Warm Regards,
>
> Claire Petersky
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
> See the books I've set free at: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

I have to wonder how that person developed an intimate familiarity with
the snot of an owl?

Phil Wood grease, maybe, WD40, maybe but OWL SNOT, purleeze!

Lewis.

*****

01-05-2007, 12:17 PM

Claire Petersky wrote:
> The chain was a ribbon of rivets, slick as an owl's snot,
> The bulb was a ghostly halogen, its filament glowing hot,
> The road was a sinew of darkness, but my light was steady and bright.
> My frame was the color of egg yolk,
> The moonlight glint from my wheel spoke
> As I savored the spin of my pedal stroke, into the jeweled night
>
> --
> Warm Regards,
>
> Claire Petersky
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
> See the books I've set free at: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

I have to wonder how that person developed an intimate familiarity with
the snot of an owl?

Phil Wood grease, maybe, WD40, maybe but OWL SNOT, purleeze! :-)

Lewis.

*****

01-05-2007, 03:29 PM

Claire Petersky wrote:
> The chain was a ribbon of rivets, slick as an owl's snot,
> The bulb was a ghostly halogen, its filament glowing hot,
> The road was a sinew of darkness, but my light was steady and bright.
> My frame was the color of egg yolk,
> The moonlight glint from my wheel spoke
> As I savored the spin of my pedal stroke, into the jeweled night
>
A: If Alfred Noyes were alive today, he'd be spinning in his grave.

Z: But if he were alive....

A: This would kill him!

01-05-2007, 05:45 PM

On 2007-01-05, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

> Claire Petersky wrote:
>> The chain was a ribbon of rivets, slick as an owl's snot,
>> The bulb was a ghostly halogen, its filament glowing hot,
>> The road was a sinew of darkness, but my light was steady and bright.
>> My frame was the color of egg yolk,
>> The moonlight glint from my wheel spoke
>> As I savored the spin of my pedal stroke, into the jeweled night

> I have to wonder how that person developed an intimate familiarity with
> the snot of an owl?

There are great sacrifices expected of the True Artist; remember that
the next time you are tempted to denigrate a poet.

--

John ([Only registered and activated users can see links. ].org)

01-06-2007, 10:34 PM

In article <1168031808.015791.285570@42g2000cwt.googlegroups. com>,
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] writes:
>
> Claire Petersky wrote:
>> The chain was a ribbon of rivets, slick as an owl's snot,
>> The bulb was a ghostly halogen, its filament glowing hot,
>> The road was a sinew of darkness, but my light was steady and bright.
>> My frame was the color of egg yolk,
>> The moonlight glint from my wheel spoke
>> As I savored the spin of my pedal stroke, into the jeweled night
>>
>> --
>> Warm Regards,
>>
>> Claire Petersky
>> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>> See the books I've set free at: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> I have to wonder how that person developed an intimate familiarity with
> the snot of an owl?

By riding a lot at night.

As a matter of fact, during my last ride into work I
had an owl swoop across my line right in front of me,
to pick up a big rat or muskrat or something. It was
really quite an elegant manoeuver. I guess the owl
wanted to get his prey before my approach scared it off.

Up in our local Western Cordillera mountains, one can
sometimes see a tree whose grain is obviously twisted
around like a twirled wet dishcloth. That's the work
of the Ratchet Owl[*]. They grasp the top of the tree
in their beak, and fly around in tight little circles
until the tree is irrecoverably mangled.

To stew an owl, one must immerse it in water in a large
cast iron Dutch oven along with a large rock, and boil
the heck out of it. When you can easily stick a fork
into the rock, the owl is done.

cheers,
Tom
[*] I can also tell you about the side-hill gouger[**],
if you like.

[**] A six-legged mammal.

--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

01-07-2007, 06:53 AM

"Tom Keats" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:cq7qne.hsq.ln@bud.garden.local...

> As a matter of fact, during my last ride into work I
> had an owl swoop across my line right in front of me,
> to pick up a big rat or muskrat or something. It was
> really quite an elegant manoeuver. I guess the owl
> wanted to get his prey before my approach scared it off.

Or maybe your approach flushed out the prey, the owl saw its opportunity,
and took off.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
See the books I've set free at: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

01-08-2007, 07:52 AM

"Tom Keats" wrote: (clip) That's the work
> of the Ratchet Owl[*]. They grasp the top of the tree
> in their beak, and fly around in tight little circles
> until the tree is irrecoverably mangled. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That's a commonly held belief among those who don't know much about owls.
In actuality, since an owl is able to turn its head completely around an
unlimited number of times, they are able to twist young trees without flying
in circles. This is why they are called "ratchet owls." If they had to fly
in circles, they would probably be called "box wrench owls."

01-08-2007, 09:29 AM

In article <XEuoh.350731$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].worldnet.att.net>,
"Leo Lichtman" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].net> writes:
>
> "Tom Keats" wrote: (clip) That's the work
>> of the Ratchet Owl[*]. They grasp the top of the tree
>> in their beak, and fly around in tight little circles
>> until the tree is irrecoverably mangled. (clip)
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> That's a commonly held belief among those who don't know much about owls.
> In actuality, since an owl is able to turn its head completely around an
> unlimited number of times, they are able to twist young trees without flying
> in circles. This is why they are called "ratchet owls." If they had to fly
> in circles, they would probably be called "box wrench owls."

That's so reasonable, it's gotta be true ;-)
Thanks for the edification.

cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

01-08-2007, 10:07 AM

"Tom Keats" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:2j2une.sbt.ln@bud.garden.local...
> In article <XEuoh.350731$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].worldnet.att.net>,
> "Leo Lichtman" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].net> writes:
>>
>> "Tom Keats" wrote: (clip) That's the work
>>> of the Ratchet Owl[*]. They grasp the top of the tree
>>> in their beak, and fly around in tight little circles
>>> until the tree is irrecoverably mangled. (clip)
>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> That's a commonly held belief among those who don't know much about owls.
>> In actuality, since an owl is able to turn its head completely around an
>> unlimited number of times, they are able to twist young trees without
>> flying
>> in circles. This is why they are called "ratchet owls." If they had to
>> fly
>> in circles, they would probably be called "box wrench owls."
>
> That's so reasonable, it's gotta be true ;-)
> Thanks for the edification.
>
>
> cheers,
> Tom
>
> --
> Nothing is safe from me.
> Above address is just a spam midden.
> I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

Why do they twist the top of trees?