"populi" poems - Hello Poetry

It was, as the New York Times all but sniffed (Even then, a haughty mix of bluenose and black ink) Further proof the poor, misguided Upstate rubes Were no more than ample fodder For any tinhorn, two-bit confidence man to take for a ride. Fair enough—it was, to the careful eye and unheated psyche Clear as the azure blue sky that, Despite the best efforts of acid wash and a year underground, So obviously a statue as to be absolutely laughable, And yet the vox populi came in waves, Not only one-gallus farmers from the fields nearby, But from the great cities near and far (Chicago, Philadelphia, and, yes, even New York itself To throw Hannum a quarter to view his gargantuan grotesquery Just as described in Genesis itself, he noted solemnly So many, indeed, that Barnum himself was divinely inspired Not only to purloin the giant, but its prior owner’s epigram As to the frequency of the manufacture Of his too-credible customer base. While there was (briefly, at least) some mystery surrounding The origins of the brobdingnagian mass of stone, It remained (to some, anyway) equally unfathomable Why scores of folks would careen in unsteady coaches The full length of the Catskill Turnpike, With its questionable lodging and uneven roadworthiness, Or patiently suffer the mosquito-laden flatboats of Clinton’s Ditch All to spend the cash equivalent of two trips to the county fair To see a perfectly good hootchie-kootchie show Simply to gawk at an unevenly carved rock of questionable authenticity, But that explained quite simply, As the public always gets what the public wants.

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Aug 3, 2018

Aug 3, 2018 at 4:03 PM UTC

wk-kortas

In Which We Wonder Upon The Spectacle Of The Cardiff Giant

It was, as the New York Times all but sniffed (Even then, a haughty mix of bluenose and black ink) Further proof the poor, misguided Upstate rubes Were no more than ample fodder For any tinhorn, two-bit confidence man to take for a ride. Fair enough—it was, to the careful eye and unheated psyche Clear as the azure blue sky that, Despite the best efforts of acid wash and a year underground, So obviously a statue as to be absolutely laughable, And yet the vox populi came in waves, Not only one-gallus farmers from the fields nearby, But from the great cities near and far (Chicago, Philadelphia, and, yes, even New York itself To throw Hannum a quarter to view his gargantuan grotesquery Just as described in Genesis itself, he noted solemnly So many, indeed, that Barnum himself was divinely inspired Not only to purloin the giant, but its prior owner’s epigram As to the frequency of the manufacture Of his too-credible customer base. While there was (briefly, at least) some mystery surrounding The origins of the brobdingnagian mass of stone, It remained (to some, anyway) equally unfathomable Why scores of folks would careen in unsteady coaches The full length of the Catskill Turnpike, With its questionable lodging and uneven roadworthiness, Or patiently suffer the mosquito-laden flatboats of Clinton’s Ditch All to spend the cash equivalent of two trips to the county fair To see a perfectly good hootchie-kootchie show Simply to gawk at an unevenly carved rock of questionable authenticity, But that explained quite simply, As the public always gets what the public wants.